Going in, I wasn't sure what to expect. The artwork on the cover seemed very bad-ass, so after reading through the lines of the synopsis, I knew I was in. The book pulls you right in the story, with hints of the past, and a very smooth transition to our main character, Mila, a pale Morticia-like figure of a teenager who is bathing in the sea, who is startled by Agnes, a girl we soon learn to be a ghost - it's no spoiler, it's right there in the synopsis, though for me it was a surprise since I've forgotten about that by the time I actually read the ARC.

It seems to be a normal encounter between two adolescent girls who may be attracted to each other - Mila is strangely attracted to Agnes' teeth for some reason and this is the least strange thing about the pair. Soon enough, it all turns into a creepy adventure none of them asked for. Agnes carries the essence of an ancient king by a childhood accident that resulted in her death. Also, her teeth are actually the former guardians of the king - I know, I told you it gets stranger and stranger.

Positive aspects
the artwork, as I had predicted from the cover
everything has a sort of cool, washed out tone
it is grotesque at times, and weird, in the good kind of way
the character design

Negative aspects
some scenes transition to others with no explanation whatsoever, and all of a sudden
not enough information about the past and who the "bad guys" are
parents are absent: we don't get to see Agnes' parents at all and Mila's are completely unaware and uninvolved
vague information thrown in
the lesbian romance was underdeveloped
the story feels underdeveloped as well

All in all, the graphic novel had a very high potential, but it failed to deliver. I felt really sad to see such an interesting plot idea and such unique art style go to waste.

Watersnakes is a dark and mysterious story about a teenage girl, Mila, who befriends a very strange girl that turns out to be a ghost. This special friend tells weird stories with several supernatural details – but are there only stories? Together these girls will endure several dangerous adventures, overcoming their fears and deepening their friendship.
The way the girls are depicted is both cute and obscure, projecting a foggy and nostalgic presence, specially Agnes, the ghost, even before we know she is a ghost. The cuteness of the teenage girls contrasts with the nightmare monsters. They face them and choose to participate in dangerous adventures (or the adventures choose them), cutting the rope towards the preconceived idea that girls don’t get to be adventurous.
It’s an awesome and melancholic story!

A delightful mix of cute and weird. I love the drawing style. The end is a bit short, but I like that there is potential for a continuation here.

This graphic novel was perfect for an October read. A little weird, a little macabre, but really interesting plot and a satisfying end!

If you are looking for a Graphic novel with gorgeous illustrations, it is your comics, the art is breathtaking, probably this will be the first things that you will notice about it. This graphic has such a Halloween vibe, is weird and creep, Mila was summing int the lake on the distant forest when she meets Agnes, a Mysterious girl, from there the girls become friends almost instantly, Mila is obsessed by Agnes' teeth, and Agnes makes a point of remaining apparently unreliable....the crush is immediate.

The storyline line is confused, in some pages I had no idea what was going on, well you know, in comics we have more space to interpret the plot, but when you have a ton of space to do it can be a problem, anyway, it would have been more interesting if there had been a further development background on the water snakes.

If English is not your mother tongue and you want to read a book to improve your reading, this is a great choice, the language is easy although the plot is confusing.

The illustrations in this short volume are really a stand out. What initially attracted me to the book was that the art was heavily reminiscent of Jonathan Weiner's gorgeous cover illustration for Kai Meyer's book The Water Mirror.

This storytelling was surreal and dreamlike, creepy and atmospheric. But there were points where the plot could get a bit convoluted and difficult to understand. While I loved the art, I could have done with more back story.

Watersnakes tells the story of dark-haired Mila, who befriends the beautiful and mysterious pale-haired Agnes. I don't want to give too much away, so we'll say Agnes is not exactly what she seems.

I loved the girl love, but could have done without some of the body horror. Overall, I would give the artwork five stars and the story two or three stars. I really look forward to seeing more illustrations from this artist.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!

That was beautiful and scary at the same time. It was really good. The story is very unique and artworks are equally amazing.

The artwork is gorgeous and adds to the body horror and discomfort of the story. It carries the story along with it and engages the reader. Colors stand out for their limited use and are altogether stunning.

Plot requires a suspension of disbelief, which is attainable given how quickly it moves along. More of a story of a summer gone past where you do not require all of your questions to be answered, you simply require an adventure. There is a FF romance but its undermined by the ending of the book and inevitably doesn't resolve well - something that isn't ignored or erased but again, not answered (and is in fact a good analogy for people Questioning.)

Art and plot combine for an uncomfortable (for someone who is not often fond of body horror) read. I stayed engaged for the ideas of the book and while I don't have answers, I felt like I went on a curious adventure that didn't NEED to have a tidy bow on it.

