If you like Steven King or have read the print book I would say read it. Otherwise it was boring and not very interesting. I get it men on their own are animals.

I have mixed feelings about this graphic novel. Overall, I liked it but I think that is because I have read the book that this is based on. The artwork wasn't my favorite and the story seemed to lag in certain places. I'm not sure it made the transition from novel to graphic novel very well. I don't think I'll be continuing this series.

TW: Rape, Assault, Murder, Burning to death, murder of a child

Full disclosure, I'm not a huge fan of Stephen King's writing because he typically starts every sentence with a pronoun but I have enjoyed the stories. I figured I would give this graphic novel a chance when I saw it on NetGalley. Unfortunately, this book definitely wasn't for me. It's brutal and has a lot of triggers that are not for the faint of heart. The story itself was interesting but I fear that I need to read the actual book to understand really what was going on.

All in all, the graphic novel was okay. I will not continue on in the series nor do I have enough curiosity to pick up the book. I will say that the artwork is beautifully done and was one of the only reasons I kept reading.

It just wasn't my cup of tea - and I thought for my first Stephen King a graphic novel would be a good choice but I just couldn't connect with the story as I hoped I would. Maybe not the best Stephen King book to read for my first one. Not a bad book, just not for me.

This graphic novel is a bit too high for my patrons at the middle school that I work at. However, it definitely fits the Stephen King vibe. It was creepy, scary and everything one comes to expect from a Stephen King book. I like the collab with his son and their first graphic novel will not disappoint those who are downloading because they are fans of King's work.

I have not read the 700+-page tome that is Sleeping Beauties. That said, many of the motifs were familiar from other Stephen King stories (what is his thing with moths coming from people's mouths?)

The good:
There are a lot of gender themes here. One thing that I like is that the illness affects women. Women by identity, not genitalia.

The art is amazing, helps keep the characters straight, and adds to the fatigue factor.

The possibly bad, knowing this is only a first volume.

The women are much more sympathetic characters, but are quickly out of the story. Many of the men are flat out despicable. There are a couple, the sheriff's husband / doctor and the animal control person, who have potential. I just dont know if I care enough to keep reading to find out. I'm worried about possible misandry.

The best comparison I can think of is Justin Cronin's The Passage series. I kept feeling like I got to know a character just to have to move to a different one. I found it crazy frustrating and ended up just wikipediaing the rest and being super happy that I didn't waste any more time on it. I'm torn about if to continue with this, so will be doing the same here. I wanted to review without that information though, to be fair to the graphic novel. Yes, this is contradictory

So my verdict is still unsure. The fact that it's worth seeing what happens has me at a 3.5, considering the great art, and then rounding up again for the art and the easier to digest graphic novel format in general. People who like these kinds of many character books should grab this one.

Thank you to Stephen and Owen King, the artistic team, IDW Publishing, and Netgalley for an advance ecopy in exchange for an honest review.

This is the graphic novel adaptation of Stephen King's book Sleeping Beauties. The art is stunning. It instantly draws you in because the book is so beautiful. The trade collects issues 1-5. I really enjoyed the story and can't wait to see where it is going. All over women are falling asleep and not waking back up. They get enveloped in a cocoon and if you remove it they will become very violent. There is a great message in the book of what it means to be a woman and it made me so happy. The sickness is not effecting people assigned female at birth, it is effecting women. I will be continuing the series and can't wait to see what happens next.


Creative Team:
Based on the novel by Stephen King and Owen King
Adapted by Rio Youers
Art by Alison Sampson
Colors by Triona Tree Farrell
Letters by Christa Miesher and Valerie Lopez
Published by IDW

This was an absolutely beautiful adaptation of Stephen and Owen King's SLEEPING BEAUTIES.

I read the original when it was first released in 2017, so my memories of the source material are a little spotty. As with any graphic novel adaptation, certain pieces from the original work are going to be cut. For a story like this, which is rich with complexities, those cuts make the story a little difficult to follow at times. But, then again, that's the case with most graphic novel adaptations of larger works. Despite that, I still think it's a wonderful introduction to the story for readers who haven't read the original novel yet, or find its size intimidating. The artwork will mesmerize everyone from the casual reader to the die hard art fan.

I love anything Stephen King and when I saw this graphic novel was coming out, I had to preview it as well. It's a joint effort between Stephen and his son Owen, who also helped write on the story itself. The graphics were amazing and I see this as reaching a whole new group of King fans that like graphic novels instead of just books.

This adaption of Stephen Kings novel "Sleeping Beauties" is beautifully illustrated and well written. The plot is intriguing and the characters stories are interwoven masterfully in the overarching story. I'm hoping to get more of the unsettling horror that King is famous for in the next installment because so far it's more on the crime thriller genre side.

