An introduction to a monster theme park staffed by actual monsters. We are brought into the story by a human who attempts to rob some monsters and is turned into a vampire or werewolf, that's part of the fun of the first book as the monsters fight over him. There's also a witch who befriends him. Seems a bit directionless in this first volume though.

'Zombillenium 1: Gretchen' with story and art by Arthur de Pins is a graphic novel about an amusement park run by monsters.

When some monsters on a road trip accidentally kill a pedestrian, they bring him back with a bite, but can't decide if he's a werewolf or a vampire. What he is is far worse, and he's also now got a job working in a theme park. If he fails, the consequences are dire.

It's a darkly comic story with painted artwork that is pretty great. I like the premise and the characters.

Unlike most Americans this journalist actually saw the big screen adaptation of "Zombillenium" [Arthur Des Pins/Europe Comics/58pgs] as an animated feature film when it premiered at Cannes in 2017. We even did an interview for it over at Inside Reel. What is interesting is that this graphic novel of course introduces the players of the film but it is interesting to perceive what form came first. Arthur Les Pins obviously creates the structure but the clean art lines almost bring to mind computer animation. Granted this story was originally in French first so that said, this is first perception of its per se likely in English language. It works but the issue with the film was similar in that it was slightly out of date since it was playing on the Twiight Saga motif. Now granted the tropes can change but with darker horror taking an angle in recent modern culture, it is a little easier in genre to do alien creatures. Granted this is a different tonal element. The lowly intern Gretchen, who is the focus of this volume, happens to have a overseer in high (or more likely low) places which is played into within the film. However in terms of world and the texture of the theme park, it translates well especially for a more light fared perception audience. C

By Tim Wassberg

This was boring. We were just dropped into the middle of what felt like an already on going story with no time to get to know the characters. So why do we care if anything happens to them - spoiler, we don't. The artwork was really nice though.

I normally don't like comics but this one won me over with the description. This one is focused on the amusement park called Zombillenium. This is a park where real monsters work and normal people think these monsters are just people in realistic makeup or cosmetics. Things turn for a interesting mishap when two creatures try to turn a new recruit - which turns into something all new!

It was at moments hard to follow but very nice to read. The artwork is nice and I enjoyed the style of De Pins. Would recommend to others and possibly pick up the next one if I come across!

Even monsters sometimes need a day job, which is where the Zombillenium theme park comes in. Real-life monsters of all types work at this unassuming theme park, where gusts believe that all the monsters are just people in makeup or special effects. When two workers accidentally run over a guy, he becomes their newest recruit, but something goes wrong when the two (a vampire and a werewolf) both try to turn him and he becomes something new altogether.
Cute art and a fun twist ending are pluses but as others have said, the story does suffer from the translation trying to force the characters to be American, when this is clearly set in Europe. They should have kept that aspect of the background intact, it would make everything make a bit more sense.

It was slightly confusing to follow, but I guess I got the overall point 😂😂 And that last page! Definitely going to be continuing with this series !!

Detailed review coming soon !

Only at the end do you work out why this series opener is named after the Gretchen character – much of the book concerns a new recruit to the ghoulish theme park of the franchise title. Our guy tries to hold up a bar in frustration at his lot, but Gretchen is there to prevent it. It's only when her colleagues at the park – a walking, breathing skeleton, a real Egyptian mummy, a werewolf and a vampire – begin to fight over his remains that he turns into a demon. It's a bit inconsequential, but it looks great – all sort of computerised airbrush and so on to give a glossy, cartoonish quality – and Gretchen is a potentially wonderful character with looks to die for. But the early slapstick isn't really kept up, and I think on this evidence the jury is out on what the other three books could hold. Worth a look, though – three and a half stars.

This was such a cute story about monsters. The art style was amazing. I can't wait to pick up the next volume.

This was different from what I expected, more funny than scary, but I really loved it! While the crew of the Zombillennium theme park were an odd mix of all kinds of creatures going bump in the night, they had to handle a lot of very normal, human tasks. However, them being what they are, this caused a lot of comical situations. That was a highly entertaining read, and I can't wait to visit Zombillennium again.

“Welcome to the Zombillenium Park.
We hire .... for eternity.”

My thanks to Europe Comics for making available a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Zombillenium: 1 Gretchen’ in exchange for an honest review.

This first in a popular Belgium comic series by Arthur De Pins is about a horror theme park run by actual monsters. After a failed robbery attempt Aurelian Zahner is accidentally run over and killed by vampire Francis von Bloodt, the director of Zombillenium.

He is taken to the park where he is brought back to life after being bitten repeatedly by von Bloodt and Andrew, a werewolf. They argue about whether he will become a vampire or a werewolf. Zahner is recruited to work at Zombillenium and befriended by Gretchen, a young witch with a secret agenda who is interning at the park. When Aurelian finally transforms he surprises everyone.

