Los cuentos de la niebla

by Laura Suárez

Una aldea en el norte de España en los años 30, cuando la luz no había llegado a las carreteras. Unas leyendas atemporales que enfrentan lo paranormal y el realismo preguerra. Una manera de darle sentido a la oscuridad, la muerte y la niebla de una tierra exigente. Los cuentos de la niebla son estos que te han contado de pequeño, una y otra vez, las tardes de lluvia y las noches de invierno. Te los han contado tu abuela, tu madre o un vecino, para que te portaras bien. No sabes si creértelos, pero los cuentan en tu pueblo, en el de al lado y en toda la región... entonces serán verdad ¿no?

Las historias son herencias culturales, recibidas a través de familiares de la autora, que ha querido plasmar con un trazo torturado y unas páginas en blanco y negro de atmósfera inquietante.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Horror, Comics, Fantasy, Short Stories, Graphic Novels Comics, Folklore

120 pages, Hardcover

First published April 5, 2019

Reviews

[Lauren Lanz · Rating 3 out of 5]

“When man is tormented, the devil smiles.”

Eerily atmospheric, Tales of the Mist illustrates strange paranormal activity afflicting a 1930’s Spanish village. Told through short stories following different protagonists, Laura Suárez does a great job portraying what the lives of Spaniards might've been like back then. I especially loved the interventions between chapters, where the author speaks on stories passed down to her by Spanish relatives.

The art in Tales of the Mist had an odd charm to it, one that I quickly took a liking to. It’s hard not to admire the time it takes to craft a graphic novel of any sort, and this one in particular had an abstract sort of feel that really impressed me.

The reason I didn’t rate this higher is because I didn’t form a connection to any of the characters. Each story was fairly short; there wasn’t enough time to get a good sense of the protagonists and their personalities. Although the paranormal aspect was really interesting here, I tend to prefer character driven stories over plot driven ones. Regardless, this is an evidently well put together graphic novel, and one I’d still recommend.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel reminds me so much of 'Through The Woods' by Emily Carroll which I recently read and loved.

These two graphic novels are similar in terms of the stories told, the illustrations, the small town community, the presentation of the paranormal characters, the artstyle as well as the dialogue deliverance.

I wish the story was more complete and didn't break in between now and then.

Liked the chilly vibes. It does what a horror, gothic book does.

Thank you, authors and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

[greta · Rating 2 out of 5]

i started this at night which wasn't a really good idea as it creeped the shit outta me lmao, this book has to be read with the daylight 😂
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although it was PRETTY dark and creepy (the conversations, the old fashioned looking illustrations) i didn't really connect with the story at all. i think it was too short of a book to actually get engaged to it, i just flew through the pages and next thing i knew, i was done with it. it's a quick read but also forgettable.
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i'd recommend reading this to those who want a creepy but quick read, something dark and possessive, but not too engaging.

[Corrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Atmospheric, creepy and foreboding. I think artist and author Laura Suárez did a fantastic job.

[Gabbie Pop · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunting and atmospheric. I quite enjoyed this graphic novel overall; quite honestly think it is impossible not to fall in love with the use of folklore and superstition in creating tension and atmosphere. The illustrations are absolutely stunning and the style fits the story so well. Alas, I was ultimately a bit underwhelmed and felt there was a certain je ne sais quois missing and THROUGH THE WOODS it is not.

[kartik narayanan · Rating 3 out of 5]

'Tales of the Mist' is a graphic novel with multiple stories dealing with death, sickness and other issues in an 1800-1900s Spanish setting.

Most of the stories are also typical superstitious ones that you can typically find in most cultures. Death & religion are common themes running throughout the graphic novel. Some of it might seem to be a bit tripe, but I found that the overall mix worked well.

If there is one thing I would change, it would be the length of some of these stories. A few of them ended abruptly and I would have to liked to spend more time with them.

[Nicole (book.quill) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great way to learn of ghost stories/religious beliefs of 1930s rural Spain. It’s a bit reminiscent of Emily Carroll’s work. The illustrations are great in the detail but simplicity, and they have a bit of a spooky feel to them on their own

[Just Another Perfectionist · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, atmospheric read with unique, haunting, beautiful illustrations. "Tales of the Mist" takes on few legends/tales told by grandmothers to their grandchildren. My only compaint was it felt too short, like some stories were missing.

[José Pascual · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maravilloso compendio de historias sacadas del folclore gallego y pasados por el tamiz de una autora que ofrece una mirada respetuosa e inquietante a estos cuentos. La conjunción de dibujo y narración que consigue Laura Suárez me parece inmejorable. Gran obra.