The illustration style is dark and grungy and sketchy which I think works well for this. The extra art at the end is beautiful!

With the state of literature the past few years, it was only a matter of time until Sleeping Beauties was adapted into a graphic novel. Bringing the eery mystery to illustration felt seamless with this text, and the story maintains its truth of plot and characterization.

I read the book recently, so I was excited to read the graphic novel. I felt like it really fell flat. The story jumps around a lot, and if I hadn’t read the book recently, I think I would have been confused. I read an advanced ARC, so maybe it’ll change when it’s released. It would have really helped if when the scene and/or day changed, that there was a box indicting that. In the original book I understood that it was so many hours or days into the pandemic. I was completely confused in the graphic novel.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I am a huge Stephen King fan (I can not say much on Owen King as I have not read any of his work except this graphic novel) and have not read this book. It was a disappointment. I loved the plot and idea of a sleeping sickness that only affects women but the execution was poor. The characters felt flat and I despised the rough edged illustration style. It made the whole work seem unfinished. The graphic novel honestly doesn't have the King feel to it either.

2.5 out of 3 stars

Thanks to NetGally for an eARC of this book.

Thank you @netgally & publisher.

Loved the art in this graphic novel! It was gorgeous and impressive it match well with the story.
The story collection is one of my favorites, I’m glad I was able to get a eARC copy of this! Thank you

This graphic novel was a little hard to follow. But it was still a spooky read! And even though it switch’s a lot of settings around it is a good plot idea.
Over all very pleased with this read!!

Graphic novels are a great way to introduce reluctant readers to classic stories and Sleeping Beauties, Vol. 1 is a great way to introduce reluctant Stephen King readers to his terrifying stories. Most casual readers will never crack open a King tome because his books are lengthy and daunting. However, those same readers might pick up a horror graphic novel out of curiosity and hopefully this will keep them coming back.

I am a big fan of King’s earlier work, but after reading this I will definitely continue the graphic novel series and pick up the novel by Stephen and Owen King to get the full story.

Recommended for: horror fans, Stephen King’s #1 fans

Content warning: violence, supernatural/paranormal content, sexual assault

I received a digital ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

“As the sun rises here on the east coast, and we steel ourselves for Day Two of Aurora, the latest statistics suggest that well over half of the women in the world have gone to sleep. Almost 70 percent, in fact. Many of them never woke up in the first place, of course. They were asleep when it started..”


The graphic novel adaptation of Stephen King and Owen King’s Sleeping Beauties does feel timely. A sleeping sickness called Aurora that only seems to target women is spreading across the world. Women are starting to go to extremes to stay awake leaving some men to give in to their fears, desires, and darker impulses. Strangest of all - in the town of Dooling, Eve, the only woman that can wake from her sleep, walks out of the woods and leaves destruction in her wake.

While I do not have experience with the novel Sleeping Beauties, I found this graphic adaptation to stay true to King’s storytelling style. The plot, although important, takes a backseat to this character driven narrative. Adapting King's novel in this medium makes his often lengthy page count accessible to readers that may be intimidated by a tome.

The artistry was complementary to the story line. Depictions of Eve and the forest were beautiful and the violence as well as emotional responses of the characters that were illustrated gave the horror/thriller an authentic feel. I especially enjoyed the concept art at the end of this piece. Some of those pages were frame-worthy.

I feel that it is difficult to rate this piece properly simply because it is the first volume. However, at the end, I was left wondering what would happen next and am looking forward to volume 2. This book is not for readers that do not enjoy multiple points of view.

[CW: gore, violence, misogyny, sexual assault, mistreatment of prisoners, language, suicide]

This book was disappointing. On one hand it does a great job of slowly building up stakes and tension. Unfortunately the dialog is really awful. More than once I was taken out of the story because a character said something completely unrealistic. On top of that the story seems bafflingly philosophical. I’m pretty sure the author is desperately trying to make some kind of statement about the human condition, but it is unclear what that statement actually is. Is it that men are evil? Is it that feminism is bad? I’m not really sure.

I really enjoyed the graphic novel version based on Stephen and Owen King’s novel. The story was intriguing and translated well into the comic format. The art was also engaging and matched the mood and feel of the story.

Well, the moral of this one seems to be "men are complete and total garbage."
It's pretty timely though, despite being a graphic novel adaptation of a 2017 book: an illness is sweeping the world and it is making men act like idiots. Why? Because the illness only affects women, who are falling asleep only to become covered in cobwebs. If anyone forces them awake they turn psychotic and homicidal. A few men are hoping to help and find a cure, most are taking the opportunity to riot, violate the sleeping women and set them on fire. Nice.