A crazy book full of hits and misses. You love one you hate another, you laugh at one, you loath another. Serves the premise of the book though.

I didn't enjoy this one at all. Most of it I was bored with. I think I only liked one story.

I do not recommend

A really fun and awesome selection of comic short stories. The stories are engaging, and the illustrations are also amazing. I picked up this book mainly because of Neil Gaiman but I ended up liking all the stories. You will get a fine and wide selection of stories with this anthology, from fighting transformer building and witches to aliens. But you will find stories about abuse and dark family secrets.

Gorgeous, well-put together anthology! This would be a great addition to anyones comic/graphic novel collection!

This is really a great comic to get into and out of when you have some downtime. Good stories! The authors included all have siitted cool work and I enjoyed each one

<p>Overall, it's a pretty even anthology of little comic stories, each with a sort of twist at the end (where I guess the SHOCK in the title comes from). There are some aliens (not particularly clever ones who try to hypnotize a scarecrow), there's a retelling of Red Riding Hood where she is a hood in the more colloquial sense of the term (i.e. <i>hoodlum</i>), there are fighting transformer buildings, etc. But again, like I find with so many comics, it's like a whole smorgasbord of amuse-bouches but then I want to eat something more filling than a bit of bacon wrapped in watercress, except there's not the option. Why is it that word-based short-stories can fill me up (good ones, at least, like <a href="https://www.librarything.com/work/19440/book/116053060">Goodbye to Berlin</a> or <a href="https://www.librarything.com/work/13383539/book/110608180">Just Pretending</a>, or even non-traditional ones without true endings, like let's say <a href="https://www.librarything.com/work/4091153/book/151072517">If on a winter's night a traveler</a>), yet I've never been satisfied completely with any comic anthology? Is it a fault of the medium or a fault of the reader?</p>

<p>So I liked <A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/21418996/book/155475068">SHOCK Anthology</a> more than I expected to, but I still, as always, have my reservations about the effectiveness of comics for short stories.</p>

<p><A href="https://www.librarything.com/work/21418996/book/155475068">SHOCK Anthology</a> by Neil Gaiman, Paul Jenkins, Brian Azzarello, Cullen Bunn, Marguerite Bennett, Frank Tieri, and more went on sale April 24, 2018.</p>

<p><small>I received a copy free from <a href="https://www.netgalley.com/">Netgalley</a> in exchange for an honest review.</small></p>

'SHOCK Anthology' edited by Joe Pruett is a series of 21 stories, most with a SF, horror or fantasy slant. As with most anthologies, some stories work better than others.

The first story is written by Neil Gaiman, and feels like one of his poems illustrated by Michael Zulli. From there, we stories about deadly butterflies, alien invasions, revenge, witches, a message from beyond the grave, and others.

The art is all consistently good. The stories vary, and some feel like they aren't complete. I kept thinking some might be continued further on, but that wasn't the case. The first few stories had some surprise endings, and I thought they all might go that direction, but that wasn't the case either.

Overall, the art is quite good, and the stories were fine. Like any anthology, you take the good with the bad. The stories are all pretty short.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Aftershock Comics, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I didn’t enjoy this anthology at all. Most of the stories didn’t entertain me, but I will say the illustrations were fun to look at. It was a good way to check out the various artists’ styles and to see what they could come up with. Story wise, though, I felt this was a bit of a flop.

Thanks, all the same, to the authors, publisher, and NetGalley for the review copy.

This comic style anthology really surprised me! Where most of the stories were only a handful of pages, and were easily forgettable (for me anyway), there were a couple of stories that packed such a serious punch that it super-bumped up my rating. My 2 favorites in the collection were:

Dumb Bitch: A woman is married to a horrendously abusive man, who she continually tries to tell herself she still loves. When she saves and shelters an abused dog, she learns that her kindness towards the poor animal could do more than just give her some company. It could quite literally change the course of her life.

The Last Dance with You: Even thinking about this story makes me want to cry. A young woman is getting married and her mom brings her a recording her dad made before he died. As the story unfolds it becomes more and more clear what’s going on that lead to his ultimate demise. By far one of the most heart-wrenching stories I’ve ever, ever read.

Received via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

SHOCK is a graphic novel anthology. I liked the idea of the anthology more than the anthology itself. I'm a big lover of graphic novels, but this was not for me. The stories are on the short side, which is understandable in an anthology. However it made some of the stories feel incompete and hard to get into or care about. I found the stories generally hard to understand.

There was a few very impactful stories like Dumb Bitch and The Last Dance With You. I also enjoyed the one called Little Red Hood, which was a Little Red Riding Hood retelling.

This anthology is great if you want to check out different art styles and artists, but I wouldn't recommend this if you're looking for great stories.

I liked this mixed bag of stories quite a bit. Reminded me of the sci-fi/fantasy comic magazines like Heavy Metal and Epic that I read growing up in the late '70s and early '80s. This anthology has no real theme, it's an eclectic mix of 21 stories, most falling somewhere within the larger spectrum of science fiction or fantasy.

