(Trigger warning for all sorts of extreme violence.) Violent and disturbing but strangely compelling and beautiful in its own twisted way. If you are looking for a dark retelling of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, this book is for you. It should not have been an easy read but for reasons that I don’t completely understand, I found it oddly calming. I have been very anxious and stressed out recently and this book is so dark and violent that it allowed me to completely forget about […]
Watch out boy she’ll chew you up!
Junko Mizuno is a Japanese artist whose style is usually described as “Gothic kawaii”. Her illustrations are cute and childish but also erotic and grotesque. After Cinderalla and Hansel and Gretel, Princess Mermaid is her third and darkest retelling of a classic fairytale, and the one that differs the most from the original version (I’m referring to the Hans Christian Andersen story, not the sanitized Disney version). Princess Mermaid tells the story of three mermaid sisters who have sworn to avenge the death of their […]
The Phantom of the Slaughterhouse doesn’t sing, but he does build creepy mechanical spiders
3.5 stars Wen, a young woman, whose family were clearly of a higher social status before her mother got sick and died, now works as a doctor’s apprentice for her father. Wen and her father are Itanyai. They both live in a large factory complex, Gochan One, treating to the workers of a large slaughterhouse. In the same larger compound, there is a factory producing textiles and one making advanced war machines, to further the military might of their country. Most of the workers at […]
“Thou and I are too wise to woo peaceably”
Beatrice “Trixie” Watson has two goals for her senior year. She wants to save enough money to buy the collectible Doctor Who figurines at the local comics shop and she intends to knock her nemesis, Benedict “Ben” West down to fourth place in their fancy prep school ranking. The two have always had a tense and antagonistic relationship, going all the way back to when Ben caused Trixie to break her arm on the monkey bars during first grade. This year, she is determined to […]