Member Reviews
'Tales of the Mist' is a graphic novel with multiple stories dealing with death, sickness and other issues in an 1800-1900s Spanish setting. Most of the stories are also typical superstitious ones that you can typically find in most cultures. Death & religion are common themes running throughout the graphic novel. Some of it might seem to be a bit tripe, but I found that the overall mix worked well. If there is one thing I would change, it would be the length of some of these stories. A few of them ended abruptly and I would have to liked to spend more time with them. |
Wonderful! Laura Suárez makes you feel the creepy vibes, thanks to her illustrations and the way each story is told. I like the idea of retelling these stories through this format. It's original and it helps the reader to feel closer to the magical lands of Galicia and the characters from each tale. |
I loved this graphic novel. I especially enjoyed the cultural references and the author’s notes about the origin of the stories. There were three engrossing, dark tales featuring people who lived in Spain in the 1930s. The art was excellent and was really one of the highlights of this graphic novel. The details in the all black-and-white art seemed to come alive through the telling of these stories. I thought it was quite creepy at some points and would actually categorize this as horror rather than SciFi/Fantasy. |
Tales of the Mist is a chilling graphic novel full of death and mystery. Following the perspectives of different characters, the story discusses paranormal legends of spirits and darkness. This graphic novel was creepy yet enchanting! The illustrations were stunning in a way that left me with goosebumps, and the whole atmosphere was captivating. Because it drew on real-life experiences from the author’s life and family, I was even more interested in figuring out what was going on. I wouldn’t consider this horror, but I definitely got those vibes as I was reading the story! A huge thank you to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing a copy of Tales of the Mist. This graphic novel was published on 5/20/2020. |
There I was, scrolling through the "read now" section of NetGalley when I saw the cover of "Tales of the Mist" and thought "My god, how beautiful" and went to read the synopsis. Then I read the words "Spain, 1930, paranormal, death, and told by your grandmother" and thought "my god I need this" and immediately clicked on "read now" and started reading. And what an amazing book !! I loved everything: the lines, the stories, the drawings, EVERYTHING. There are four stories of horror, paranormal, strangeness that give a fear and are incredible. |
A quick, atmospheric read with unique, haunting, beautiful illustrations. "Tales of the Mist" takes on few legends/tales told by grandmothers to their grandchildren. My only compaint was it felt too short, like some stories were missing. |
This book is a small graphic novel set in Spain, 1930's. This book includes 4 short stories that we're inspired by scary tales her family has told her. Throughout these short stories, death and darkness are very present. These tales tend to be true in many coastal areas in Europe. I really enjoyed this book, mainly for the art style and theme. I felt that the scary and grim art style made the book even darker and Erie. I felt that the illustrations helped me understand the book more since they did explain what was going on in more detail. The story I enjoyed the most was The Air since it discussed depression and the loss of a loved one. I felt that the characters were very well developed, and shown in this book. I possibly will be re-reading this book in the future, and reading more books by this author. Thank you, NetGalley for allowing me to read a free copy of this book, in return for an honest review. Everything written in this review is my own opinion. |
Remember when you were younger and a grandparent, or other elderly relative, would sit you on their knee and tell you stories. Stories of your family, of your past, of their childhood, of rumours, fears, myths, and legends. These feelings of nostalgia and suspense are evident in this graphic novel. With eerie artwork reminiscent of Tim Burton and equally eerie stories that leave you wondering "did that actually happen...?". All the stories take place in 1930's Spain, focused around Galacian lore; a lore I was not at all familiar with when starting this. The style had me entranced and drew me into reading this one, as well as a love for myths and legends of other worlds. Some of the translation I believe was lost in it's conversion to English, this didn't take away from the stories but caused me, with a curious enough brain, to pause and Google what the words actually meant. I feel that the authour could have possibly provided a small index of words to help familiarize readers with the words AND how they are pronounced. The authour did provide nice bits of insight after each tale which was a nice touch so I could fully digest what the story was getting across and where it's roots were. The book is also categorizes itself as 'sci-fi and fantasy', which, in a sense, fantasy fits but I would consider maybe classifying it as a cultural book with a hint of a thriller. All in all it was a nice, short read with interesting art and stories, just small things that could have improved the reader experience greatly would be needed! |
Bookseller 732304
Fantastic, atmospheric, even a bit creepy this comic book felt original. I love the art. I love the stories. I can't recommend it enough! |
