I wanted to love this but I was too confused by the beginning - so many characters getting introduced in such a short period of time with no way to really hold on to who they are.

Reminiscent of classic mysteries like Nancy Drew with a twist, The Case of the Missing Men delivers a heavy dose of nostalgia with the artwork and the “teens cracking adult mysteries” plot. The teens of this story take on a darker mystery than my beloved Nancy Drew as a string of disappearances plague their small town. It was charmingly creepy and suspenseful. I liked the characters and felt they were well fleshed out, but at times the plot felt scattered for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I must admit, after a stressful workday, as an adult this book captured my imagination and took my mind off of more boring matters.

I read it slowly, going back from other mysteries and suspense novels, although I I kept returning to this book, until I finished it.

I enjoyed all aspects of this odd story of a town plagued by nefarious enemies, very close at home and their mind-control experiments. I found this to be a fun, updated sort of Nancy Drew, Scooby-Doo, teenage heros solving small time, and this time BIG TIME, local mysteries plaguing their community.

I found the graphics, dialogue, storyline and the way the book was presented, in a comic book style all equally appealing.

I will look for more graphic novels (read fancy comic/mystery books) from this author, an enthusiastic 5 stars from this reader!

✨What attracted me to read this comic?
Teen detectives solving a mystery in their small village, told in graphic novel form.

✨My thoughts?
In general, I really like this novel. The overall case, the horror and supernatural elements, and especially the friendship between teens. The choices of illustration styles and colour palettes are also nice, in my opinion.

✨Why not 5 stars?
For me, I can see there are some parts that are quite choppy, like it is not described or hinted well, or, it has some pacing issue. There are some parts that got me confused like, when that happened, I didn’t realize it. There are also uses of derogatory remarks, I know this story is set in the mid-1990s but the use may cause discomfort to some readers.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐

Thank you Oni Press and NetGalley for this ARC! This review was voluntarily written by me. This graphic novel is to be published on 23 April 2024.

This is definitely a case of wearing out your welcome. Iris and Gabriel come home to finding a friend Laure in their home. She doesn't want to leave either.
A lot of twists and turns.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press and the NetGalley for the ARC.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Okay, imagine Twin Peaks with a little bit of the surrealist/fantastical nature of Over the Garden Wall, and if that's your cup of tea, you'll like this graphic novel. The art style was a throwback to older styles, which I loved, but it did make it harder when reading on a device like I did.

This graphic novel was weird, at times confusing, but encaptures this unique and unsettling small-town vibe perfectly. I would highly recommend this and look forward to future installments.

"Perfect for fans of Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Hardy Boys mysteries, The Hobtown Mystery Stories take the teen investigator genre to new levels as they explore small town identity and the surreal.

Welcome to Hobtown, a charmingly bleak village (Population: 2,006) and an easy place to get bored if you don't make your own fun.

Hobtown Regional High's top girl, Dana Nance, runs the Teen Detective Club - a registered after-school program that makes it their business to investigate each and every one of their town's bizarre occurrences including pagan secret societies, psychic assaults, and possible "wee man" sightings. Their small world of missing pets and shed fires is turned upside down when real-life kid adventurer and globetrotter Sam Finch comes to town and enlists them in their first real case: the search for his missing father. Something strange is going on, and no one in Hobtown will talk about it. It turns out Sam's dad is the sixth man to go missing this year. The rot runs deep in Hobtown, and it's up to the teen detectives and associates to stay alive long enough to crack the Case of the Missing Men!

Childhood friends Kris Bertin and Alexander Forbes have built a truly unique and discrete universe in Hobtown - an exploration of small town identity drawing from the world of pulp, filtered through a lens of esoteric spirituality, skewed genre tropes, deft character work, and an incredible eye for detail."

I still think they could have just namechecked David Lynch instead of listing so many of his works...

I can best describe this as a cross between Nancy Drew and Twin Peaks. The art style is reminiscent of Archer or Judge Parker, which adds to the nostalgic quality and to the historic setting. [I now feel obligated to state that it takes place in the 1980s and if you're mad I called that historic, I'm sorry.]

Dana Nance, daughter of lawyer Mr. Nance, is the leader of a detective club. She and her friends become involved in helping another teen investigate the disappearance of his father. Weird circumstances and murders start piling up and the group finds that there may be a lot more going on in their small town than they realized. Conspiracies, secret clubs, and some supernatural elements add a touch of weirdness.

Content warning: on-page violence and death

Amazing fantastical mystery graphic novel.
If you were to see an X-files episode written by Wes Anderson this is probably what you would get. The creepy fantastic theme, the well-thought-out mystery, the retro feel, and the off-beat dialogue with everyone wrestling to express their emotions it just perfect.
I didn't know I needed this, but I loved every moment.
Hobtown is not your traditional detective story, it is not typical fantasy, it isn't YA and yet the main characters are teens, it's kind of all of those things with a good layer of creepy and weird. Many independent, classic comics and underground works tread that path difficulty. I love weird, but I hate gross, and this graphic novel manages to hit all the right notes, being strange and uncanny, sometimes violent, but remaining surprisingly clean.
The relationships are interesting, the characters are unusual, and the story is different and complex - it was a pleasure to read. And the illustrations are amazing, so full of character! People's faces have a life of their own, the settings are so detailed and beautiful, like quaint postcards and the faded 70s colours give it a real personality. The atmosphere is everything in this graphic novel, breathing even more life into the story.
Would recommend to people who like the above-mentioned X-files, Wes Anderson, but also David Lynch and comics by Chris Ware.
This is a first volume and I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on the next installment.

