Review: Soul Machine by Jordana Globerman

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cover of Soul MachineSoul Machine by Jordana Globerman
Annick Press (June 17, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Jordana Globerman is a comic book writer and illustrator based in Ottawa, Canada. She holds a Masters in Visual Arts from the University of the Arts London in England, where she majored in drawing anthropomorphic bears and drinking tea the proper way. Her newest book is Soul Machine, a YA-oriented graphic novel of science fiction horror. Continue Reading

Review: Ghost Runner by Ann Malaspina

cover of Ghost RunnerGhost Runner by Ann Malaspina
West 44 Books (June 16, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Award-winning children’s author Ann Malaspina writes about the environment, social justice, history, and current events in her picture books, chapter books, and YA and MG verse novels. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her newest HI-LO novel-in-verse is Ghost RunnerContinue Reading

Review: The Harrowing Game by Antoine Revoy

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cover of The Harrowing GameThe Harrowing Game by Antoine Revoy
23rd St. (May 27, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Antoine Revoy is an award-winning French writer, artist and designer, raised in Tokyo, Japan and Mexico City, Mexico. Revoy has created illustrations for clients such as The New York Times, Der Spiegel and Harvard University. He teaches visual storytelling and comics-making courses at the Rhode Island School of Design and is a thesis mentor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Revoy lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, author-illustrator Kelly Murphy, and their many animal companions. His newest graphic novel is The Harrowing Game.Continue Reading

Review: Symphony for Walpurgis: A Collection by Rami Ungar

cover of Symphony for Walpurgis: A CollectionSymphony for Walpurgis by Rami Ungar
May 1, 2025
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Rami Ungar is the author of Rose, a novel about a woman who turns into a plant, and the collection Hannah & Other Stories, which includes the tale of a carnivorous horse. He is the Ohio chapter coordinator for the Horror Writers Association. His newest collection of novelletes is Symphony forrWalpurgis.

Novellettes are a strange beast. Many publishers and readers find them difficult because they’re such an in-between style of writing. They’re too short to build real suspense, some readers will tell you. Others will insist that they’re too long, and that they’re just short stories that need more editing. However, as the novelette is Ungar’s chosen form, he’s done his best to prove naysayers wrong, and what a job he has done!Continue Reading

Review: Saint Catherine by Anna Meyer

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cover of Saint CatherineSaint Catherine by Anna Meyer
23rd St. (April 29, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Anna Meyer is an author, designer and comic artist living in Brooklyn, New York. Originally from the Midwest, Anna went to a two-year design school in Lakewood, Ohio, where she received her associate degree in graphic design. She has over eleven years of professional design experience as both a senior designer and a design manager. She has been drawing and making comics ever since she could hold a pencil. Anna’s debut graphic novel is Saint CatherineContinue Reading

Review: The Order of the Circle by Levi Cory, Elisabeth Mkheidze, Maria Letizia Mirabella and Eva de la Cruz

banner that reads The Comic Vaultcover of The Order of the CircleThe Order of the Circle by Levi Cory, Elisabeth Mkheidze, Maria Letizia Mirabella and Eva de la Cruz
Dead Sky Publishing (February 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Levi Cory is a new graphic novelist fresh off the farm. With a degree in Playwriting and studies in film and theater, Levi brings a deep understanding of narrative structure and character development to their work. They have written and directed films and TV shows such as Living… and Snakemagic.com. In addition to their work in film and TV, Levi has authored several written works, including The Comfort of The Womb, Robbing Stupidity, and The Sick Rose. Their playwriting has earned significant recognition, including a Texas Playwright Award. Known for blending deep thematic exploration with innovative narrative structures, Levi continues to captivate audiences across both written and visual media, pushing creative boundaries with each new project. Cory’s newest book, The Order of The Circle, is available on Dead Sky Publishing.Continue Reading

Review: Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness by Vince A. Liaguno

cover of Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness
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Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness by Vince A. Liaguno
Raw Dog Screaming Press (February 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Vince A. Liaguno is an award-winning writer, anthologist, critic, and poet. He is the Bram Stoker Award®-winning editor of Unspeakable Horror: From the Shadows of the Closet (co-edited with Chad Helder) and the acclaimed Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology (co-edited with Rena Mason), which was a finalist for both the prestigious Shirley Jackson and World Fantasy Awards. His debut novel, 2006’s The Literary Six, was a tribute to the slasher films of the eighties and won an Independent Publisher Award (IPPY). His newest collection is Demo Reels and Arthouse Madness, a collection of narrative poetry.Continue Reading

Review: Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande

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cover of AkogunAkogun: Brutalizer of Gods by Murewa Ayodele and Dotun Akande
Oni Press (March 18, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2023) Fist Award for Writer of the Decade, Murewa Ayodele is the writer of the Nommo-nominated comic book series New Men, the critically acclaimed webcomic series My Grandfather Was a God, and several Marvel comics. He is also the co-founder of Collectible Comics NG, a Nigerian comic book studio founded with artist Dotun Akande that was nominated in the Comic Studio of the Year category at the 2018 Fist Awards.  Dotun Akande is an award-winning comic book cover artist and graphics designer who has worked with some of the biggest brands in Nigeria. He was the recipient of the (Lagos Comic Con 2018) Fist Award for Best Cover Artist and has created comic covers for comic book series like I Am Iron Man, Vengeance of the Moon Knight, Black Panther, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and Heirs of Apocalypse. Their newest collaboration is the mythic adventure tale, Akogun: Brutalizer of Gods.Continue Reading

