Screaming Enigma's Profile

Not the best issue of the series, but, for this series, even that can mean it’s still great, which it is. Cole’s conversation with Martin was incredibly tense, which was a majority of the issue. I do think the ending here could have been a bit stronger, though, and I do understand the criticisms of Tynion making it so Cole is a, kind of, “chosen one” in this world, but I don’t mind the latter part too much. Both things said, I still loved this issue and I’m still loving this series.more

This was absolutely stellar. My favorite issue of the series thus far. What a fantastic read. Simmonds continues to kill it on the interiors, and Tynion was just on a different level this time around. The whole conspiracy laid out, the entire dilemma it would cause by being made public (even though it’s not true), and what Cole is forced to do was just insane. Just a really great book.

Another fantastic issue here, which I particularly loved for the way it handled a grieving mother who lost her child to a school shooting. Just a really rough read, in that regard, but that’s what made it great. Tynion managed to handle a very serious topic through the strange lens of this book and I think it definitely proves how deep this book can go/get with its inherent subject matter. Once ag ain, loved this.more

Not quite on the level of the first issue, but still great and highly interesting. Really loving this whole concept in general, honestly. Gonna need the lore of the Star-Faced Man pronto, though. Very intrigued to see what comes of him and what he did to Cole, as we saw in the first issue. Anyways, yeah, this was great. Not much else to say, really.

Fantastic first issue. Simmonds definitely has a style that won’t appeal to everyone, but it’s one that I do really enjoy, particularly for the tone and story of this book. Speaking of which, what a concept. Absolutely enthralling, with so much potential for interesting story directions. The reveal at the end was great, particularly. Very much looking forward to seeing where this book goes.

Pretty solid start here. Not quite the level of quality I was hoping for, but still good. The best part of this was the depiction of someone with a chronic illness constantly dealing with the healthcare system, which I thought was just well-done. The concept of her using her condition against people is interesting, though it’s not something we see a whole lot here, which is completely fine. Lookin g forward to more.more

A lot happens in this one, and I think it’s a double-edged sword. A lot happens, so there’s a lot of opportunity to sink your teeth into something. However, there’s a lot happening, so it’s hard to stay with certain things for as long as we could had things been stretched out a bit. It’s really fun, but also another issue I’d consider one of the weaker one so far. However, with that said, my ratin g should be a testament to how fun this book is, as I’m still giving it a fairly high score. Anyways, very much looking forward to diving into whatever comes next.more

Definitely a more wild issue, which I think worked to its benefit. Really fun stuff here and I’m having a good time with it. I still think we could do with less chapter breaks, particularly with these issues no longer being triple/double-sized, but I do really like the concept of it. Anyways, yeah, this was very enjoyable and I’m hoping the next issue closes out this arc in a strong way.

I was really interested to see how Rosenberg & Boss would handle the chapter-breaks as the page-count decreased, and I do think it harmed this issue, unfortunately. I still liked it a good amount, hence my rating, but it was also what I’d consider the weakest issue yet. A lot of fun stuff with the Academy heading to the Carnival, but I just wasn’t quite as into this as I was with the previous thre e issues. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of a downwards trajectory, though, again, I still really liked what we got here and I’m still invested.more

I think this is slightly my least favorite issue so far, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. The best part, hands down, has to be Prufrock not knowing what a VHS tape is or how it works. Genuinely had me chuckling to myself when I realized that’s what was going on. In any case, we’re still getting some cool world-building here, but I fear we might not be getting enough actual explanation as to wha t’s going on here. I love when books drop the reader into a world and you learn more as you go, but I think this might be going in just a bit too blind for me to enjoy this as much as I want to.more

Before anything, I must say that the chapter breaks are certainly an interesting move. I like them now, but I’m not sure how much I’ll like them as the series progresses. Anyways, I really liked this, again. The world-building continues to be super interesting and I’m definitely looking forward to more. Really fun characters here, also. Very much enjoying the tone of this book.

Really intriguing setting here, and I’m very glad about the length of the issue. I think it gave Rosenberg & Boss the appropriate amount of room to really “set the scene” for the series going forward. There’s still a lot more to explore here, obviously, but I thought this was an incredibly solid start. Of course Boss and Rosenberg have already formed a good working relationship through previous co llaborations, but, that said, Boss is a great choice for this book already, in my opinion. Feels like his work fits right in with the environment. I could see this becoming something great, but, right now, it’s just “really good.”more

Yup. Horvath nailed the ending, as I hoped he would. Awesome stuff here, as I loved every single page of this. Samantha getting the better of Nigel by just being smarter and better at this than him was absolutely fantastic and I was just eating it up. Truly, truly, truly great series here. Need to see what else Horvath has cooking up in that brain of his, because I'd very much like more from him.

Not quite as great as the previous issue, but still fantastic. This definitely got a bit weird with the story, but I really enjoyed that. That said, I'm really hoping that the next issue manages to close things out strongly. This is, somehow, Horvath's first published comic, and I think an ending can, often, be the most difficult part of a story to really nail. I very much have faith, though, and I'm completely invested.more

(Immediate spoilers, by the way) Wasn't sure if Nigel was just going to be a fakeout, since the previous issue was only the halfway point...but, we've stuck with it, and I like it. Furthermore, this was my favorite issue thus far. Horvath has done a great job of creating intensity throughout the book thus far, and it's ramped up even higher here, particularly on the last few pages, in which Nigel crashes Samantha's world down right in front of her. Truly fantastic stuff all around here, in my opinion.more

Can't say enough good things about this book. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel or do too much, but what it does, it nails.

Halfway through and I’m still loving this book. It’s just so well-crafted on multiple fronts. For his first book published, Horvath is killing it, no pun intended. Great pacing, great reveals/hints, and great art. Additionally, Otsman-Elhaou continues to be one of the best letterers in the game right now, if not the absolute best. I’m assuming he’s doing them, since he’s the letterer, but I really enjoy all of the subtle/small things he does, with one example being Melody’s text-bubble appearing behind the closet door when Samantha was hiding in there. Also, I know I mentioned reveals already, but that ending one with Nigel was really good, especially since I’ve had a feeling he might be the killer since the first issue. However, I fear it might be too early to reveal this information…unless the rest of the story is more about Samantha hunting Nigel down. Looks like I’ll have to keep reading.more

Great issue. Even better than the first one, in my opinion. After the establishment of the world and the cast done in the first issue, this is able to really dive into things and really get the story going. Really great pacing, as well. A lot of tense moments throughout this one, especially, and I’m nowhere closer to figuring out who the (other) killer is.