Shock (or SHOCK) is an anthology collection with no real theme to it which means there's a chance for something really, really interesting... there's also the chance of it being a ginormous pile of crap (thankfully, it's not). I've noticed several other reviewers have done a brief synopsis of all 21 stories so I won't bother with that as we all seem to be pretty much in agreement of what does and doesn't work in the collection.

Most of the stories fall into the category of good, solid 3 1/2-star to 4-star efforts. A few are exceptionally well done, in both story and art, and hit that 5-star mark.

Unfortunately, as is bound to be the case with such an unusual collection of stories, there are a couple that fall flat. The kind of thing you read and go, "What the...? Well, there's 5 minutes of my life I can't get back.". There is always the distinct possibility that I just didn't "get" what the story was about, or I am too thick to comprehend a greater truth, or too old to be cool, or whatever... Point being most - but not ALL - of the stories are good to great.

I would recommend SHOCK to those who enjoy science fiction, fantasy, or something a little avant-garde.

***Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this title.

An anthology of random stories by some of the top creators in comics. Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli, Charles Vess, Michael Gaydos, Bill Willingham, Mike Carey, Brian Azzarello, and Jim Starlin are just some of the creators on the stories within. As with most anthologies, this was a mixed bag of crap and gold. Standouts include a Paul Jenkins story that made me tear up about a father leaving a message for his daughter on her wedding day. I wouldn't be surprised if it wins an Eisner that's how good it was. Also memorable was a modern day take on Little Red Riding Hood.

Trigger warnings: torture, death, rape.. look, when it says “shock,” it means shock!

I generally like checking out anthologies as I think it’s a great way to find new authors. It takes a certain kind of storyteller to manage a short story, though, considering you need to condense so much plot and characterization into not too many pages. The same thing holds true for comics, as there’s a total of 21 stories in the 166 pages of this book – so only about 8 pages per story. Considering the shortness of each one, I’m doing a short 1-2 sentence review along with a rating and art sample. So without further ado…

“Witch Work” – Neil Gaiman, Michael Zulli & Marshall Dillon – ★★★★★. A lyrical, creepy poem with beautiful sepia-toned art.

"Bloodflies" - Cullen Bunn, Leila Leiz, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Creepy little fairy tale. I'm not exactly sure what the heck it was trying to say.

"Kerguelen" - Andy Clarke - ★★★★. Not exactly a pleasant story, but it definitely told a story in a few pages and the art was atmospheric and supported the story perfectly.

"Invasion" - Francesco Francavilla - ★★★★★. Loved the retro art and the story with a twist!

"The Mountain Pass" - Bill Willingham, Travis Moore, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Beautiful art, and interesting, if predictable, story.

"Berserker" - Jim Starlin, Phil Hester, Kevin Mellon & Crank! - ★★★★. Utterly twisted, but brilliant.

"Dumb B****" - Marguerite Bennett, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. I loved the idea, but I didn't care for the art, and though the dialogue was a bit clunky.

"The Last Dance With You" - Paul Jenkins, Dalibor Talajić, Stipe Kalajazic, Seb Camagajevac & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Beautiful art, and bittersweet story, but I guessed the twist right away (who the heck puts candles on a wedding cake??). Too emotionally manipulative for my taste.

"Escape From the Lost World" - Mike Carey, Szymon Kudranski & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Memoir of a boy growing up in 1960s England, done in grayscale. Moving and thought-provoking.

"End Game" - Marco Kroner, Andrew Robinson & Adam C. Moore - ★★. Interesting idea, but confusing in such a short format. This might've been pretty good as a full-length comic.

"Iste Bu Istanbul!" - Charles Vess - ★★★★. This story is most told through the beautiful art. Quirky.

"Based on a True Story" - Brian Azzarello, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★. It was going good and then it stopped. Relied more on shock value than actual storytelling.

"Little Red Hood" - Frank Tieri, Joe Eisma, Toni Fejezula & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Like Fable, but a crime family. Fun idea, boring execution, though.

"Dead City" - Michael Gaydos - ★★★. Lovely art, but eye-rolling story.

"Live or Die" - Joe Pruett, Cliff Richards, Guy Major & Marshall Dillon - ★★★★. Creepy war story. Fits perfectly into this short format!

"Metroclash" - Marc Guggenheim, Laci, Aljoša Tomić & Marshall Dillon - ★★. Interesting beginning, but then it just turned into another Kaiju knockoff.

"Paroled" - Stephen Nilson, Wesley Gunn, Hoyt Silva & Charles Pritchett - ★★. Meh art, meh story.

"Devolution" - Aaron Douglas, Szymon Kudranski, Hoyt Silva & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. Interesting dystopian future, but too wordy.

"Circle of Fear!" - Richard Starkings, Sarah DeLaine & Axel Medellin - ★★★. I... just... what? It probably has my favorite panel of the whole book, though (not shown due to spoilers).

