Poppy's Inferno

by Ryan Cady, Poppy, Z2 Comics

You might think you know Poppy, but what if you were only just scratching the surface? What if you could learn more about Poppy at the same time that she learns about herself? Following the story of Poppy's Inferno, In between two worlds, both of which work to traumatize the unsuspecting into traumatizing others, Poppy finds herself in both literal and figurative Hellscapes, She must walk the thin line between doing what she must to gain her freedom and staying true to her own identity and beliefs. In Poppy's Inferno our hero must fight against all that try to change her, not allowing anyone to determine how she thinks, feels or hurts, all the while trying to outwit the demons that surround her every step of the way.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Horror, Music, Graphic Novels Comics

152 pages, Hardcover

First published October 20, 2020

Reviews

[Pamela Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

A vast improvement from Genesis 1. You can tell that this story is quite personal, and it is less fabricated than the last novel. As a Poppy fan I liked Genesis 1, but that story felt a little incoherent and more of a publicity project for the Poppy brand. But Poppy’s Inferno is rooted into something deeper and genuine, it’s about identity issues and manipulation and taking responsibility for the things we’ve done in our past. I love the direction Poppy has taken in their writing and I hope they continue to create more.

[FrontalNerdaty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seemingly inspired by Poppy’s life ‘Poppy’s Inferno’ is a fun read with some good ideas and interesting art.
The story used the outline of Dante’s Inferno to tell the story of how Poppy came to be the artist she is now. The premise is decent and a refreshing change from the usual musician-comic story but falls a little short of being great. The art is good and captures Poppy’s likeness without looking like drawn photos but her cat Pi is... not great. Which is a shame considering how frequently he’s featured.
The real life drama that’s followed Poppy in the real world is taken to a hellscape here seemingly manifesting the struggles Poppy went through before her most recent album. It’s a fun read that’s made for her fans but can still be enjoyed if you know nothing of Poppy.

[Gonçalo Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art. Good story.🗣🗣Recomendações de musicas da Poppy🗣🗣: Bloodmoney, I disagree, Lowlife, Crystallized, Suffocate. GO LISTEN!!!

[Camden · Rating 4 out of 5]

-"We get hurt enough that we either start hurting everyone else, or give up hope of finding another way?"
-"What can I say kid? We're in Hell. You read the sign coming in, it was pretty clear - abandon ALL hope."

God damn, this was so much better than Genesis 01. This felt so much more in line with the kind of story that Poppy would want to tell. The art felt much more "Poppy." I absolutely loved the parallels of Hell and the music industry, and was refreshed to see her telling a more personal story, even if it was masked by plot. The Dante's Inferno references were too fun to not enjoy.

Fuck you, Titanic Sinclair. Long live the Queen.

[Moke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much better story than the previous book, draws some parallels to Dante’s Inferno and, as the previous one, very nice illustrations.

[Amra · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first literary introduction to Poppy's lore. The art style and drawings were amazing in this.

[Loki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange book that often left me feeling like I was missing stuff that was presumed obvious. This is because I was - I had no idea that Poppy was an actual YouTuber until I read it. That said, the nature of the story makes missing stuff work for it (it's very clever) like that, and the art is wonderful, looking like something Vertigo might have produced in its golden age. My only real criticism is that the conclusion feels a tad abrupt, but I suspect that's intended to help set up a sequel. Maybe. Anyway, it was fun.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book's a Christmas gift for someone else that I read on the sly before wrapping. Probably meta enough to please the long-time Poppy fans.

[Paige Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poppy is as spindly as a spider or tentacled alien in this issue, looking very a la “I Disagree” music video. She wakes up in Hell with her hairless cat as a talking companion like Alice’s Cheshire. He’s drawn so funny, all features of everybody a bit small and crumbly. I like that the demons crack exasperated jokes and the devilish imp is so chibi with a tiny cigar. More song references but they’re kinda shoe-horned in compared to the first issue.

Of course there’s a parallel to her making it through music biz where sleazy executives try to keep her bubblegum when she was trying to move onto the edgier phase. I can’t tell what she trades the ferryman, her CDs or headshots? They’re blank gray rectangular things.

There are more similarities with the Mars Argo and Titanic Sinclair lawsuit: that a girl who used to work for her manager claims she was in her shoes after disparaging her and the guy leaks pictures/music of hers. Cute dramatic/cinematic end.

