Title: Beautiful Darkness

Author: Fabien Vehlmann and Kerascoët

Publisher: Drawn & Quarterly 2014

Genre: Comics

Pages: 94

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges:

Newly homeless, a group of fairies find themselves trying to adapt to their new life in the forest. As they dodge dangers from both without and within, optimistic Aurora steps forward to organize and help build a new community. Slowly, the world around them becomes more treacherous as petty rivalries and factions form.

Beautiful Darkness became a bestseller and an instant classic when it was released in 2014. This paperback edition of the modern horror classic contains added material, preparatory sketches, and unused art. While Kerascoët mix gorgeous watercolors and spritely cartoon characters, Fabien Vehlmann takes the story into bleaker territory as the seasons change and the darkness descends. As with any great horror, there are moments of calm and jarring shocks while a looming dread hangs over the forest.

Not quite sure what I just read, but it was just horrifying enough that I found myself riveted to the pages. The horror takes a few pages to really present itself, but then we are off and running. I was really rooting for Aurora the entire time, hoping that she would be able to overcome the myriad obstacles in her path. This is a very quickly little horror comic that was an instant hit for me.

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