Spectacle, Book One: Volume 1 (Spectacle, #1)

by Megan Rose Gedris

Fan-favorite webcomic creator Megan Rose Gedris (Yu+Me Dream) crafts a compelling tale of magic, deception, and wonder in this stunningly illustrated graphic novel about the bond between sisters.

Pragmatic engineer Anna works as a psychic in the Samson Brothers Circus, but she doesn't believe in anything supernatural--until her twin sister Kat is murdered and comes back as a very demanding ghost. Sharing a room with her sister was hard, but now they're sharing a body while trying to identify the killer. With few leads, a troupe full of secretive folk, and strange paranormal occurrences popping up around the circus, solving the case seems near impossible. But the murderer in their midst may be the least of their problems...

"Humorous and heartfelt, creepy and captivating; readers will eagerly hope for another volume." - Kirkus

• ISBN10: 162010492X
• ISBN13: 9781620104927
• Publish Date: 22 May 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Oni Press,US
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 136
• Language: English

Reviews

[llamareads]

This is a murder mystery graphic novel set in a circus traveling through the mid-west. Anna is the circus fortune teller, and, somewhat hilariously, also analytical and scientific to the core. She’s so convinced in the power of science over anything supposedly supernatural that she’s built a future-predicting Babbage machine – and then her sister is murdered, and she starts seeing her ghost. This volume revolves around Anna trying to come to terms with Kat’s death (and subsequent reappearance as a ghost) and find the murderer. Of course, it’s not just that simple – the murderer has to be someone at the circus, someone they’ve known and interacted with. Plus, there’s a fire, a power-happy sheriff, and signs that Kat’s ghost is not the only paranormal thing happening at the circus.



It’s a bit slow-going, at first, until Anna finds her twin sister Kat murdered in their train car. The pacing is pretty uneven, as there’s lots of backstory and side plots. The other circus performers are certainly characters, to make a silly pun, and I liked learning about their backstories. The art’s different than what I’m used to, but it grew on me, and I think it suits the story very well. It seems like all of the issues end on cliffhangers, even if they’re small ones, and the cliffhanger at the end of the book is a doozy. It was so abrupt, honestly, that I went and checked to make sure the file wasn’t corrupted.



Overall, I think this comic shows a lot of promise, and I’ll definitely be picking up the second issue!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

[Quirky Cat]

I received a copy of Spectacle Vol. 1 from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Spectacle is by Megan Rose Gedris, though it isn’t her first graphic novel by any means. Yu+Me is probably her most famous work, but she’s also done works such as I Was Kidnapped by Lesbian Pirates from Outer Space (try saying that ten times fast), and Small Town Blues.
What originally drew my attention to Spectacle was the cover; the rich colors and circus theme immediately captivated me, and I knew I had to give this new series a try. Spectacle is about two twin sisters whom are part of a travelling circus. One is whimsical and flighty, while the other is pragmatic and down to earth. It’s ironic then that the pragmatic sister, Anna, is the one that can predict the future and see ghosts. Not exactly traits one would expect from a realistic person, no?
The story of Anna and Kat is oddly compelling – they’re both so different from one other, but their ties are unbreakable. Seeing them try to solve this mystery together against all odds…it was wonderful. Though I do wish it hadn’t ended on a cliffhanger (mostly because I’m not a fan of them).
The artwork for this series is outstanding. I expected rich colors based on the cover, but I wasn’t expecting the level of details or other subtle details that were included. I love the way Gedris portrayed the circus as well as the more supernatural events that occurred.
I’m probably going to have to continue reading this series, because I’m officially hooked. I hope the wait for volume two isn’t too long…

For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

[Nessa Luna]

Omg I need the second volume ASAP! What was that ending wth?!?!?!?

I loved the artwork so much, and the setting is great too! Kind of reminded me of the Freak show season of American Horror Story. If you loved that season, I highly recommend this graphic novel!