The art for this book is absolutely gorgeous and I'm honestly rating it more on the art and mood of the whole thing than the content because it is just ...confusing. I seriously had to come back to Goodreads and reread the summary after I started because I had literally no idea what was going on. Absolutely nothing plot related was really explained until the end and even then it was a very cursory explanation that left me with a lot of questions. If you like very stylized and kind of creepy art and don't mind a very loose plot then this is an okay read, but don't expect too much.

Sandoval surely knows how to make eerie and creepy comics. There's always this odd and distant feeling to them and they're quite philosophical too. Watersnakes is about a lonely girl named Mila, who befriends a blonde girl named Agnes. Agnes seems weird and soon Mila understands that Agnes doesn't really exist the way she does. Agnes wants Mila to help her with the octopus king and their journey turns into a bloodbath, teeth and the terrain between our world and something else. The atmosphere is suffocating and pretty at the same time. The comic is brutal and almost horror and then again it's like a fairy tale and about girl love. Sandoval is a master at combining beauty with monstrosity. The rhythm is wonderful and the slow wondering pace is perfect making this comic dream-like.

The panels vary and the light and thin art with naive characters is a wonderful contrast to the horrors and the bloodbath. Sandoval plays with opposites a lot and it makes his comics refreshing and different. The girl love spice in the comic was wonderful, not to forget the weird obsession with teeth that made the comic extra creepy. Watersnakes is almost like an art comic, but one that actually works and makes sense and not sense at the same time. I just wish there was a reason to the bloodbath and explanation to the soldiers and why were they fighting, since the fights would be more meaningful like that. A great comic still indeed.

A stunningly illustrated ,beautifully creepy story, Watersnakes by Tony Sandoval may be one of the most beautiful books I have picked up all year, Translated from the original , it is the story of Mila, a quiet young girl who befriends the mysterious Agnes, Mila is strangely drawn to her, and it turns out that Agnes is not quite what she seems, in fact she is a ghost who carries the essence of a powerful prince and whose teeth are in fact an army of his guards. If that doesn't sound too weird and surreal this may be the book for you, because it only gets stranger as the story goes on. While the story is dark and creepy, the real highlight for me was the beautiful artwork , every page was a delight, with a cornucopia of details to be pored over and enjoyed. The drawing style is a wonderful blend of beautiful and eerie , and fit the story incredibly well, If I had to criticise anything, I would just say that the story was a little confusing at times, but overall I found the book both beautiful and enjoyable and I would definitely seek out the work of this creator again.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

Okay, that was... surreal. And by that I mean: You're probably not going to make much sense of this plot, no matter how hard you try. In Watersnakes, Mila meets Agnes and develops a crush on her as well as a weird obsession with the latter's teeth - the rest is hard to explain. It's more optical derealization than comic, that much I know. The visuals are naturally impressive. Antonio Sandoval's artwork looks like a mix between Stephen Mackey and a darker Alessandro Barbucci. It stands out with its amazing backgrounds (the water!) and in parts hyperrealistic details, while maintaining a caricaturesque look. The plot surprisingly flirted with gore and even body horror, the action scenes were well-executed and full of motion. An impressive example of Sandoval's artistic skills, but not so much of his storytelling abilities.

A beautiful, macabre, enigmatic, myth-making graphic novel, telling the story of two supernatural young women who find one another, become close, fight dead wolves, are watched by foxes and dogs, save an octopus (the king of the sea), and make unusual and beguiling magic.

Not able to load pages. very very slow to load and after few pages, it doesn't load at all. total disaster because it seemed like something I would enjoy, what a shame

Watersnakes has been a very interesting story to me. It is a completely original and creativity story and I haven't seen anything like it. When I was first introduced to this graphic novel, I thought there was going to be some adventure involving ghosts and magic. I have never been right where I was also completely wrong. That is how unexpected this graphic novel can be. 

I didn't expect the story to play out the way it did, but it always stayed interesting and there was never a moment where I felt bored or wanting to just stop. The story was interesting and... well interesting. The right words are not coming to me to describe it. It had a little creepy factor it, but it wasn't scary at all. The style in which the artwork was done in has also added an eerie factor to the overall story.

This graphic novel sets itself apart from other works out there. The artwork is beautiful and fits the story really well. However I fell the story was a bit rushed and asked of the reader to know things they don't. Maybe it's just how the narrative style works, but it was not the right fit for me.

I did enjoy the plot and I hoped there were more info about it, more depth and explanation to how or why things happened. There was something lacking for me in the end, but I will be on the look out for the author's next works.

Watersnakes is a surreal trip of a story that takes you down the curious path of Mila and her new friend Agnes. Together they face adventure and danger, and the journey is an interesting one for sure.

From the world of a notable graphic novel artist comes this book that mixes coming of age angst with supernatural elements. It’s a potent and enjoyable mingling.