The Juniper Lodge

by Dustin Weaver (Writer / Artist), D.J. Bryant, Jeremy Barlow

ADVANCE SOLICIT

A dreamy and haunting collection of standalone tales where perception unravels, identity fractures, and reality bends—delivered with visionary style by Dustin Weaver.

A twisted town in the Old West sacrifices one of its own every twelve hours at the demand of a demonic gun. A man finds his mind is trapped in the brain of an insect, and believes the normal world he sees is a delusion. An abandoned roadside motel is home to an entity that has captured the imagination of a passing comic book artist and is drawing him back.

The Juniper Lodge is a self-contained collection of five stories from the pages of Dustin Weaver's anthology series PAKLIS. Unpredictable, idiosyncratic, and original, each story explores themes of perception, memory, and identity while expertly moving between genres with a dynamic style.

The psychological and surreal become alluring through Weaver's engaging characters and vivid worlds, while never failing to get under the skin.

Collects stories previously published in #0,1,2,6,9.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

144 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication June 2, 2026

About the author

Dustin Weaver is an American comics writer/artist.

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

Mostly solo stories (sometimes he has a co-writer) from Dustin Weaver, previously known to me only as an artist. But even the art here wasn't quite what I expected; his work with Jonathan Hickman tended towards the high-concept adventure epic, and sure, a couple of these stories include what could easily be agents of SHIELD, but even they look more like the classic version than the secret history Hickman and Weaver constructed back through Leonardo to Imhotep. More often, though, we're in horror territory, creepy-crawlies and uneasy grins to recall Ice Cream Man's Martín Morazzo. In the title story, a comics artist having a breakdown is haunted by a derelict motel that seems strangely familiar; elsewhere it's weird Western, or a queasily flipped Metamorphosis. For me, some of the most effective moments came in skewed detective story Defects In The Hand-Drawn Line, as when a husband asks his wife what she wants for her birthday: "Well you have to pick one. You can have a pink and black hat, a statue kangaroo, or a pink and white hat. Which one?" After that, it's a couple of brief autobiographical strips and done, not necessarily with a clear sense yet of Weaver as solo auteur, but certainly hoping that his younger self, high on the founding of Image, is placated that the man he'll become is now in that company.

(Edelweiss ARC)

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

My Selling Pitch:
A horror short story collection, but they’re completely incoherent. The artwork’s gorgeous but wasted without a clear narrative backing.

On my do not read list.

Pre-reading:
Y’all know I love a horror graphic.

(obviously potential spoilers from here on)
Thick of it:
Did not have this book pegged for full frontal peen.

He looks like Ken.

Where your clothes at?

So much peen omg.

Well, that didn’t make any sense.

The bugs just made me say ew out loud.

I don’t really know what the story means. It just seemed like schizophrenia, but holy fuck, that art was horrifying. I hate bugs.

He looks like Danny Phantom.

Come into my apartment strange man. I wanna show you pictures of naked grandma back in her heyday.

That didn’t make any sense at all. It was incoherent.

A little House of Leaves to open. I like when horror addresses the audience to play with form.

Oh good, more bugs.

It’s also nonsense.

She kinda looks like Sabrina Carpenter.

Everyone in the story is kinda hot.

I don’t get it. I’m annoyed.

Also just kinda misogynistic to have all the female characters be topless sexworkers in multiple stories.

I mean gorgeous art, but the stories make no sense.

Post-reading:
I don’t even know how to properly critique this. There’s no storyline to any of these vignettes. They dump you in an aesthetic with an unreliable narrator and then they go nowhere. There’s no character development. There’s no plot. They all just evoke a general feeling of unease, but that’s solely due to the artwork. Homeboy can draw some freakyass bugs. They were gross. They made me say ew outloud. But they’re meaningless pictures when we’re not given text to guide us. I don’t think it’s me missing subtext. It’s five separate stories. I’m sorry, but I’m not missing the meaning five times in a row. It’s incoherent. I’m especially frustrated because I was enjoying the setup for the last story, but we’re left not even just hanging. The story never opened the door to begin with. I don’t think this is worth your time. I don’t think you’ll get anything out of it.