This is a quirky black comedy horror with quite delightful artwork. I found it charming and lots of fun. Hopefully, Europe Comics will be publishing more of this series in English.

I really enjoyed this book! It kind of gave me Halloweentown vibes because the monsters are real characters not just a placeholder for evil, so we get to see them live their everyday lives. I thought it was really cute, and I'll definitely read the next one!

This story had wonderful art and I will be reading the sequels. I was surprised an arc of this was available and then I realized a new volume will be releasing in July and I am so excited!

A very different take on the idea of an amusement park filled with monster's aka Zombillenium. What I assumed by the description was created to help monsters I now realize is a forced job and not a choice. The story follows Gretchen a witch with a hidden agenda as she works as an intern at Zombillenium.

Artwork - Excellent. The characters are drawn well and they're pretty unique. The colors are great and the illustrations fit the vibe of the story. I definitely appreciated the artwork.
Story - Not my favorite. I felt like the book started off on unstable (aka boring) ground and then we get an introduction to the Zombillenium corp. itself but I felt like things were still a little bit flimsy. We didn't get to really get much of a tour with features of the rest of the park or see other mechanics of the park. I was curious about the background and the who, why and how but there was just none of that.
Characters - I connected with exactly zero of the characters. By the time we met main characters (Aurelian and Gretchen), the story is almost halfway through! Things just move fast and wear thin. I think this graphic novel has so much potential with some more elaboration!

‘Zombillenium’ is a very silly, but quite entertaining French comic book about a theme park run by monsters. It’s not unlike the ‘Hotel Transylvania’ movies, but with a slightly more satirical adult theme. The art is functional rather than inspired, the story is slight, but the characters are fun and there are some decent gags along the way. I found myself liking it despite its many flaws.
The two main characters are Gretchen, a witch who works at the park, and Aaron, a young human who gets hired to work there after dying and being brought back as a vampire, or werewolf, or demon. I got lost really. The park is managed by an older vampire, and author Arthur du Pins, has some fun critiquing corporate structures and business practices. Mummies, werewolves and zombies work side by side, with the zombies very much at the bottom of the pecking order. They’re represented by a kind of trade union that aims to protect their rights. It’s not entirely clear if the visitors to the park know that it’s run by monsters or not, in fact a lot of what goes on obeys the kind of cartoon logic that is fine if you’re in the mood for it.
The setup lends itself well to humour. There are some decent jokes as the workers at the park tease newbie Aaron about their monstrousness. “Here’s the freezer where we keep the children’s bodies” jokes the Mummy, before leading him into the locker room. That kind of silliness abounds and it works well, glued together by the story of Aaron coming to terms with his transformation as he changes from human to something else. There’s also some back story about his estranged wife which adds to his humanity (even as he becomes less human) and makes him a likeable lead.
If you’re in the mood for something nonsensical but amusing, you might enjoy this. I won’t be rushing out to buy the later books in the series, but I did enjoy the time I spent in the company of Gretchen and co.

A quirky, graphic novel with a few twists and turns. I cannot wait for the next volume. The artwork is beautifully simplistic in style with pops of colour that really makes it stand out as a stylistic and unique story.

Zombillenium is a cute graphic novel. The art style is simple and fun. The story is cute, but not quite for me though.

Imagine Hotel Transylvania, but French. So rather than being presented as a lovable, family-run business with its own oddball ways which definitely shouldn't be regulated in any way, we're introduced to the undead-staffed Zombillenium theme park via the bickering between the boss (vampire, obviously) and the skeleton union rep. And rather than it being wacky but fundamentally welcoming, our point-of-view human (albeit not for very long) character gets thrown into working there by what could be seen either as the workings of an unmerciful fate, or just Kafkaesque labour laws. I'm normally a lot more selective about grabbing European comics in translation from Netgalley than I am the Anglosphere stuff, simply because I don't have the same worked-in forgiveness for the tics of the form, but I really enjoyed the last de Pins I read, about the frustrations of life as a crab, and this did not disappoint. He has a Kyle Baker-esque* style which manages to be at once larger-than-(un)life yet deeply, poignantly and hilariously recognisable, with a particular gift for the reaction face.

*I'm beginning to realise that I compare a lot of very different artists to Baker, always in a fashion which approves of him. And yet I've not seen anything from him in ages. I should really investigate what he's been up to.

What a fun read!!

Super creative and original, as a spooky gal myself I loved this whole thing. It was definitely new and fresh, and I feel like even if you aren't really into monsters and whatnot you'd still be able to get into this easily.

Would definitely be great as a show or movie too. Loved all the characters. Can't wait to see where this is going.

The illustrations were very appealing and well-drawn but the story is barely there, the characters weren't interesting, the concept felt very dated, the humour wasn't funny and overall the whole thing was much too light for my blood.