Bones of the Coast: Tales of Terror from the Pacific Northwest

by Shannon Campbell, Jeff Ellis, Kathleen Jacques

Bones of the Coast is a full-colour 220+ page comic anthology that is chock-full of horror stories from the Pacific Northwest. Simultaneously haunting and hauntingly beautiful, BOTC is guaranteed to both terrify and thrill.

The anthology features 35 different creators from British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest, and abroad — Kelly Aarons, Shannon Campbell, Chloe Chan, Anastasia Chernaya, Michael Elliott, Jeff Ellis, Kevin Forbes, Mindy Fraser, Britt C. H., Abby Hontiveros, Abby Howard, Lindsay Ishihiro, Sean Karemaker, Emily Lampson, Christian Lett, Reetta Linjama, Sam Logan, Nina Matsumoto, Oliver McTavish-Wisden, Angela Melick, Sfe R. Monster, Cameron Morris, Renee Nault, Alina Pete, Yuriy Plisenko, Jess Pollard, Kalyna Riis-Phillip, Simon Roy, Kris Sayer, Aliena Shoemaker, Kris Straub, Bevan Thomas, Adam Tuck, Jeri Weaver, and Pan Wishbow.

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Short Stories, Fiction, Anthologies, Fantasy

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

Reviews

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is an anthology of horror stories set in British Columbia, each by different authors and artists.

I'm not from BC but I do live in the Pacific Northwest, and I think most of the stories managed to capture that dark, mysterious and sometimes spooky feeling one gets out here. Every story had a pretty Twilight Zone feel to it - very brief spooky stories with twisted, bitter endings. Some of the stories didn't really click with me - hence the 4 stars - but the majority I really enjoyed.

*more detailed review to come*

[Renmarie56 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully chilling horror tales each with their own tone and style. The ones I like best "Free Ride", "Extirpation", "Site 17" and "Hope Everything Okay", but all of them were good. Just don't read them at night if you want to sleep.

[Brian O'Connell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A varied collection of horror comics all taking on the decidedly interesting theme of the Pacific Northwest. The writing varies from story to story, and there are certainly some weaker pieces, but it is always interesting to see the responses the unusual theme prompted. All of the art is beautiful. Abby Howard's work for "Cedar and Smoke", in particular, drops the most unsettling image in the book. Recommended overall.

[Andrew Swanson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genuinely terrifying stories ;__;

[AylaKrys · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful stories from all over the Canadian PNW! Really nice to be able to relate to the places, the scenery, and all :)

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently reviewed Mega Fauna, observing that Cloudscape has definitely improved over the years. Then I got Bones of the Coast in the mail. WOW. This is Cloudscape's best book yet!

Bones of the Coast is a collection of short horror comics (heads up to parents and the like: this is NOT a kid friendly book like most of the other collections from Cloudscape. Read it over before you give it to younger readers). I will fully admit that most of them left me wanting more, but they all stood well on their own. The art and storytelling was just fantastic, and the contributors created some absolutely terrifying horror pieces. The book is beautifully produced, with lush colour pages and a shiny cover! All the pieces are very west coast in design, and I just can't say enough positive things about this collection! Go! Find it! Support Canadian talent :)

[Natalie Kovacs · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard about this book via Kate Beaton's suggestion on Twitter as she had compared it to Emily Carroll (whose work I LOVE). Having read it, I would not go that far. Some of the stories and art a bit lacking and rushed. But, the better stories work really well. If you're a fan of horror comics, it's worth checking out, but don't rush to pick it up. Worth noting: I had to purchase it on Comixology since the Kickstarter campaign is long since completed.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mostly excellent, unique stories here. Some of the art is amateurish, but the best of it is stellar.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great stories and some great art.

[River Kero · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all-time favourites! I absolutely love these tales.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this anthology does have moments of brilliance, I was disappointed by the majority of the stories.

[Jameson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately this is as bad as you would fear from a comic purporting to tell tales of any sort from the Pacific Northwest. That seems to be the part of the world where losers of a very specific type go (or stay) if they desperately need to pretend they’re extremely unique and interesting when in fact they conform more than anyone else. As you would expect, lots of terrible art and nothing “stories” populated with Tumblr stereotypes: idiots and jerks but very “inclusive.” The writing and the art mostly have no subtlety so it’s hard to tell how much of this was intentional and how much is down to inexperience.

So pick this book up if you are not sick of reading about groups of characters that look like the Burger King Kids Club and act like Barney and Baby Bop. Example of conflict and resolution: You’re awesome! No, you’re awesome! We’re both the awesome-est!

Hope Everything OK was ruined for this elementary crap. When will these people learn that even genuinely good people—even close friends and family—have personal conflict and drama? And that those who do not are not worth telling us about?