Who should read this:
Horror short story fans

Ideal reading time:
Winter

Do I want to reread this:
No

Would I buy this:
No

Similar books:
* Be Not Afraid by Jude Ellison S Doyle-horror graphic novel, religious commentary
* Blink and You’ll Miss It by Ethan S. Parker-dystopian, horror graphic novel, queer, religious commentary
* Benjamin by Ben H. Winters-sci-fi meta fiction, graphic novel
* The Shadower by Maria Hoey-historical, dystopian, thriller, family drama, graphic novel
* Cave Grave by Shawn Kuruneru-western, short story collection, graphic novel
* Live Memorium by Miki Makasu-dystopian, graphic novel
* Wretch by Eric LaRocca-horror, family drama, bugs
* We Are Always Tender With Our Dead by Eric LaRocca-horror, mixed media, family drama


Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: The Juniper Lodge by Dustin Weaver and D. J. Bryant

The Juniper Lodge is a collection of surreal, loosely connected stories that feels more like a set of narrative experiments than a traditional anthology. Across its five pieces, Dustin Weaver and D. J. Bryant build worlds that sit slightly off from reality, where identity, memory, and logic never fully stabilize.

Each piece explores a different angle of that instability. One follows a cursed frontier town trapped in a repetitive ritual tied to something demonic and bureaucratic in its own strange way. Another centers on a man who believes he is an insect and treats human reality as the false construct. Elsewhere, a roadside motel acts less like a setting and more like a pull, drawing people back without clear reason or resolution.

What stands out most is the combination of theme and visual design. The book leans heavily on atmosphere and conceptual unease, but the art style is what anchors everything. It carries a strong sense of movement and distortion that fits the fragmented storytelling, giving the abstract ideas something grounded to sit on.

It is not a collection concerned with clean resolution. Some pieces land more fully than others depending on how much ambiguity you are willing to sit with, but the overall consistency of tone and aesthetic keeps it cohesive enough to work as a whole. I really liked the themes and the art style. It commits fully to what it is doing, even when it stays intentionally unclear, which is why I have given it 4 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[nadine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Image Comics and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, I'd like to say that I'm a comic reader at heart and I'll always come back to my beloved comics and graphic novels (so getting approved for this felt cool).

I do have to admit that I'm not Too versed in anthology series (of any kind), so maybe it's partly my fault that I couldn't quite vibe with the entire book of I were to judge all the stories together to get to one final grade/judgement.
I did like the darkness/horror aspect that was found in every story - whether it was directly introduced in Mushroom Bodies and The Juniper Lodge or later in the story like in An empty shell in the ocean - I liked that it was very apparent in every story (I'm also biased here, I like a good dark element in my comics).
As much as I liked how weird, wacky, intense and bizarre the stories and their concepts were, I couldn't quite grasp them all as well as I would've liked - and maybe that's on me - which made this journey altogether and okay journey. I definitely enjoyed reading the mini stories and as much as I have a clear favorite (Mushroom Bodies), I also have a clear pick for the one I enjoyed the least (An empty shell in the ocean).
I did enjoy the art - especially in The Juniper Lodge and Defects in the hand drawn line and I'd like to point that out - comics are stories but they're nothing without the art bringing them to life.

All in all, this was not a bad experience at all, but because I couldn't quite grasp it all which affecting how much I enjoyed the ride through the book - I'm rating this 3/5.

[Mireya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC copy. This has not affected my review at all, which are my own thoughts.

The Juniper Lodge collects various bizarre standalone stories from the mind of Dustin Weaver, from a man believing himself an insect, to a town sacrificing people every twelve hours to a demonic gun, through all types of nightmares that the mind can conjure. All of the five stories tying back to an epicenter point: an abandoned motel in the middle of the road called Juniper Lodge.

And bizarre they were, confusing and definitely hard to get at first😂 But exactly what I expected from this collection. Stuff wothr of nightmares, mind-blowing stories and the most strange phenomena that could take place in these pages. I must admit I spend most of the reading thinking "what the f*ck?", yet I had quite the fun and enjoyed the tales for good. As weird as it was, I think my favorite might be the one about the demonic gun😂

And for the bad...nothing bad to say about it, really. Even the art style was visually great, not completely realistic, but exactly what these type of stories demand to impact the reader.

Anyway, for fans of horror, short but intense stories, comic anthologies, fans of the author, of the weird and unconventional, this is the place to be (or the pages to read). Hope y'all like this review, and until the next one! ;)

[✩｡°⋆ Lala ⋆｡°✩ · Rating 5 out of 5]

• ARC Review •

[The Juniper Lodge]
🔥 Release Date: Jun 02 2026 🔥
Thank you to Image Comics, Dustin Weaver, and Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!
★★★★★


The Juniper Lodge is dark, gritty, and completely immersive. Every story has its own tone and style. Some lean into straight up horror, some feel more like eerie, atmospheric mysteries, and a few hit a more psychological note. I found myself enjoying certain stories more than others, but every single one felt thoughtfully crafted and executed.