"Moments" - Mike Zagari, Will Sliney, Sjan Weijers & Marshall Dillon - ★★. Interesting idea, boring execution.

"A Job" - Marko Stojanović, Ivan Šanović & Marshall Dillon - ★★★. An interesting end to the anthology.

All told, the ratings average out to about 3.5 stars, but I'll round up to 4 just because I think the idea of a comics anthology is pretty great. Yes, some stories were spectacular, some worked, and some were just plain awful, but that mixed bag is about what you get with any anthology. There's not really an overarching theme to the anthology, with genres ranging from scifi to fantasy to just plain weird. There's enough diversity here though that I think pretty much any comic book reader could find something to love!

I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SHOCK Anthology is a collection of short stories told via comics. Being a lover of short stories, and taking into consideration that super cool cover, how could I resist? As with any anthology, some of the stories worked for me and some did not. One thing I learned was that I needed to go through this volume slowly, otherwise moving from comic to comic, each being totally different in writing and artwork styles, was too jarring. That said, these are the stories that stood out for me:

THE LAST DANCE WITH YOU: was a beautifully told tale and even though the clues were there, I didn't catch on to where the story was going until we arrived.

DUMB BITCH: Don't you touch that dog!

ISTANBUL: I loved this one because the art work was gorgeous and evocative, even with no words.

THE DEAD CITY AWOKE: This tale was super short and had few words, but the art was simply breathtaking. (Probably my favorite graphics in this collection.)

LIVE OR DIE: A spooky story taking place in the middle of a war battle.

DEVOLUTION: I loved this dystopian tale of caution even if it was a bit implausible. I see seeds of this in our day to day living right now and I often wonder where it's going to end up. DEVOLUTION presents its own ideas as to how things will turn out.

MOMENTS: With tongue firmly in cheek, this tale about social media and how far it could, (will?), go was hilarious and disturbing all at once. With so many people paying way too much attention to their online lives and so little to their actual lives, I thought this tale was a fun and unsettling way to look at what the future might bring.

Overall, I enjoyed the concept of this book and the book itself. With lots of variety and something for everyone, I recommend this fun volume to fans of short stories,comics and graphic novels!

*Thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. This is it.*

SHOCK Anthology is a collection of 21 completely different stories from Aftershock Comics.

Fluctuating genres and art keep any one person from liking all the stories. However, there is something for everyone within: horror, sci-fi, memoir, adventure and some with apparently no plot at all. The new Neil Gaiman is great but too short!

SHOCK Anthology is recommended as a broad overview of the various genres, writing styles and art techniques. It will allow fans of a particular story to pursue additional longer-form work by the writer and/or artist.

Thanks to Aftershock Comics and NetGalley for a copy.

This is definitely more of a 2.5, but it's really not awful and there were a few stories I actually liked so I'll bump it up to 3. Honestly half of my desire to round down was because in the introduction it was like 'at Aftershock we're really breaking the box and telling stories no one else is!' and that just ...does not shine through at all in this anthology. I mean I do like some of Aftershock's titles. Alters, Insexts, and Babyteeth were great definitely unique, and I can't wait to read Dark Ark ...but there is not much in this anthology like that. It's mostly just the same story tropes you've read a million times [told by a lot of the same writers you've read a million times]. I also didn't really like that there was no theme for the anthology so it was just a completely random mash-up of stories. I know that will probably be a selling point for some people, but I'm a bit of a mood reader and I don't know what mood I would have to be in to want to read several different genres at once. Love the cover though, I always get suckered in by awesome covers ;)

3.5

Rating anthologies are hard. Some stories were amazing, but some were honestly terrible. But there were definitely more good stories than bad ones

This is a great horror comic anthology. There are several stories that will make you stop and reflect on what you just read.

It is very difficult for a short story to make an impact. That being said, it's even harder for ten pages of comics to do the same. There is very little room for character development or suspense and both tend to fall flat when not handled with care.

This anthology has no theme or genre but most stories tend to fall under the holy trinity of Horror/Fantasy/Sci-Fi. I've never read a comic anthology before. Because the comics are extremely short, I've decided to review them minimallistically with a sentence or two, along with a screenshot of coinciding artwork.

I've also decided to give two ratings: one on an overall average of my rating for each comic, as well as a final rating that also takes into considerations the careful selection and hard work taken on by the anthology's compilers to showcase such a diverse range of stories.

Average rating: 3.4 stars
My final rating: 4 stars

In a way, I'm glad I'm finally done with this wonderful mess. My brain was addled by this one because I struggled to keep up with the shifting tone and genre changes between comics.

Please see attached my Goodreads review for a more in-depth look at each comic.

SHOCK Anthology has a mix of stories by known and unknown writers and artists. Each story is about 6-10 pages, so no long drawn-out tales here. Instead the tales tend to be pithy, gritty, strange, weird, and grabbing the reader by the throat and demanding attention. There is a nice blend of genres so the reader is likely to find plenty to enjoy in these short comics.

Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read this volume!