The Hidden

by Richard Sala

Is this the end of the world? How did it happen? Why did it happen? There is one man who knows...

Take a walk with the dazed survivors of a mysterious worldwide catastrophe. They are bound for a place, somewhere in the desert, where a terrible truth awaits them.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy, Science Fiction

136 pages, Hardcover

First published September 7, 2011

About the author

Richard Sala grew up with a fascination for musty old museums, dusty old libraries, cluttered antique shops, narrow alleyways, hidden truths, double meanings, sinister secrets and spooky old houses. He has written and drawn a number of unusual graphic novels which often combine elements of classic mystery and horror stories and which have been known to cause readers to emit chuckles as well as gasps. Although most of his books are written with teens and older readers in mind, his book, CAT BURGLAR BLACK, can be enjoyed by younger readers as well.

To view current art and activity, please visit: http://richardsala.tumblr.com

Note: I am new to GoodReads ~ and I am happy to have a place dedicated to sharing my love of books with other book lovers. Please be patient with me if I seem rather slow and clumsy! Thanks to all my readers over the years!

Reviews

[Jan Philipzig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one feels like the most elaborate, strangely beautiful ghost-train ride you can imagine, created by a group of immensely talented, devoted, seriously deranged art-school students. Logic plays a marginal role at best. First you move through a post-apocalyptic landscape that echoes both German Expressionism and Hammer-movie schlock, then an actual devil on horseback makes a brief and rather mysterious appearance, then a bunch of corporate zombies hint at their own secret agenda before wreaking mayhem, and finally the good old Frankenstein theme takes over and brings the whole bloody mess to a satisfying conclusion. All this madness is held together admirably by Richard Sala's atmospheric, gorgeously layered painted artwork, and the story's breathless pace ensures that there is not really any time to raise questions anyway. My favorite Sala to date!

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of the art. Although it does give a feeling of things are wrong and you don't know what. It puts you on edge.

This is an update on the Frankenstein Story. We have many different stories on Vampires and Zombies, but there isn't many of Frankenstein other than Frankenstein. Richard takes the elements and combines them with post-apocalyptic feeling and comes up with his own story.

The story is disturbing and it conveys a feeling of danger and fear. I think it did it's job well and I didn't enjoy it all that much. I think that has to do with my tastes and not the story.

This story has its own voice. It takes time to figure out what's happening. It is a horror tale without a doubt.

[Just a Girl Fighting Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had some incredibly creepy, scary, unsettling, and strange moments, not to mention violent! At the beginning you aren't really sure whats going on...and then in the middle you think you know but you still don't know....and then at the end you have a general idea of what happened but are slightly confused. I think that's what I liked about it.

Warning to the faint of heart, this is exceedingly violent with graphic scenes that seem to sprout out of nowhere.



This book is an apocalyptic disaster story filled with monsters and everything about it screams Richard Sala. It is weird and did I mention scary? Plus it has a chilling end.

Overall, a really great horror read.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 4 out of 5]

The world is ending and strange ghoulish creatures are killing people and razing buildings to the ground. The few survivors there are regroup in the barren desert and tell their stories to piece together what happened. And then the silent man in the group tells them something. He leads them to a mysterious place in the middle of nowhere where deformed "humans" exist and something terrible lies in a laboratory, something... hidden.

Richard Sala continues to produce excellent horror comic books with his distinctive artistic style that both terrifies and is a joy to look at. His lettering alone is worth reading the book for. Here he riffs on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" of a creator, also called Victor, who creates something or someone who goes on to change things... except with this creature, he goes further than Frankenstein's Monster ever could.

Sala fans will lap this up but comics fans of the indie and horror sort will find plenty to enjoy here too. I thought this was one of Sala's strongest books and really enjoyed it. Also should note that the hardback is really excellently produced by Fantagraphics. It's not just a great comic book but looks really great on the shelf too. Top notch stuff.

[Chris - Quarter Press Editor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not fully sure how I felt about this once I closed the thing. I liked parts of it quite a bit--some interesting ideas and a unique art style. But then there were a few too many things that bothered me--from some of the characters to the lack of any real build-up resolution.