The only good stuff here is Free Ride by Matsumoto and Morris and Home by Two Russians. The latter is creepy and weird. Maybe Sandpipers by Nault but it felt incomplete. Low Viz by Sayer gets an honorable mention for the artwork alone. Linjama’s too. I expected more stuff like Drag You Down by Aarons: not a stellar “tale of terror” but it felt uniquely Pacific Northwest in a way that has nothing to do with identity politics.

There should have been more of that. But mostly it’s a heckuva lot of ugly art, ugly coloring, and amateur everything. Not to say some of the bad stuff doesn’t also betray some creators’ unrealized potential.

[Nikolis Asimakis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an anthology of short horror comic stories created by different writers and artists and set in British Columbia.

It was definitely and interesting read, though not all stories were to my liking and that definitely goes for the art-style as well. However, I must say that after I finished reading it (I read it in one go), I felt really black inside, so I believe it managed to affect me in the way I expect horror/dark stories to do, but nevertheless without being an amazing - don't miss - experience.

[Wren Handman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful anthology of stories from Canada's West Coast. Most are creepy in a lovely sort of way, though a couple are genuine spine-tinglers. I liked the different styles of art, and each story is short enough that if there's one that doesn't strike you as deeply, you quickly move on to the next.

It was really neat to see stories that are centred in Canada, not pretending to be from somewhere else!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this SO much. The perfect read to kick off spooky season. It's also immensely fun to read something that's entirely set in BC - I never thought I'd get to read a horror set on BC Ferries 😂

Too hard to pick favourites, but the influences are *chef's kiss* - logging roads, campsites, getting lost on a hike, diving at Porteau Cove, even the SkyTrain appears! Echoes of The X-Files in a few spots too. Just so much fun.

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

cws
the fu-go - racism
the cove - self harm
the logging road - animal death
the shining one - self harm, animal death
drag you down - suicide

I'm a sucker for these independent horror comic anthologies, especially ones with interesting themes. in this collection you can feel the love for the woods and coast in the fear each author and artist creates - it's the familiar horror of home. some really intriguing pieces here - I'll definitely keep my eye out for more from this publisher!

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully diverse, beautifully illustrated collection of Twilight-Zone-esque stories which captures something essential about the Canadian west coast. I particularly enjoyed Smoke and Cedar, The Cove, The Patron, and Site 17. My only real criticism is that some of the stories felt a little too short for me to fully get into.

[Daria Yogacoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Для меня, не знакомой с этими фольклорными страшилками (предполагаю, что они основаны на реальных легендах), все истории остались незавершенными. Без контекста все они на одно лицо. Ой вот монстр, ой не спаслись (или спаслись). А кто этот монстр и какие у него мотивы - неясно. Никаких сносок, чтобы хотя бы загуглить имя, нет. Я расстроена.

Порадовало лишь визуальное многообразие стилей.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection by many talented creators.

My personal favorites were the underwater nightmare of "Low Viz" by Kris Sayer and the magically monstrous "don't go to the island" by Sfe R. Monster.

[Jamie Sands · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really creepy collection, lots of shorts with different artists and writers. Some hit harder than others but after a while it started to feel slightly samey.

Great Pacific Northwest take on a Junji Ito-ish form though

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really interesting anthology of horror, graphic novel shorts. The stories are too short to really sink your teeth into them, but there are a lot of great, creepy ideas and interesting artwork. Looking forward to tracking down more of the work by these writers and artists!

[Nell · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Rattyfleef · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short comics made entirely of D: and Nope

[John Bogart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was charming and I enjoyed it. Some of the stories were better than others, but I enjoyed them all.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would read the heck out of another collection like this.

[Ava · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably would have appreciated this more if I was more familiar with the pacific northwest, but the art was phenomenal regardless.

[Humbert Cumberdale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of these are very original stories, and even if some are a bit boring, the art is amazing.

[Júlia Sousa · Rating 4 out of 5]

love the different art styles and stories.

[Michael Hanscom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A throughly enjoyably creepy comic anthology of short horror stories, all set in the Pacific Northwest and by local artists and authors. From a Kickstarter project.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful horror anthology that definitely invokes the location of the Pacific Northwest. As with all anthologies, there are some stories and art that will appeal to the reader more than others, but there is something for everyone who loves horror comics in here. My favourite stories from this anthology that really stood out were Don't Go To the Island (Sfé R. Monster & Kalyna Riis-Philips), Smoke And Cedar (Abby Howard & Alina Pete), Low Viz (Kris Sayer) and The Cove (Michael Elliott & Lindsay Ishihiro). I was glad to be a part of this Kickstarter and will be using this anthology to seek out the work of the various artists and writers involved in this project for more!