[Zoe (didyoumeanbooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars -- I loved the art & vibes & style of this graphic novel. I received it alongside my Ice Nine Kills: Inked in Blood copy a little while back and decided to pick it up for some bedtime reading last night after finishing the last book in a long fantasy series. Perhaps a little awkward to admit this -- I did not know who Poppy was when I started reading this, so any references to her music and life and real experiences would have been lost on me. Regardless, I did really enjoy reading this. It felt well-done and interesting; I was curious about the plot and characters as I read, and I was really taken by a lot of the art (especially the double-page spreads).

I'm not sure I'd think to reread this, but I could see myself revisiting some of the art inside it. I definitely wanted some of those panes as posters on my walls.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is beautifully drawn with a very compelling visual world -- Hell itself, which parallels the main characters' journey into the shallow and exploitive world of stardom. The story provides a supernatural take on the dangers of fame and the loneliness of selling out.

There are some areas where the dialog is hard to follow, but maybe that's just me. Fans may enjoy the references to her real life and music, but personally the song lyrics within the story felt a little gimmicky to me. Poppy has this non-human, android-type of persona, but the book does not provide much lore into who or what she is.

It's a slightly shallow story at times, and it doesn't provide too much insight into the real Poppy. After all, diehard fans will already know the true story of her exploitive ex-producer, which the fictional story references. But I would still recommend it for the artwork alone.

[Carmen Valente · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a good if heavy-handed way to show the corruption in the music industry. Some of the metaphors were a little hard to follow and I didn't totally understand the end - like I understood it literally but I didn't understand the implications. The costumes were incredible. The style of this comic was much better than genesis 1 and it was nice that it referenced the previous story.

[🖤 livingdeadgill 🖤 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. So much better than Genesis 1! This is a more cohesive and interesting story incorporating Poppy lore and actual things that Poppy has endured in the music industry, all packaged in a gorgeous, dark bow. Love the Dante’s Inferno references as well as the Alice in Wonderland references. Gorgeous, creepy artwork. Loved every minute! Worth a reread in the future.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love this book. For me, this felt more like a memoir than Genesis 1. I felt like this was more about Poppy’s story and an artistic representation of the struggles she went through while working with Titanic Sinclair and trying to make a name for herself. Not only is it her story and redemption, but a good book chock full of great artwork! I highly recommend this book!

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holy crap, Poppy doesn't like Titanic Sinclair.

This gave me the insight into Poppy I wanted from the last book. It's very interesting to see her persceptive on the music industry.

Oh yeah, also Poppy's in hell.

[Andy Alvarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is a girl. She is Dante. She is Poppy.

The sorta mostly somewhat true story of Poppy and how she gained her occult following. Part memoir, part Dante's Inferno retelling, this is her world and we are in it.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was pretty good! There were some interesting insights on the pop industry that were exactly as expected. What a terror to be locked in. The mental state of a pop star should stay under question. Be careful of whom you’re fanatical about.👍🏽

3.4✨

[Austin Tsulilohi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 ⭐️’s. Liked it a little more than the first one and the artwork was more my style

[Connor Bybee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hail the queen of hell

[caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

love although i think i was meant to read genesis one first but i don’t have it although it still made sense so yayyyyyy

[syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

everyone say it with me: fuck titanic sinclair.

[White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much better than the previous graphic novel, likely due to the absence of Sinclair. A beautifully drawn graphic novel with an new, fresh story that won't disappoint new fans nor loyal poppyseeds. It even includes a cameo of a very familiar character. You can sense Poppy's involvement in this book, which you simply couldn't in Genesis 1.

[tama · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was much better than Genesis 1, without a doubt. The art was mostly good, but there were also some really bad parts - like the sections where she was in hell. What was going on with her eyes there? Why did some quote bubbles point the wrong way? Why did Pi get done SO dirty? Did no one edit this book? I checked the inside cover, and what did you know - there’s a list of credits and no editor. It’s a shame because otherwise, it’s a great improvement from the first.

[Tyler Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this edition for a couple years now. Poppy's development as an artist over the last ten plus years has been awesome I loved Poppy going heavy. I keep my signed art piece of this edition frames in my living room.

[SAMUEL · Rating 3 out of 5]

A journey through life that made Hell feel like Heaven