Maybe I was simply in the wrong mindset for this thing, but it feels like I've read other works with similar themes and idea but have been executed a bit better.

That being said, if you can't get enough of the zombie apocalypse, then this is still a good way to go and will be worth your time; otherwise, you're not missing much by passing this one up.

[Orrin Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who've been following along know that I was introduced to the works of Richard Sala some time back, and that since then I've read the majority of them, even though they never quite satisfied me completely. The interestingness of the parts was always sufficient to keep me coming back, even though I was never quite content with the sums. I think The Hidden is finally the Richard Sala book whose sum pays off the promise of all those parts.

It's got a few awkward moments (long monologues, for instance, as other readers have pointed out), but for the most part, it's a great post-apocalyptic/Gothic/Frankenstein amalgamation that is pure Sala, and pretty purely great.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story explores an interesting idea (a Frankenstein-like character who creates his own "children" and rationalizes the destruction of humans), but it felt unbalanced. There were not-fully-realized scenes that quickly skipped to another scene and scenes of dialogue that went too long.

I also was not fond of the artwork style, but I realize that it is the story itself that is the focus more than the artistry of the author. Overall, the story was still unbalanced, but gruesome enough that I can see how many enjoy it.

[Dylan Horrocks · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the darkest Richard Sala books I've read, and also one of the most interesting. Like a strange old B-movie you stumbled across on late night TV and are still thinking about years later. Some of Sala's books may be more straight-up fun than this one (Violenzia!), but The Hidden is more genuinely haunting. Chilling...

[Joe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good short read to pass the time during a rainy day. I've never read Sala's other work, but I gather this one is par for the course. Nothing spectacular, but decent.

[Drew Canole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was disappointing - I was pretty pumped for this one. I've heard some great stuff about Sala and his artwork definitely looks appealing.

I guess I just didn't connect to the story or the characters. There were a few pages of pure text exposition that really through off the pacing.

The intro was nice and mysterious. I also enjoyed the story about the rich business people eating each other. I thought the first half of the book was pretty strong, but lost interest during the second half when the Frankenstein elements are brought in.

That cover is wonderful - its too bad I didn't get into the story.

[Jessica Haider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick, quirky, spooky graphic novel... took my mind off my hacking cough for a few minutes. And that's just it, I didn't feel like there was quite enough of this book. There probably should've been another 15-20 pages just to fill out the story a bit. Apolcolypse Creepiness for the win! Now, where's my soothing tea??

[Joe Sicari · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend of mine passed this on to me. Great interpretation of the "Frankenstein" cautionary tale. The art is wonderful. There is not a huge amount of new depth to the new story but enough to show off the wonderful art and dialogue and at just a length that allows you to enjoy what is here.

[Devin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find myself really hoping to love Richard Salas comics. I think I’m coming to the realization that his storytelling doesn’t work for me, but I enjoy his art.

So this is basically a Frankenstein type story. The adventure was fine, not very fun or interesting though. The characters are all very meh too. Didn’t care about anyone so if they died it didn’t impact me.

I think I’m craving a Scooby doo type story with Salas art. Something campy and fun.

The hidden however was kind of boring and forgettable

[Valéria. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Celkom dobrý hororový komiks, od ktorého som nič nečakala a naozaj som si ho užila. Kresba je ... nie bohviečo, ale svojská a bavila ma, za lettering by som autorovi odrezala hlavu. Na začiatku dostanete bandu (asi?) ghúlov, ktorí začnú terorizovať svet. Potom skočíme v deji z ničoho nič dopredu, hlavná postava si nič nepamätá, nájde ho v jaskyni pár, pripoja sa ďalší ľudia.. masaker, fakt násilné krvavé scény, zaujímavý nápad a fajn koniec. Celé to bol taký priemer v mojich očiach, takže tak.

