The Darkness!!! 8/26/25
Hi! Thanks for being here. I'm just a couple paid subscribers away from hitting my "blog sustainability" goal! Thanks to everyone who has signed up so far!
Today's comic was based on a conversation I had with Jane, who is starting pre-k tomorrow. Life is about to change quite a bit. Next week I am going to start serializing the longer comic I've been working on. Some of it has been posted on Bluesky but I'm pretty confident none of you have seen any of it.
Something new: I am now a bookshop.org affiliate. If you use any of my links to buy books, I get a percentage of the sale. I even have an online storefront here: bookshop.org/shop/reillyacat If you bookmark this and just use it when you buy any book at all, it will help me out.
Graphic Novel Recs!
Oddity Woods by Kay Davault
This came out a couple weeks ago and I had a pre-release copy that my daughter Beatrice (10yrs) swiped when I brought it home. When I finally was able to rescue it from her clutches and actually read it, I was excited to find something really special. This first volume in a new fantasy/horror/comedy/mystery series has a ton going on: A big spooky forest full of ghosts and monsters, a dinner party murder mystery, a missing inventor dad, a cute poltergeist puppy, tons of foreshadowing and loose threads for further volumes. It's very thick and satisfying and full of adventure. I really feel like this could be the next Amulet. (On a personal note, there is a large chunk of this story that feels directly influenced by my favorite video game Final Fantasy VI and I found it to be delightful.)
Deepwater Creek by Michael Regina
A kids fishing trip goes awry in this amazing Lovercraft-y horror graphic novel. Great art and some pretty heartfelt writing and a seriously awe-inspiring monster from the deep. Easy recommend for the young monster fans in your life.
Middle Reader Recs!
Graciela In The Abyss by Meg Medina
This is a very cool illustrated spooky mermaid tale. Graciela dies on the first page and becomes an ocean spirit who is given the job of making sea glass and bringing it to the surface. Of course she meets a living person and of course everything gets very complicated. Reads like a modern fable, excellent stuff.
The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers
This has been out for a bit but I just wanted to get it in here as something that I want to encourage everyone to read. It tells the story of a stray dog who lives in a national forest and acts as the "eyes" for all the other animals, constantly running here and there and reporting what he sees. The protagonist is incredibly endearing and anyone who has known a good dog will appreciate the way his inner life is written. He makes it to the end, don't worry.
Young Adult Recs!
When We Ride by Rex Ogle
There is a trend towards novels written in verse that has been part of huge push in the fight for literacy and books for reluctant readers. This is one of those for teens about a hispanic kid with a bright future who is stuck as the driver for a drug dealer, his white best friend. Pretty heavy topics handled with care, also an exciting, propulsive crime story.
Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
I read this a couple months ago and I think about it all the time still. Queer dystopian class struggle story about a girl who is chosen to compete in a wilderness death match against an evil cyborg babe but they fall in love. It's incredibly rad.
One For The Grown-ups!
Clear by Carys Davies
This is my favorite literary fiction title from the last year or so and I just want to push all of you to check it out. It's a quick, emotional, read about a minister who has to travel to a remote Scottish island to evict a man who has lived there alone for decades. A beautifully written atmospheric tale that brought me to tears in a nice, not sad way.
That's all folks!