Bedtime Horrors Volume One
Written by Nic Kristofer Black
Illustrated by Jorge Gonzalez
Internegative LLC
September 6, 2016
Reviewed by Brian James Lewis
Bedtime Horrors Volume One is a really cool collection of stories and awesome artwork that blew me away the minute I saw it! Although the cover may suggest for a quick moment that you might be looking at a scary book for kids, don’t be fooled — this is high octane stuff that is best for adults and teens. However, if you read and show this book to your little ones, don’t be calling the office when you can’t get them to let go of your leg! In all honesty, this book may have that effect on some adults as well, So keep the smelling salts handy.
The graphic novel is packed with stories that clock in at one thousand words each; this has been done intentionally for maximum potency. Like a shot of good whiskey with a hard kick that burns all the way down, these stories hurt so good and leave you wanting just one more. The other point to the brief nature of the stories is to make them fit nicely into the modern world of tweets and texts. To enjoy a high quality horror story, you only have to read one page (one page!), then flip to the wickedly well done illustration that features an important moment in the story, and you’re all done in less time than it takes to find an app on your smartphone.
Each story is better than the last, and there’s not a single dud in the bunch. Like a monster attack, they’re quick and deadly! An excellent example of this is “Monster In The Brush.” In it, a nice little family out camping in the woods is attacked by an escapee from a maximum security federal prison. That scenario is scary all by itself (just read the news these days), but let me tell you, the ending to this story is going to blow your mind. I could tell you what happens, but I don’t want to have a Prowler (read the book) sent after me to fulfill a Job Order!
A groovy feature of this book is that it does not use profanity or extreme gross-outs to drive the stories. Trust me, you won’t miss it either. The handy thing about that is Bedtime Horrors Volume One makes a great gift choice for a tween or teen without angry parents slamming the book into your forehead in righteous fury. With the holiday season fast approaching, this fine volume will make a much better gift than another damn fruitcake that’s just going to end up as a doorstopper. And, it will most definitely be a better choice than one of those ugly sweaters that only look good after being thrown into the fire. Heck yes! Just make sure to get a copy for yourself too, because you won’t want to give it up.