[Riddhish Bhalodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Creepy, little abstract and gloriously fantastical like a classic Sala. The art and iconography matches so well with the story and the atmosphere, making a near perfect blend of what makes Richard Sala’s works special.

[Radwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like a play on frankenstein's monster in an end of the world setting, but it was too over the place for me

[Artur Coelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foi algures por entre a blogoesfera que me cruzei pela primeira vez com o trabalho de Richard Sala. Recordo-me de fortes ilustrações a preto e branco que misturavam a iconografia de terror com uma candura infantil, num estilo muito pessoal a remeter para uma sensibilidade mais de bande dessiné europeia do que comic americano. Este The Hidden sublinha o carácter inocente do terror pela mão de Sala com uma história pós-apocalíptica que se destaca por um olhar surreal e onírico, ao invés das habituais destruições avassaladoras que caracterizam o sub-género de histórias passadas nos dias seguintes aos apocalipses. As causas do fim da humanidade nunca são totalmente explícitas. Vemos monstros a emergir do nada e a destruir cidades em vinhetas que remetem para Chagall. Vemos sobreviventes que após contarem as suas histórias de sobrevivência com monstros sanguinários (mas de ar tão inocente e encantador na sua monstruosidade, como Quasimodos sorridentes!) se aliam a um personagem misterioso, decalcado de Viktor Frankenstein. Refugiados numa casa remota, perto do laboratório do médico que quis ser um criador deísta, rodeados de monstros, lá se percebe que as criações de Frankenstein aperfeiçoaram o processo de retorno à vida e estão a tomar conta do mundo, escravizando a humanidade como fonte de peças sobresselentes. Tudo isto contado com uma candura assinalável, sublinhada pela escolha tipográfica de um tipo de letra manuscrito. Homenagem sincera ao horror clássico, The Hidden encanta pela sua simplicidade.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully painted albeit oddly monologue heavy.

The monologues make for two or three really awkward sequences of pages that could have been more visually interesting. Given that the text takes over those pages, it feels more like bad page design or artist boredom. I also think there are a few too many skimped backgrounds as the book progresses. That's easy when the survivors are walking through the desert but less so once they reach their destination.

Given all that, there's a lot more to like: usual Sala tropes like pretty girls in distress, unabashed gore and nerdy boys in tow; impeccable book design; some unusual turns (daylight action, action in locales that Sala has not previously explored), and a sort-of twist/ unexpected ending.

I love Sala's work and this is no exception, but those monologues will hopefully not become a trope for the artist.

[Damon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love me some Richard Sala, especially how unsettled his stuff leaves me. He always uses a lot of the "wrong place at the wrong time" horror elements, which I generally find effective, but combines that with a mix of crazy violence and pure weirdness here that make this a super entertaining read.

This is a really nice book - the printing is great, and the format of the pages works really well both for the sequential panel parts and the occasional larger full-page drawings. The artwork really looks great on the page, too - you can really see a lot of detail, really enjoy the stuff. The story is also a good length, not going on for too long but not seeming chopped off, and it's great to be able to read some of his stuff in a complete volume, instead of having to wait between issues.

I really can't say enough good stuff about this - everything just works.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... That was interesting. This is my reaction to my first Sala comic. The art feels like a children's book but the story is pure horror, and parts of it are truly horrific. It's derivative of Frankenstein to be sure, even down to the mysterious doctor being named Victor, but it also has it's own unique twist. All in all, I enjoyed it and I am curious to check out more of Sala's work but it's not 5 stars for 2 reasons. One of the events described early in the book (the party) doesn't really make sense to me. It's suitably shocking but makes NO sense in the scope of the story. The other reason is the use of the F word. It's not used in every panel, but it's used more than it needed to be (is it really ever "needed" though?) and felt completely wrong to the vibe of the artwork and the story both. I really felt it detracted from the book as a whole.

