Another random library read that I wouldn't have encountered otherwise.

Mike Richardson's writing is decent and John Shawn Alexander's grim ink and watercolour style art is really nice and effective, but being a graphic novel can't do anything to hide the fact that this is just another trash 'trauma horror' movie in the vein of Jeeper's Creepers, albeit without the supernatural elements.

A prank call to the wrong person ends up in kidnap and abuse of the fridge girlfriend birthday girl of the protagonist who is a troubled kid doing his best and trying to save the day.

Generic plot with a generic villain and a cheap morally grey ending with the most obvious final twist.

Everything about this other than some of the dialogue and Alexander's art are pointless, male hero, fridged girlfriend tropes that have been done to death and weren't spellbinding begin with.

I'm being really harsh again, but I thought this might actually be something. Whereas, it is just tropes and the trauma of women for tension. Fuck that noise. ( )

Read like a bad B movie. Very cut and dry, no life or passion to it at all. Even the art was somewhat messy. ( )

It's pretty much a prequel to something like "I know what you did last summer". ( )

Een vriendengroep vermaakt zich met het bellen van onbekenden en deze te zeggen dat zij hun geheim kennen. Dit zogenaamde onschuldig plagen neemt een serieuze wending wanneer een van de opgebelde antwoord met hoe zij dat kunnen weten.
Het verhaal is misschien niet al te origineel maar op zijn minst toch boeiend door de spanning die doorlopend wordt opgebouwd. Dit komt vooral door de donkere waterverftekeningen. Weinig scherpe plaatjes maar juist veel suggestie en daarmee dreiging wat het lezen extra spannend maakt. ( )

The Secret is a decent take on a "classic" horror story. A bunch of teenagers play a telephone prank ("I know your secret. Meet me at the park") which backfires when the response is "How do you know my secret?" A girl suddenly disappears, and her boyfriend is the chief suspect. The story wraps up with some gory panels reminiscent of the Saw movies. It's a gripping storyline, although there's a predictable ending. The art looks like a watercolor wash; it's beautifully dark and moody, but occasionally it's hard to differentiate characters.

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LT Haiku:

"I know your secret"
Telephone game turns deadly.
Stock horror story. ( )