The artwork is absolutely stunning and adds so much to each tale. From the detailed panels to the way emotions are captured in expressions and shadows, it makes the stories feel alive. Even the shorter pieces feel fleshed out with clear characters, motivations, and tension that draw you in quickly.

The pacing across the book is strong and while it is a relatively short comic, I found myself staying on the pages admiring the artwork. What I loved most is the variety. You never know what kind of story is coming next and that unpredictability keeps you hooked throughout.

Overall, The Juniper Lodge is a rich, visually striking collection that balances horror, suspense, and atmosphere beautifully. Definitely recommended if you are into dark graphic storytelling.

[Lauren Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an arc of this book! “The Juniper Lodge” is an intriguing and disturbing collection of illustrated stories. The art is incredible and I liked its detail and level of realism. The stories, for me, got mixed reactions. I rather enjoyed the first one about the man-possessing gun. I found the third story rather vague and confusing, and maybe that was the intention, but I found myself struggling to follow the events of it and their implications. The titular “Juniper Lodge” story was intriguing, if a bit nonsensical, and I once again have to admire the art. Dustin Weaver knows how to draw monsters.
The stories largely seem to be geared at a male audience as there is an abundance of (mostly unnecessary) female nudity. I’ve counted one that does not show a boob, and that’s mainly because there were only two female characters. The extra sketches at the end of the book were appreciated, as it was neat to see the process that came with drawing each character and scene. Overall, Juniper Lodge was an interesting collection of short graphic stories, but they were not without their faults.

[Allen Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Juniper Lodge follows an interesting structure in that while Dustin Weaver provides art throughout and also writes three of the stories himself, Jeremy Barlow and D.J. Bryant each also contribute a story. The stories themselves are an eclectic mix of genres with no clear thematic line connecting the stories. In fact, as far as I can tell, narratively-speaking the only similarity between the stories is that the each feel as though they want to say something, but are struggling to find the words to convey exactly what. Individually, each story left me feeling underwhelmed and unclear as to what exactly the writer was trying to say with the story.

That's certainly not to say that The Juniper Lodge is without its merits. Dustin Weaver's art is consistently incredible. Ultimately, the narrative shortcomings make reading The Juniper Lodge akin to flipping through an artist's portfolio, but when the line work is this beautiful and intricate, it's quite the portfolio to flip through. If nothing else, The Juniper Lodge exists as an excellent showcase of Dustin Weaver's skills as an artist, showcasing his abilities in western, horror, sci-fi, and crime genres.

[Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ahead of the publication date!

The Juniper Lodge was an adventure for sure. Exploring various themes like regret, salvation, denial and anxiety. It grabs your attention right from the get go. The confusion it creates keeps you intrigued, grasping at any details you think connects each story - ultimately leaving you guessing whether what you think is correct or if it's just part of the story.

The art is definitely more mature - includes some nudity! The rougher art style is gritty and entertaining, leaning into the horror themes but also really drilling in that each chapter is it's own strange nightmare. Each chapter is a new story and all the characters are basically begging for life to make sense - i hated and loved how confused I was, scrambling back up a chapter after finishing it, seeing if there was something I missed that could make things make a bit more sense.

Overall, the horror/thriller theme is explored in an eerie and curious manner - so if you like questioning the meaning of life, this one's for you!

[Frankkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars - I really wanted to love this more because it’s such a fun, weird, surreal ride. The art is uncanny and gorgeous, and Dustin Weaver clearly knows what he’s doing after years in comics. I also really liked the short comic at the end about why he decided to go out on his own. That part added a lot to the context.

But with the stories themselves, I was mostly left confused. Every chapter feels like it starts in the middle and ends before anything is fully explained. I never really knew what was happening, and by the end I was left with more questions than answers.

That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy parts of it. The atmosphere is eerie and compelling, and I’m sure the intent was to offer brief glimpses into strange minds and unsettling worlds. For me though, many of the stories felt unfinished, like ideas for something much bigger that never became fully realized. I don’t even think a reread would give me much more context. More than anything, it felt like a tease for stories I wanted a lot more of.