Review: Black Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror & the Occult Paperback edited by Raven Digitalis

cover of Black MagickBlack Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror & the Occult Paperback edited by Raven Digitalis
?Moon Books (March 1, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage 

Black Magick is an anthology compiled and edited by occult author Raven Digitalis. Each story uniquely integrates occultism and magick, deepening the mysteries of the shadow. Raven Digitalis himself is an award-winning author best known for his “empath’s trilogy,” consisting of The Empath’s Oracle, Esoteric Empathy, and The Everyday Empath, as well as the “shadow trilogy” of A Gothic Witch’s Oracle, A Witch’s Shadow Magick Compendium, and Goth Craft. Originally trained in Georgian Witchcraft, Digitalis has been an earth-based practitioner since 1999, a Priest since 2003, a Freemason since 2012, and an empath all of his life. He holds a degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Montana, co-operated a nonprofit Pagan Temple for 16 years, and is also a professional Tarot reader, editor, card-carrying magician, and animal rights advocate.Continue Reading

Review: Night People by Barry Gifford, Chris Condon, Brian Level, and Alexandre Tefenkgi

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cover of Night PeopleNight People by Barry Gifford, Chris Condon, Brian Level, and Alexandre Tefenkgi
Oni Press (February 11, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Barry Gifford’s novel Night People was awarded the Premio Brancati, established by Pier Paolo Pasolini and Alberto Moravia, in Italy. He has won awards for fiction from the writers guilds in America and the United Kingdom, a BAFTA, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Christopher Isherwood Foundation, among others. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. His film credits include Wild at Heart (winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival), Lost Highway, City of Ghosts, and The Phantom Father.

Chris Condon is the low-down dirty scoundrel behind the ongoing Image Comic series That Texas Blood and its acclaimed Wild West spinoff, The Enfield Gang Massacre, both with artist Jacob Phillips. He waded deep into bayou waters to adapt Barry Gifford’s Night People for Oni Press and has not been the same since.Continue Reading

Review: Shadowplay (Book 1): Midnight School by Samuel Fonseca

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Shadowplay (Book 1): Midnight School by Samuel Fonseca
Top Shelf Productions (February 11, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Sam Fonseca has been drawing comics since he discovered that the anime he watched on TV as a child came from manga — and that it was possible to create all that stuff by himself using paper and pencil (still his tools of choice). Nowadays, he alternates duties between art direction, storyboard art, script writing for animation and TV projects, and creating comics. His comic project Age of Rust was nominated three times for the HQMix Prize, and his other title, Dynamite & Laser Beam, won in the “best webcomic” category. Sam also has the strange hobby of creating soundtracks for his comics. His newest collection is the dystopian nightmare, ShadowplayContinue Reading

Review: Six O’Clock House & Other Strange Tales by Rebecca Cuthbert

cover of Six O'Clock House and Other Strange TalesSix O’Clock House & Other Strange Tales by Rebecca Cuthbert
Watertower Hill Publishing (January 21, 2025)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Rebecca Cuthbert is a dark fiction and poetry writer living in western New York. She loves ghost stories, folklore, witchy women, and anything that involves nature getting revenge. Her debut poetry collection, In Memory of Exoskeletons (Alien Buddha Press, 2023) won a 2024 Imadjinn Award for Best Poetry Collection; the poems “Still Love” and “Bloodthirsty” were nominated for the Pushcart Prize, and “Still Love” was also nominated for a Best of the Net Award. CREEP THIS WAY: How to Become a Horror Writer With 24 Steps to Get You Ghouling (Seamus & Nunzio Productions, 2024) was nominated for a Golden Scoop Award. Her hybrid fiction and poetry collection of feminist horrors, Self-Made Monsters, is out from Alien Buddha Press. Her newest collection is a book of literary-speculative stories, Six O’Clock House & Other Strange Tales.Continue Reading

Review: Midnight Lullabies by Jonathan Maberry

cover of Midnight LullabiesMidnight Lullabies by Jonathan Maberry
WordFire Press LLC (September 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

The name Jonathan Maberry is known to horror and speculative readers far and wide. He is a New York Times bestselling author, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 3-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, anthology editor, writing teacher, and comic book writer. He writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His newest collection is Midnight Lullabies.Continue Reading

Review: Thunderstruck: A Dark Poetry Collection by Sandy DeLuca, Alex S. Johnson, and Alea Celeste Williams

cover of ThunderstruckThunderstruck: A Dark Poetry Collection by Sandy DeLuca, Alex S. Johnson, and Alea Celeste Williams
Independently Published (October 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Thunderstruck describes itself as “A witchy, pagan, erotic, just right for Halloween poetry collection by critically acclaimed authors, artists and poets.” This is a very appropriate description as the bulk of the poems are witchy and pagan in origin.Continue Reading

Review: Bestial Mouths by Brenda S. Tolian

cover of Bestial MouthsBestial Mouths by Brenda S. Tolian
Raw Dog Screaming Press (November 2024)
Reviewed by Joshua Gage

Dr. Brenda S. Tolian, DA, MFA, lives and writes New Orleans and is the author of Blood Mountain, published by Raw Dog Screaming Press. As an active member of the Horror Writers Association and the Angela Carter Society, Brenda’s work blends haunting narratives with deep literary insights. Her newest collection of poetry is Bestial Mouths.Continue Reading