This graphic novel reminds me so much of 'Through The Woods' by Emily Carroll which I recently read and loved. These two graphic novels are similar in terms of the stories told, the illustrations, the small town community, the presentation of the paranormal characters, the artstyle as well as the dialogue deliverance. I wish the story was more complete and didn't break in between now and then. Liked the chilly vibes. It does what a horror, gothic book does. Thank you, authors and the publisher, for the advance reading copy. |
Laura Suárez's "Tales of the Mist" are a beautiful embodiment of the dread humans feel in the fields of Galicia. Her stories tell the reader: you have nothing to fear but the woods at night and the fear in your heart. The perfect wintertime reading choice for those who favor stories with a touch of eeriness and a suspicion of the beyond. Galicia is an autonomous community in Northwestern Spain. Without getting into too much detail, it is a gorgeous place that nevertheless suffered at the hands of Franco's regime after the Spanish civil war. These stories set during the 1930s embody more than just the instinctual fears we cradle in our hearts about what otherworldly dangers lie in wait outside our homes at night, or in a clear, sunlit field with no one around for miles. Galicia, like other parts of Spain, has its own language and culture that were brutally repressed during the Franco years. The dreaded guardia civil was there to maintain order, and guerilla "maquis" fighters used their familiarity with the surrounding wilderness to fight back. Suárez's beautiful art and writing strike a perfect balance between illustrating otherworldly fears and showing the atmosphere of subdued terror that permeated Galicia in the 30s. Every story is steeped in death, doubt, and the characters' desperate efforts to control their fear before it destroys them or those they love. Sometimes these efforts fail. Suárez anchors every story in Galician folktales, the kind you tell around a hearth as a warning to others on midwinter evenings. Each chapter ends with the author's notes on the particular inspiration at play, but what's particularly impressive is Suárez's ability to convey the myth during the course of a few pages, all while giving us characters, setting, and a riveting plot. Highly recommended this winter season for those who like some underlying terror near the fireplace. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for sending me a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. |
Thanks Netgalley for this opportunity to read this graphic novel in exchange of my honest review. Tales of the mist tell us literally 5 tales that are supposed to have occurrence on Spain in 1930, and this tales might give you nightmares. I loved that this make us know more about more cultural things and horror stories, and the illustrations on this book were totally amazing, it gave me a lot of thrill just seeing them in black and white only, and this is more interesting as you get into it. I totally recommend this, this could be one of the great horror stories that I've read about, my favorite story is the Santa campaña I think that's the name of it. But anyways, you got your 5 stars with this book that you could read in less than thirty minutes. |
A young adult graphic novel of frightening vignettes set in Spain during the 1930s, Laura Suárez created a haunting atmosphere of gripping horror based on authentic Spanish folklore and legend. Artwork is comprised of black and white panels that establish a ghostly and stark quality, with each story including a description of the folk origin of each tale. Vividly portrayed, this will keep young adults who crave a bit of supernatural without the gore up at night. Highly recommended. |
John L, Reviewer
Well, let me remain grateful for a glimpse into the macabre, Galician-style, but let me remain disappointed it came this way. Yes, the sunny climes of northern Spain are not really what you'd expect to be the location for tales of the undead processing across the hills, with the human at the front of them either dead by sunrise or desperate for someone to pass the baton on to, or people assuaging the spirits of the dead to get rid of their own malaise, but that's what happens here, alongside possession and unearthly visions. It's just it's an awkward fashion in which to do it. We see the dramatisation and then the explanation from our creator (an explanation which is certainly needed at times), which kind of guarantees we see things as artificial and not real, however much the full-of-praise foreword from someone else talks of being led by the hand to a realm of fear. But also keeping us from feeling much beyond 'meh' is the brevity here, with it barely taking minutes to read each chapter, and the very style, a clumsy one very much the creator's own, and not to my liking. It comes across as a dreary monochrome, when we all should expect our deathly horrors to be a bit more coloured with reality. Bloodless. |
A small village in northern Spain in the 1930s, where light had not yet reached the roads. Timeless legends in which pre-war realism and the paranormal would come face-to-face. A way to make sense of the darkness, death and mist of a demanding land. The tales of the mist are those you were told as a child, time and time again, on rainy afternoons and winter nights. They were told to you by your grandmother, your mother or even a neighbor, so that you would behave. You don't know if you believe them, but they are told in your village, in the neighboring one and in the whole region... so, they must be true, right? The artwork was really great! The story was interesting too!~ |