[Christine Piccillo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of the graphic novel is interesting. What if you could create life? What are the consequences of that creation. Essentially, this story is about what happens if you were to give Frankenstein's monster the ability to reason, to create, to be his own person - but could not incorporate a soul or empathy. What would he do? What would the world become when this creation became self aware enough to believe that it was a superior, new creature. The story had good moments, but was too rushed. They plot didn't have time to develop. We are dropped into the madness of a world that is on the verge of the end, with survivors that we don't have an opportunity to build a relationship with or care about. A good idea, love the ending, but underdeveloped and rushed.

[Stephen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not like this kind of artwork. I do not like art that you could go and do, day one, with no technical skill whatsoever, and just say, 'Ta-da, I'm done,' after your first preliminary sketch.

We've been subjected to this artist's junk in anthologies over the years, and yes, I did read this book free from the library, and I just cannot fathom the editorial decisions to keep this shitty artist afloat all these years.

There should be punishment for putting out material your 2nd grader could produce. Mark my words, Mighty Satan in Hell will force this guy, Linda Barry, and Crumb's talentless wife to all sit down and apparently do what they dread doing the most -- take neverending art lessons as their eternal punishment.

[Lawrence Kapture · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of two minds: Great palette for a comic book, post-apocalyptic monster story. Frankenstein's monster has survived into the modern age and manufactured an army of cobbled together creatures to destroy the world.

On the one hand, the amoral quality of the creature is a misreading of the character of the creature, I think. He is abandoned by humanity, and angry, not amoral. But, let's just say you want to stick with the man was not meant to know theme that Crichton and Koontz like: the end is anticlimactic. On the other hand: it's a post-apocalyptic monster story, and the secondary characters are well written. It's a short read...

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unlike some other reviewers, I thought the graphics were integral to the work as a whole and added a great deal, particularly the gathering of the plutocrats. I liked the stylised artwork and vivid colouring.

What can I say about the plot without giving away too much, given its relative brevity? Inspired by Mary Shelley, a post-apocalyptic, mystery/conspiracy with some nice twists along the way, with a not-entirely unpredictable, but nonetheless satisfying "surprise" ending. I would have enjoyed a longer work in which the author had explored his world and themes in greater depth.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Post-apocalyptic stranded-group meets Frankenstein in Richard Sala's latest modern pulp-gothic graphic novel. As usual, his weird, creepy art sets the tone perfectly, giving everything an unsettling, uncomfortable feel while remaining strangely familiar. There's a sense of creeping dread, as the story quietly builds to its climax. It's also fairly gory, despite the non-photorealistic artwork, so definitely not one for the kids!

[Jay Daze · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was fine. I've really enjoyed Sala in the past. Just can't help feeling he's gone to the same well too many times. Spooky setting. Check. Mad scientist or doctor. Check. Hot girls getting killed. Check. Freakish monsters. Check. Even the art hasn't changed that much - which is funny, I preferred it without the colour. The spooky story seems to be all that Sala does. It starts feeling limited after all the remarkably similar stories before it.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a weird little story. It had a unique art style (illustrations as well as the lettering) and it was pretty fast paced. It was a pretty unique plot as far as zombie apocalypses go and I really liked the ending. There were a few parts that were a touch long winded, but I understand that things needed to be explained for the reader to get a better understanding of whats happening. Overall, its a creepy little zombie story that I think most horror fans would have fun with.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one scary graphic novel! The illustrations are all bright and cheery, but the story os very dark and sinister. I am sure I will have bad dreams inspired by this one. But, if you *like* reading about a world where humans are not alone, and science has allowed someone to create human life (yes, there are many parallels to Frankenstein in this), then this book is for you.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Richard Sala, where have you been all my life? You have provided me something to tell people to read if The Walking Dead is too straightforward. This is a mix of The Last Man on Earth and Frankenstein. It nails the Feeling That Something's Not Right (das unheimliche), and all the ladies are dressed like characters from Scooby-Doo. He's real good at drawing monstrous humanoids.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

This gruesome post-apocalyptic comic is both hilarious and visually beautiful. At times it looks like an oversaturated Archie comic; at others it is like an intensely watercolored New Yorker cartoon. I don't want to give away Sala's obvious influence because that really is the mystery here. Just check it out.