I received this book as an eARC.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

This collection of stories is more about creepy art and vibes rather than fully coherent storylines. I think some of them worked better than others. Mushroom bodies was my favorite entry. It was filled with creepy bug imagery, and questions reality all throughout the story in an interesting way to where I kept changing my mind as to what I thought was happening. There were parts of other stories that felt a bit random; I wasn't sure why, for instance, why there were just random X-men -looking guys around, and what they were supposed to add to the story. Other little details, though, I found interesting - like an episode of Black Mirror playing on one of the TVs in the background. I did like that the stories were all creepy in different ways, but I would have enjoyed some of them more had it felt like there was a bit more meaning or connection to the things that were happening.

[Gianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 stars.
I didn’t expect the semi-realistic full-frontal nudity in the first story myself, so this is your fair warning. But the concept of a western town sacrificing people every twelve hours because of the mystical pull of a gun is entertaining so I give it a pass. The rest of the stories follow similar, psychologically twisted themes. There’s a disoriented bug brain and a comic artist being imitated by a… ghost? I recommend reading the last one with the lights off. Not because it’s directly related to the story or makes it scarier but because it feels right.
I found the art to be very readable, I would have preferred different coloring choices, especially with shading. But, I think the choices made helped push a narrative per story.
Overall, it was like an adults goosebumps comic. If that’s your thing I’d give it a shot.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

[Noah H-I · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

TLDR: This graphic is fucking weird… but it works!


The Juniper Lodge is a dark, surreal anthology that blends horror, psychological unease, and dreamlike storytelling into a visually striking collection. I loved how each story explored bizarre concepts and eerie atmospheres that kept me intrigued, even when the meaning felt just out of reach. The shifting tones and unpredictability from one chapter to the next kept the collection consistently engaging for me.

The highlight of the graphic novel was the artwork, which I found both beautiful and gritty, capturing the anxiety and tension of these stories exceptionally well. Some entries landed more effectively than others, and the heavy ambiguity occasionally left me more confused than satisfied, but I appreciated how fully the book committed to its unsettling vision. Overall, I found it to be a memorable, one-of-a-kind read that I’d recommend to fans of dark, experimental graphic storytelling.

[Monika Gotthardt-Marshall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to try something different, something a little creepy and honestly? This whole book felt like a fever dream and I think that’s how the writers and artists wanted it. It was creepy, it was weird, there were a lot of insects and I found myself wanting to keep reading, like someone watching a train wreck, I read it in one go.
Chapter 4 “the Juniper Lodge” was my favourite, it felt the most grounded and I felt invested in the character and the story. Not as creepy or wacky as the rest but more my style.
I also loved the bonus story about the artist and his history, it put it a bit into perspective.

Although not entirely my vibe, it did have me weirdly hooked!

I was kindly provided an early copy of this ebook from Image Comics for review consideration via
NetGalley. All opinions are my own!

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

5 weird yet enthralling short comic stories. The art was great and probably peaked for me in the fifth chapter with the short ‘Defects in the hand drawn line’. Though, as said, the art throughout was strong and impactful for each of the shorts. The stories themselves contained in this anthology were all quite good as well and kept me on my toes for the most part, with each of them having their own twists and turns, though mostly shared a few recurring themes of regret, identity crises, and past trauma. The only real setback to some of the shorts was the somewhat stifled dialogue between characters, which only seemed to be used to drive the story and mystery forward as fast as possible, though this was clearly a choice made to fit not only the dreamlike nature of the tales but also the limited page count.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

[Stephen Reyes-Lawson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking forward to reading this. The premise sounded really interesting and I'm almost always a fan of what Image puts out, but this didn't 100% work for me. I think there's a certain type of reader that would really love this, but I mostly just found it very hard to follow. The titular story is for sure the best, but even that one had me scratching my head pretty hard. I'm a David Lynch fan, so I do like surreal and odd, but this was just a bit too confusing for me. Still, I liked most of it and the art was amazing the whole way through. I would love to see an expanded version of the western story. That one would have been my absolute favorite if it wasn't like 5 pages long. It had some really interesting lore and I'd read a whole book about that one for sure.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Juniper Lodge is an amazingly odd anthology that immediately reminded me so much of old Tales From the Crypt episodes. Some of the stories were gross and creepy, some were psychological and confusing (in a good way) and all of them were made better paired with Dustin Weaver's art.