Thank you, NetGalley!

I love the art style of this graphic novel, it looks so good. I also liked the story. It is about a weird town with weird characters. It did take me a couple of times to read it but I'm glad I did.

"Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 1" by Kris Bertin weaves an engaging narrative around a group of teenagers investigating the increasing disappearances in their small town. The captivating storyline, filled with secrets and untold stories, keeps readers hooked as they eagerly unravel the mysteries of Hobtown. Bertin's storytelling creates a compelling atmosphere that makes you crave more insights into the town's enigmatic past. Overall, a riveting graphic novel that successfully blends suspense and curiosity.

I enjoyed this graphic novel! The art was gritty and has a 90s comics vibe. The story was a decent horror mystery with a dark somewhat supernatural Nancy Drew tone.
Gotta love that it takes place in Nova Scotia, I don't think I have ever seen that before!
Thank you for the ARC Oni Press!

#HobtownMysteryStoriesVol1 #NetGalley

Thank you, NetGalley and Oni Press, for the early copy of this graphic novel series. First look, it brought back nostalgic moments. It was giving off an 80s comics vibe. Though there were some grammar lapses in the first few pages (We LOVES a good mystery around here) as an example, it still delivered the mystery. I was flipping through pages once I got through, as I am curious and wanted to know who's behind the missing people as well.

I love a plot twist when they're pursuing a different culprit, but there were some pacing issues for my taste. I also love the found family vibe, and the friendship vibe, though I'm shipping Dana and Pauline—I love the girl-love vibe with both of them and the family relationship.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this and I am looking forward to the next volume in the series.

I was so excited to start this graphic novel because it sounded really good. I‘ve always loved a good mystery and the retro artwork on the cover looked amazing…so what could go wrong. Well, I didn’t enjoy the story which was very choppy. The characters were underdeveloped and confusing. There were also some racist comments, which is a big no-go. And so many things just didn’t make sense.

I did like the art style but that’s just not enough. This book was just really weird and not in a good way.

This was a wild ride! Follow along with the hobtown junior detective club as they are pulled into a mind boggling missing persons case which turns into the wildest thing I’ve read all year.

𝔽𝕠𝕣 𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕠𝕗:

🔎 Twin Peaks Vibes
🔎 Small Town Mystery
🔎 Conspiracy Theories
🔎 The odd and unique
🔎 Scandals

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕚𝕥'𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕠𝕦𝕥:

In the small village of Hobtown, men suddenly go missing. A perfect case for Dana and her detective club. Especially because the dad of their new club member disappeared as well. Collecting clues, they suddenly find themselves deep inside the dark belly of a disturbing mystery that even takes lives.

𝕎𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕀 𝕥𝕙𝕠𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥:

This was a potential dnf for me, because getting into this unique story was a little tricky for me. But I'm beyond glad, I kept reading. This story is dark, very weird and at first hard to grasp. However, as everything unfolds, this grows into the perfect Twin Peaks - esque mystery.

I honestly felt like a confused and nervously curious tourist of Hobtown and at the end I didn't want to leave this cursed place.😅 Like, give me all the gossip, the drama and the murder ! Pleeeease!

It was a super immersive adventure and some of the panels gave me literal goosebumps (the brick? Dog Men? Huh?).

This story is so freaking fun and weird and all over the place in the best way. I bet you will never be able to guess where the story goes. Disclaimer: even though the cover looks quirky, this story gets DARK! Be warned and enjoy the ride..

🔎 Hobtown here I come 🔎

DNF at 70%. There was a lot of issues with language in this. I get that it was set in 1996, but I don't see the need to incorporate dated and discriminatory words in this story, especially in the ways they were.

I also didn't understand literally any of the characters. How they related to each other, if they were friends, what the dynamics were. Like there was a character I thought was the father but then called who I thought was their daughter "babe" and that daughter made a reference to her parents being gone I think? I don't know, everything about the characters was unclear and messy.

This should've started on their actual first mystery. Something to draw the characters together, then the audience can get to know them and their dynamics as the group themselves figure it out.

It wasn't really a mystery. like the "investigations" felt incredibly surface level. Mostly I was just bored with it. I'm hoping they don't solve the mystery in the first volume and instead end it on some kind of big revelation, like a tv show would end an episode, but I highly doubt that based on the pacing thus far.

The art style was pretty cool, it reminded me a lot of Sabrina by Nick Drnaso.

Scooby Doo meets Hardy Boys. This graphic novel is a perfect blend of the two. It follows a group of friends and their “detective club.” There are missing men and they plan on solving exactly what is going on in Hobtown.

The mystery was fun and I enjoyed it, although it did feel a little rushed towards the end, I enjoyed the pick up of pace. A lot of action packed scenes that will leave you satisfied and entertained.

I really like the art style and color palette used.

A fun quick mystery that touches on friendship, love and acceptance.

I really enjoyed this first volume in the Hobtown Mystery Stories. This is what I always wanted Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to be. The illustrations are perfect. The entire design of the book is fantastic. It's been a while since a book has made me feel like a kid again but the Hobtown Mysteries have that great sense of nostalgia. I'm not even a graphic novel reader and I couldn't stop reading and finished it in a couple of hours.

People go missing. It's not a big deal as it has happened before in this small town. High school crime club is trying to find out what is going on. Adults stop them every chance they get. There's hints of supernatualness. Maybe zombies? Each answered question leads to more questions.