Reseña completa en "Heraldos de Galactus": https://heraldodegalactus.com/2019/05...

[Etienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good ambiance, creepy vibe, cool black and white minimalistic arts, all of that giving us a good graphic novel, or maybe more graphic short stories center on weird folklore. Unique and interesting. Totally worth checking it out!

[Mary ♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars

Defeated my reading slump, enveloped me in mist and comfort, darkness and love and taught me a lot about looking back in the past, searching out for the stories within your homeland and echoing them in the world. This graphic novel collection of folklore stories from the north of Spain was a perfect read for these stormy, wintery nights and made me want to swallow and absorb more stories, more knowledge, more about the dark corners of the world and the tales spun by ancestors. I strongly recommend for fans of Emily Carroll and Pan's Labyrinth ♥

[হাঁটুপানির জলদস্যু · Rating 4 out of 5]

ধূসরের প্রয়োগ যে এত লাগসই হতে পারে, এই রেখাগল্পগুলো পড়ার আগে মাথায় আসেনি।

[Nyanbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

La novela gráfica trata sobre diferentes leyendas de terror que han sido contadas a lo largo de los años en Galicia. Al final de cada historia nos encontramos con un poco más de información sobre la leyenda en concreto.


Este cómic en blanco y negro transmite todo aquello que pretende gracias a las ilustraciones de la autora. Además de cumplir su función de terror los dibujos tienen algo que te atrapa y hacen que no puedas parar de leer. Ha conseguido plasmar la historia de forma que cada dibujo te genera diferentes sensaciones.


Me ha encantado poder conocer estas leyendas, no conocía ninguna ya que no suelo leer este tipo de libros pero lo cierto es que ha sido todo un descubrimiento. Me ha causado mucho interés y sobretodo es cierto que siempre acudimos muy lejos cuando en nuestro propio país tenemos leyendas tan interesantes y escalofriantes como estas.


Si tengo que ponerle una pega sería la extensión, me he quedado con ganas de más. Me hubiese gustado conocer un poco más a fondo cada una de las historias. Sin duda, investigaré más sobre el tema porque me ha parecido muy interesante.


Si te apetece leer sobre leyendas de terror de una forma diferente te recomiendo mucho esta novela gráfica.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanls to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC to review.



This graphic novel is a colection of strange and creepy stories. I loved the fact that each story is based on a myth that elders usually tell in Galicia.
I think the context and explanation at the end of each story was very well thought out because that way the reader knows a little more about the stories and the culture.

The art in black and white is awesome and helps creating an atmospheric and creepy book.

Overall, I liked it, but I feel that something is missing in order to give this book a higher rating.

[Florencia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley (thank you Europe Comics). All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It'd been a while since the last time I read a graphic novel and I'm happy I got back to it with this beautiful rendition to Galicia's spooky tales. The love that pours from those drawings its something undeniable and makes it an easy and fast read. And although what scared me the most was this quote

But mother... Who can help someone who has already given up ?

I overall really enjoyed it.

[Merve Özcan Özkan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the patterns but not in the stories. (People's faces were felt so copy pasted, no emotion at all.) I loved the stories in their moments but not in their collectiveness. I loved the dark air, but not how they were worked on.

I was very curious about this graphic novel. I can hang the pictures to my wall, but for a reason, I could not associate or connect with the book. Could not lose myself in them.

[Mariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel is a colection of strange and creepy stories. I loved the fact that each story is based on a myth that elders usually tell in Galicia.
I think the context and explanation at the end of each story was very well thought out because that way the reader knows a little more about the stories and the culture.

The art in black and white is awesome and helps creating an atmospheric and creepy book.

Overall, I liked it, but I feel that something is missing in order to give this book a higher rating.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