I enjoyed almost everything about this. The only story that didn't hit for me was "Defects in the Hand-Drawn Line", I didn't get it at all with the first two read throughs and I'm still not sure I do. It felt a bit all over the place and didn't feel like it compared against the others in this collection. But the rest are extremely distinct and memorable and I really enjoyed reading them. I love the art style, Dustin Weaver draws creepy very well. I'll definitely be checking out his other stuff.

(Keep in mind is this is 100% an adult comic. There's a good amount of nudity and sexual content)

Thank you Netgalley and Image Comics for providing a copy of this ARC in exchange for my honest review

[Amelia Suedel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for a digital copy of this graphic novel in exchange for my review!

I was intrigued by this collection of creepy short stories, but it was a bit too ambiguous for me. I really enjoyed the art, but I found the stories too hard to follow for my taste. This might be better for someone who enjoys a little puzzle to figure out what is going on, but I needed a little bit more handholding to understand the plot. Ill have to check out more pieces by this author that are in a different style.

[Mischa (misch_is_bookish) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Firstly I am a huge Black Mirror fan and this felt very akin to that vibe however this missed the mark for me.

The art style is constantly incredible but I felt like each story was trying to say something but never really said anything and left me consistently confused.

I might just be a touch too dumb to see the deeper meaning in these but to me they just all felt like nonsense that could've been so cool if they were just a touch longer!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher's for letting me read this as an eARC

[Kingy_T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to the authors and publishers for this ARC!

This was okay. I think it has more potential to be really cool. Most of the stories were interesting and could have be their own graphic comic if the author wanted. The illustrations were also good. I think just over all it was okay and the stories may have just been too short to really show how good it could have been. Definitely got the creepy weird factor down though!

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for the ARC in exchange my honest thoughts. All opinions are my own.
Unfortunately, this was a DNF at 40% for me. While it's an anthology, I still want to have SOME idea of what is going on in each story and that was not happening here. Pictures were just kind of thrown at me and then I'd turn the page. While the art was interesting, the stories made no sense and had no flow.

[Haruka · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read!!! I quite enjoyed the stories!!! The stories are kinda interestingly weird!! I wish the stories could be longer!! The juniper lodge story itself is very mysterious and intriguing. Would really recommend reading this book if you like short stories that mysterious~
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Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book in advance~

[Crimson Books · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you netgalley for this graphic novel for an honest review.

This is afew single stories that are surreal journeys connected by different matters like memory, situations etc.

Some of these stories I really enjoyed where some where just ok, I hope there are more stories to come in future.

The art work is also good and helped me enjoy the stories more

[Kristall Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this graphic novel as an eARC! I greatly appreciate it!
This one started out so strong! They'll Bury You Where You Stand was absolutely amazing! Mushroom Bodies was relatively interesting, but after that, I kind of lost interest. None of the other stories were bad, they just weren't for me.
Three stars out of five for The Juniper Lodge!

[Simone G · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ An unnervingly good time that gets stranger story by story. Although, for the very last story I truly wanted someone to explain it to me like I was 5. It gave “I don’t even know what that means. No one knows what it means, but it’s provocative, it gets the people going.”

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Nadine Sturgill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received from NetGalley with approval from ImageComics.

It's a collection of short tales that all stem from Dustin Weaver's anthology series PAKLIS. These all feel unconnected in my opinion. Artwork is great and some of the stories are super interesting.

Enjoyed as I am gravitating towards Graphic Novels/Comics these days. Was a fairly quick read, even with taking breaks between each story.

[Jerrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, eerie, and will mess with your head!

The Juniper Lodge is a collection of very different short stories.

The artwork and colour are great, and I absolutely love the cover! Certainly one of the most unique books I’ve read.

Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for this eARC!

[Noah · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting anthology, some stories were stronger than others. All had a very interesting use of various horror tropes. The titular story was very good.



Thank you to Image Comics and NetGalley for this ARC

[danie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a collection of weird, creepy, and unique comics and I was hooked from the first one. The art styles were gorgeous and the writing was so unique with each story being something new and unexpected. I would absolutely recommend to anyone who loves morbid and fascinating comics!

[Adri Holt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five different stories that revolve around the concepts of identity, memory, and perception. These were all deeply unsettling on multiple levels, but definitely worth the read!

#ThxNetGalley #DustinWeaver #JeremyBarlow #DJBryant #TheJuniper Lodge