I am one of Trick 'r Treats' biggest  fans. I just needed to put that out there first thing. I don't just watch it, religiously, once a year, but during the year as well, to bring me that Halloween feeling, as well as to marvel over the craftsmanship with which the movie was made. So when I saw that Days of the Dead was being released, I had to have it! And I do, thanks to my birthday (yesterday) and my very generous best friend!

Like the movie, the graphic novel follow four different stories; unlike the movie, the stories aren't interconnected, except for the appearance of Sam, and that was a bit of a disappointment, but understandable, considering they had different writers, and different artists, with Dougherty coming up with the overall picture and supervising.

Seed - The most disappointing of the four. I don't think Trick 'r Treat ever needed a tragic love story, but I still could have gone along with it if it weren't for the immense historical inaccuracies. Pumpkins were indigenous to North America and didn't catch on in Europe for a long, long time; they wouldn't be in Ireland in the 17th century. And there was no great witch inquisition in Ireland, either; there were witch finders, and, oh! There were burnings. But the concentrated effort shown in this story is fallacious. What I would have liked to see from this story is the origin of Sam's earthly form, and I think that was supposed to be the implication (?), but it was poorly done and I was left underwhelmed.

Corn Maiden - Now this is more like it! Though, again, it's a little too early in American history to be celebrating Halloween (and to have traditional candy, to boot!)--curse my historical knowledge of this holiday!--but it's a good story, well told, with a macabre twist. I can't help but feel that there's too much of a righteous feel to Halloween at this point, however, which is directly in contrast to the message of the movie, that Halloween is capricious and has its own rules. And one of those rules: Always checky our candy!

Echoes - Now we're talking! With bizarre, almost mind-bending artwork, this story was when the fire really began for me, when it caught and started to blaze. Again, Halloween is surprisingly benign, and it feels as if they're  trying a bit too hard, as in Seeds, to show a modern, more progressive form of witchcraft (I'm Wiccan and this still slightly bothered me, because it felt preachy). But the suspense, the art, the writing, it all works so well! The only thing I might criticize is that I occasionally got lost. Characters speak from off panel, and it wasn't always easy to follow who was saying what; it lent it a dreamlike quality, but also a little confusion. I felt as if a page were missing somewhere along the story, and that's a problem, but otherwise, so solid and beautifully done, I couldn't really fault it.

Monster Mash - My favorite. The art is fantastic, and the use of costumes for two little boys to walk among real monsters is so very much in the spirit of traditional Halloween, as is the fact that one of them decides to stay. And the religious push against modern Halloween adds the perfect touch of Halloween history to the story. And I loved how it tied into the very beginning of the story. Perfectly done!

And this will now become a yearly read, as the movie is a must-watch. And it will tide me over until the sequel is made!

The most unusual haunted house book I've ever come across, and I loved it for that alone. The narration is split between five separate characters, and the book develops slowly, taking its time with the characters, letting them grow with a slow burn discovery of their pasts and their relationships with their families.

Weird shit is going down. The prologue makes this very clear. Maybe a bit too clear, in that only going back after did I realize that the crazy stuff in the prologue doesn't have much to do with events in the book, other than the worlds breaking down. It was an excuse for Little to go a little nuts, and he does it so well. But it was a bit confusing, and my brain even sort of blocked it out, because it seemed so disparate from the rest of the novel.

The five different characters come from five different places, have never met, had different tragedies in their families,but they all had one thing in common: The House. And a butler named some variation of Billings as well as a little girl they all assumed was Billings' daughter.

Daniel is the first character you're introduced to, and, to me, the most sympathetic. I loved Laurie, and if there was any complaint I had with the book, it's how she appears less and less until she's nearly nonexistent towards the end. Stormy starts to usurp her part, and I liked Stormy and his snarky attitude, but a little goes a long way. Norton I started to despise, and the vision Stormy has of him at the end after

makes me wonder, with two staying in the House at the end, if they are going to fulfill those two roles, the role of meddler, as the girl and Billings are called, representatives of both higher and much, much lower powers.

And that's the great thing about this book. Nothing's spoon fed; there are definitely answers, but there's room enough to speculate, and to see larger and scarier pictures.

A unique book, and one I thoroughly enjoyed!

OH MY GOD, ROWAN! Oh my god, think, woman! You're supposed to be clinical, intelligent! YOU ARE THE DOORWAY, AND THE KEYHOLE = YOUR BABY HOLE! You, yourself, were just marveling at the miracle of the cells coming together in a seeming miracle in your womb, and now you're wondering how Lasher could possibly want you to create and manipulate cells to make him human. HE WANTS TO BE BORN FROM YOU.

I was convinced he needed Michael to put the baby in her. Maybe he still does? I don't buy Lasher's story about simply loving Michael. As Aaron tried to remind Rowan again and again, and again, Lasher LIES.