No se si tuvisteis la suerte de poder veranear en un pueblo, un pueblo de montaña, donde los habitantes son escasos en invierno, pero en verano faltan casas para acogernos, donde las generaciones van pasando, y tienes un mote familiar: -Esta es la nieta de la chanera, y este el bisnieto de los oliveros.
Pues yo he podido vivir eso, y como consecuencia he podido escuchar las historias que “han sucedido” en el pueblo, historias de fantasmas, brujas y lobos con ojos rojos, historias que se van pasando de unos a otros y que causan tanto miedo, que vuelves a dormir con tus padres, o en mi caso, con mis yayos.
Los cuentos de la niebla tratan sobre eso, sobre cuentos que contaba una abuela a su nieta, y esta nieta nos lo cuenta ahora a través de la ilustración.
He descubierto a Laura Suaréz este año, y que tarde la he encontrado la verdad, tiene una forma de ilustrar muy personal. Sus dibujos son oscuros, pero con mucha expresión, y para estas historias, su forma de dibujar es perfecta. Sabe muy bien como crear el suspense cuando el protagonista mira hacia un lado, sabe cómo, a través de una sonrisa, ponerte los pelos de punta. Simplemente es armonía lo que se ve en esta novela gráfica, la ilustración y la historia encajan a la perfección.
Consta de cuatro historias ambientadas en el folclore gallego, historias de hace mucho mucho tiempo, que se han quedado grabadas. Es con ellas que podemos conocer a la comitiva de almas en pena que conforman la Santa Compaña, saber que es el aire de un difunto y como las meijas lo expulsaban, también sabemos lo terrorífico que puede ser sufrir el meigallo, y cuál es la relación de los vidoiros con la muerte.
De verdad que esta novela gráfica me ha gustado mucho, pero sobre todo lo que me ha encantado, es el teletransporte que ha hecho mi mente a un lugar feliz de mi memoria.

[Vir - Física Lectora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuentos de la niebla es una novela gráfica que reúne mitos y leyendas originarias de Galicia como el de la Santa Compañía o El Aire, historias que causaron terror en los habitantes de España en los años anteriores a la electricidad y otros avances tecnológicos.

La novela es breve, pero aún así la autora logra retratar a personajes complejos en pocas páginas y a su vez captar la realidad española en los años '30, donde los miedos a cuestiones paranormales se sumaban a los miedos de la vida real.

A través del estilo artístico, se crea una atmósfera de mucho suspenso con tintes terroríficos. Es un estilo similar a Cruzando el bosque de Emily Carroll y Persépolis de Marjane Satrapi. Un estilo que, en mi opinión, refleja muy bien la sensación de tragedia, desesperación, miedo.

No conocía ninguno de los mitos que aquí se exponen, por lo que la lectura me resultó enriquecedora y entretenida. De hecho, no dejé de leerlo hasta finalizarlo! Me parece un aporte original por cómo retrata historias no tan conocidas, y de la forma que lo hace. Muy recomendado!

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

So much to enjoy here! It gave me Emily Carroll's Through the Woods vibes, but it's certainly unique. I loved the art style, and towards the end of the book the stories got very creepy. I don't know if the fact I wasn't familiar with the stories beforehand affected my enjoyment (I did enjoy the short explanations after each story), as they seemed to me to end very abruptly without really going anywhere. Still, I really enjoyed this.

[Dylan · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Like any good story, it began on a dark and rainy afternoon in a small village in Galicia. There were my grandparents, my father and I, we were all quiet except for her who, sitting by the firewood kitchen, would tell us of a time before roads and electricity, a time when the dead walked among the living..."

This is a collection of five short comics that tell the stories of old Galician folktales (with the exception of the fifth which shows the author as a child with her grandmother). I was mainly drawn in by the cover and I was interested to read about folktales from a different culture, but unfortunately I didn't find this to be particularly impressive.

The art is fairly decent (with a few panels standing out as good and a few that aren't so great) but the storytelling leaves something to be desired. Each of the stories are quite vague and hard to follow/understand, they only really make sense when you get to the end of them and the author briefly describes the folklore behind the comic. These brief passages were actually the strongest part of the book in my opinion and I feel like I learned a little bit from them, but in my opinion, having to explain the comic you've just shown the reader for it to make sense kind of defeats the purpose of the comic itself. I would have got just as much out of this if the comics were absent and this was just the four paragraphs describing them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a review copy of this book.

[Courtney ✌ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tales of the Mist has some interesting, spooky short stories with a cool black and white art style. It was a really quick and creepy read.

Likes:
Each individual story fit very well into the overall book. All the stories worked together to create an overall spooky, historical vibe. I was also a pretty big fan of the explanations of the different legends and inspirations for each of the stories. These insights were interesting and I liked that little bit of learning along with each spooky tale.

The art style of the illustrations were great! The black and white minimalism help to create a good horror atmosphere while also putting most of the emphasis on the stories. The art helped to reinforce the overall feeling of the book.

Dislikes/Not My Faves:
I wasn't blown away with the stories themselves for the most part. There was only one that I really liked a lot. All of the other stories maybe just weren't for me as much as I had hoped they would be. Part of this may have to do with my own personal preferences for creepy horror stories, but I just didn't fully vibe with most of the book.

Wrap-Up:
This was a fairly solid and spooky graphic novel. I didn't fully mesh with it as much as I thought I would, but at the end of the day I liked it!

I would like to give a big thank you to Netgalley and Europe Comics for an e-copy of Tales of the Mist in exchange for an honest review!

[Lyzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tales of the Mist
Author & Illustrator: Laura Suárez
Genre: Horror, Graphic Novel
Pages: 126

This graphic novel is set in Galicia, Spain in the 1930’s. It is a collection of five short stories that capture folklore/oral traditions from this small town.

What I liked about this graphic novel:
*The artwork is stunning. I am not sure what art style these beautiful grayscale illustration are but I loved them. They were a beautiful mix of line and watercolor/gouche backgrounds.
*The artwork and the narrative are synergistic. The scene that the story sets is amplified by the illustrations and vice versa.
*I loved the paranormal, creepy vibes of these short stories – they gave me the chills. There is a great cosmic horror/Lovecraftian vibe to this graphic novel.
*I really appreciated the “interruptions” between the stories that helped explain the background of these stories.
*I liked that the author used a variety of splashes, half splashes and panels to convey the elements of the story.
*The folklore that this book described was new to me and I am so appreciative to learn about these tales.

What I did not like about this graphic novel:
*The stories were not well-developed and would be better described as vignettes. As a result, I did not feel like I could connect with the characters in the story. I had to read this book twice to really understand what was happening. (I did not realize that the stories are only connected by being in the same town.) I wanted more depth and development of these folklore tales.

I would recommend this beautiful graphic novel for the illustration, the creepy spooky vibe it sets and how it captures these folklore oral traditions.

Thank you to Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing me a copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Verónica Largo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuando era pequeña mi abuela me solía contar cuentos a la hora de dormir y ella que no había oído nunca hablar de Andersen, ni falta que le hacia, me relataba leyendas de su Terra Galega que me ponían los pelos como escarpias. Y de pequeña debía de ser masoquista ya que le seguía pidiendo que me contara cuentos noche tras noche.
Ahora ya soy mayor y pensé, ¡qué c*****s! No pueden dar tanto miedo… Y anoche me pulí el libro en lo que canta un gallo. Pues he dormido encogida, a ratos y entre pesadillas, ya no tengo a mi abuela para escabullirme en su cama y que me achuche así que el trabajo le ha tocado a mi marido. Vamos, que menuda nochecita le he dado.
Le iba a dar 3 estrellas por el mal rollo que me ha dado, pero por justicia se merece 4 por su calidad y por el mal rollo que me ha dado.
Gracias a la autora por el homenaje final a las abuelas. La suya se llamaba Lola y la mía Luisa. Y las dos tenían el inmenso poder de quitar el miedo a base de abrazos.

[reading with rylanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tales of the Mist is a chilling graphic novel full of death and mystery. Following the perspectives of different characters, the story discusses paranormal legends of spirits and darkness.

This graphic novel was creepy yet enchanting! The illustrations were stunning in a way that left me with goosebumps, and the whole atmosphere was captivating. Because it drew on real-life experiences from the author’s life and family, I was even more interested in figuring out what was going on. I wouldn’t consider this horror, but I definitely got those vibes as I was reading the story!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing a copy of Tales of the Mist. This graphic novel was published on 5/20/2020.

[Resh (The Book Satchel) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very atmospheric, broody and dark.
Tales of Mist contains four short stories set in 1930s in rural Spain. Village folk entertain themselves with rumours of ghosts, mists, and superstitions. The book also has pages where a superstition or belief is explained, showing its cultural and traditional roots.

I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the stunning art with minimal palette. Howeve I wished this was a long continuous novel rather than one with breaks because when you are deeply engrossed in one story, it quickly moves to another one. I would be watching out for more illustrations and books from the author.
Rating :3.5

[rafia · Rating 3 out of 5]

"But how can we be so foolish as to believe that everything we do not comprehend isn't real?"

Tales of the Mist a middle-grade graphic novel that includes short horror stories set in Spain. I really enjoyed the art style and it really reflected and expressed the eery-ness of each tale. ✧ 3.5*

thank you to NetGalley for providing this in exchange for an honest review!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

so i didn't know this was a collection of short stories that don't really connect. i kept looking for a way to link characters or legends but it really is just a collection of short stories about various spanish legends of the paranormal. while the art isn't my absolute favourite, i thought the stories were interesting enough. this was a fairly decent introduction to spanish folklore, something i know literally nothing about.

i received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Macarena (followed that rabbit) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful! Laura Suárez makes you feel the creepy vibes, thanks to her illustrations and the way each story is told.
I like the idea of retelling these stories through this format. It's original and it helps the reader to feel closer to the magical lands of Galicia and the characters from each tale.

Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

[di(vi) · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite story was the Vidoiro.