The Autumnal #1

The Autumnal #1

by Daniel Kraus, Chris Shehan (Artist), Jason Wordie (Colorist)

Following the death of her estranged mother, Kat Somerville and her daughter, Sybil, flee a difficult life in Chicago for the quaint--and possibly pernicious--town of Comfort Notch, New Hampshire. From NY Times best-selling author, Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water, Trollhunters, The Living Dead), and rising star Chris Shehan, comes a haunting vision of America's prettiest autumn.

Genres: Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels, Halloween, Graphic Novels Comics

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 23, 2020

About the author

“Kraus brings the rigor of a scientist and the sensibility of a poet.” – The New York Times

DANIEL KRAUS is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. WHALEFALL received a front-cover rave in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more.

With Guillermo del Toro, he co-authored THE SHAPE OF WATER, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus co-authored TROLLHUNTERS, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. His also cowrote THE LIVING DEAD and PAY THE PIPER with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero.

Kraus’s THE DEATH AND LIFE OF ZEBULON FINCH was named one of Entertainment Weekly‘s Top 10 Books of the Year. Kraus has won the Bram Stoker Award, Scribe Award, two Odyssey Awards (for both ROTTERS and SCOWLER), and has appeared multiple times as Library Guild selections, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, and more.

Kraus’s work has been translated into over 20 languages. Visit him at danielkraus.com.

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Goodreads, check the number of pages. 33 pages?)

I really like how this volume presents the story. The artstyle, art sequence and the dialogues are easy to the eyes. I just love the extra colour combinations in some panels towards the end. It's almost magical.

Regarding the plot and the characters, it comes out as quite intense.

I am still not sure about the plot as the story just started. The first volume focuses on the character introduction I feel.

Looking forward to read the next 7 volumes.

Thank you, author/artist and the publisher, for the advance reading copy.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard the titles name thrown around here and there so I decided to check it out. I had no idea what it was about. Well, so far it’s pretty good. A woman gets a call that her mom, who she doesn’t talk to, has died and there is a funeral and a house was left to her. Her and her daughter head to this small town. We see some odd things here. Definitely has peaked my interest. Love the chemistry between our main character and her young daughter. Looking forward to seeing this play out.

[Yaroslav Chernovol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Осінь

Про цей комікс дізнався випадково, із підбірки літніх коміксів. Зав'язка проста у молодої сім'ї з мами та доньки, помирає бабця. І як то завжди буває, залишає будиночок у тихому невеличкому містечку. Сюжет клішований. Але цікаво куди це заведе.

Комікс перш за все привертає увагу своїм малюком. Він тут крутий. І кольори неймовірно круті. Одна графічна насолода.

Розумію що це лише перший випуск. Але я вже задумався. Взяти увесь комікс у цифрові, чи чекати повного видання у вересні. Або відчуваю зроблю і те і інше.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

As ya'll may know, I'm a slut for gorgeous art, so grabbed this. And uhm wow this is great.

[Michelle Glatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing first issue. Enjoying the foreboding.

[Amie's Book Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulously creepy beginning to what promises to be a scary tale along the lines of what Stephen King wrote in his early years.

The artwork is perfect and enhances the creepiness factor ten-fold.

5 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to #NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this graphic novel.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Alexa Moon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think Autumn is the scariest season, but I think this storyline will try to prove me otherwise.
Most of the issue is a background story on where the MC and her child come from and why they want to get away from that place.
As in any horror story, they come back to an even more haunted place from the MC's past, a favorite trope that never gets old.
The community they join is strange and the events that are unfolding around them are even stranger.
There are hints to what we should be afraid of towards the end, yet somehow it doesn't have the desired impact on me.
Stil a positive read and I want to know where the writers take this so I am going to continue reading.
The art is nice and suited to the story.

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Putting my rating for the entire series here as there doesn't seem to be a Goodreads entry available for the collected edition.

I won't lie... I'm from New Hampshire and when I saw that this was set in NH, I felt obligated to read it. And I'm glad I did!

This was a good, quick and spooky read perfect for the Halloween season. The art is well-done and some of the imagery is quite horrifying. The whole climax of the story did feel slightly rushed, but not too much, and it all tied together nicely by the end of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Paloma Caballero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to netgalley for the digital copy.



Review. 
I read this graphic novel a few days ago drawn to the cover art. I thought it would be a perfect story to hang out and freak out a bit. I was not wrong.
Autummal is a graphic novel with the typical elements of the genre: it has witches, an autumn setting, strange people, children singing creepy songs and a bloody legend in the background. In this regard it is a bit typical, but it works well, because the story is well structured and never decays.
The wonderful art, each painting is very well cared for, it has a beautiful color palette and the settings are incredible. In fact, it has an aesthetic very much in the style of folk horror, maintaining several of the elements that distinguish this type of plot.
The characters also move within the status quo. A single mother, a little girl who with her innocence can realize creepy things or a community with really shady customs.
I think the thing that stands out the most in the story is the ending. It a trope of the genre, but the way the action is executed, combined with the beautiful illustrations made it really impressive.
In general I am very satisfied with this story, because I think it has its own personality, it is coherent and it has a worthy closure. It's a perfect fall reading, I give it 4/5.
.
This compilation will be on sale on September 21 of this year.

Reseña
Leí esta novela gráfica hace unos días atraída por el arte de la portada. Pensé que sería una historia perfecta para pasar el rato y perturbarme un poco. No me equivoqué. 
Autummal es una novela gráfica con los elementos típicos del género: tiene brujas, un escenario otoñal, gente rara, niños cantando canciones creepy y una leyenda sangrienta de fondo. En este aspecto es un poco típica, pero funciona bien, porque la historia está bien estructurada y nunca decae. 
El arte maravilloso, cada cuadro está muy bien cuidado, tiene una paleta de colores preciosa y los escenarios son increíbles. De hecho, tiene una estética muy del estilo del folk horror, manteniendo varios de los elementos que distinguen este tipo de tramas.
Los personajes también se mueve dentro del estatus quo. Una madre soltera, una niña pequeña que con su inocencia puede darse cuenta de cosas perturbadoras o una comunidad con costumbres realmente turbias. 
Creo que lo que más resalto de la historia es el final. También es un tropo del género, pero la forma en que está ejecutada la acción,  combinada con las preciosas ilustraciones hicieron que fuera realmente impactante. 
En general estoy muy satisfecha con esta historia, porque creo que tiene una personalidad propia, es coherente y tiene un cierre digno. Es una perfecta lectura otoñal, yo le doy 4/5.
.
Este recopilatorio estará a la venta el 21 de septiembre de este año.

[Rosh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good beginning to the series! Hope the rest of the series continues in the same vein. This gives more of a back story but is still disturbing.

[Sophie Bowns · Rating 3 out of 5]

It didn’t really capture me…..

[Dr. Taja M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was interesting, good but not great