'Maniac of New York, Vol. 2: The Bronx Is Burning' by Elliott Kalan with art by Andrea Mutti is a graphic novel about a killer terrorizing New York. Detective Zelda Pettibone and mayor aid Gina Greene have lost the track of the Maniac.surfaces in a Bronx High school. Will the students in high school be able to their cell phone use to notice a monster in the midst?

An excellent graphic novel. It is horror. There is a lot of blood in the book. It’s a warning for anyone who does not like bloody gore. It is good. Reading it made me forget time. It is scary yet I remind myself that I am home in the living room in my favorite chair with the doors and windows locked!

MANIAC OF NEW YORK, VOL 2: THE BRONX IS BURNING by Elliott Kalan

I first encountered Elliott Kalan when his podcast, the Flophouse, did a bonus episode in conjunction with The Greatest Generation to review Star Trek V. I fell in love with him as a podcaster when I listened to I, Podius, the I, Claudius rewatch podcast he did with John Hodgman. After that I started listening to the Flophouse regularly, and I realized that he was the writer of Spider-Man and the X-men, which was hilarious. So when I heard him talking about Maniac of New York on the podcast, I decided to try it, even though horror is NOT my genre.

But I needn’t have worried - the writing is so good that I forgot to be scared. Kalan creates a very realistic view of how our world would react to a Jason Voorhees-like serial killer on the loose in Manhattan.

I was very happy when NetGalley and the publisher gave me an eARC of volume 2 in exchange for an honest review.

Volume 2 ratchets up the tension and the action in quite believable ways. I was hoping for more progress on the whole museum plot thread from book one, but that’s a minor quibble. The ending? I did NOT expect that. I can’t wait for volume 3.

I really enjoyed this book. I’m always here for a good slasher graphic novel and this one delivered on everything I wanted from it. It continued the story from volume 1 perfectly. It was super interesting to read and the story really drew me in. And this had a lot of gore, which I always really appreciate.

Also, I really loved the illustrations. They were just so pretty and they were super fun and really brought light to the story.

I had the best of time reading this one and I just really enjoyed it.

Following on from the previous volume, Maniac of New York takes the slasher Maniac Harry to the Bronx for more blood-soaked carnage.

In his pursuit are Zelda Pettibone and mayoral aide Gina Greene, but with copycats springing up everywhere and sightings all over the city; who can they trust?

Similar in vein to something like Maniac Cop, Maniac of New York has a slasher vibe mixed with a cop thriller; and largely succeeds with balancing the narratives.

Given its on the page, the graphic novel allows for more outlandish gore plus it can take chances such as letting Harry loose in a school, which feels like a big no-no especially in the United States, due to its countless school shootings.

We also have the social commentary around the role of authority and Government, with the Bronx having a Mayor up there with Mayor Vaughn from Jaws, in terms of his interest outweighing those of even vulnerable children under attack from a serial killer.

Harry is also let loose on a baseball game, which certainly deserves kudos for originality. The graphic novel is also sprinkled with plenty of satirical dark humour that fans will lap up.

The Bronx is Burning is everything we wished Jason Takes Manhattan could have been plus there is potential for another volume in this series.

'Maniac of New York, Vol. 2: The Bronx Is Burning' by Elliott Kalan with art by Andrea Mutti is a graphic novel about a killer terrorizing New York.

After surviving the tragic events of the Death Train, Maniac Harry is still on the loose. Chasing him down are Detective Zelda Pettibone and mayoral aide Gina Greene. The trail leads to a school and Yankee Stadium. There is also a child who may have information on how to stop Maniac Harry for good.

This was a very visceral read and not for the feint of heart. There is gore aplenty and I really had a great time reading it. That was added to by the very above average art.

My title: The Slasher Effect
4.6/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Bloody, gore-y & shades of faded
~ Intriguing story and mystery killer
~ Great art
~ Morally grey characters

The Maniac is loose in New York. He walks around with a cutlass-es cousin, is drawn to noise, slashes with impunity & doesn’t seem to feel much pain - and after a little choppy stop at a high school, he is on his way to Yankee Stadium… BUT there are two cops on his trail. Cops who have had to deal with him before & failed to save a train with over 200 people. Cops who are ill regarded but are desperate to put him down - cops holding the secret of what really happened on the train.

When the Maniac appears again Gina swears she is ready & since she has accepted that the Maniac’s massacre is basically her fault, she takes up the cloak of avenger - REGARDLESS of the cost.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🌱THE MEH
~ It’s too quick a read! Now who knows how long I must wait for part 3!

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

This series has such oddly slow pacing. Worse: we're into full on wheelspinning territory now. The lifeblood of slasher movies is new information - do we get to learn something new about the killer and his/her/its origin. The answer is: no. We know nothing more than we knew at the end of volume 1.

And yes, there is one big 'change' at the end of this volume, but we all know that'll turn out to be meaningless..

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publishers Aftershock Comics and Diamond Book Distributors for an advanced copy of this horror graphic novel that takes a bite out of the Big Apple.

Horror stories are a reflection on the times that they were created in. Strange loners that come into your home, destroy property, your sense of peace and security, sometimes your life and just seem unstoppable and unceasing. Police can't help you. The politicians don't care. Scientists want to study the threat more they they want to stop it. When the machete comes through the door, the harpoon through the glass, the chainsaw into the porta- potty, you are on your own. Writer Elliott Kalan and artist Andrea Mutti in Maniac of New York, Volume 2: The Bronx is Burning continues the story of Maniac Harry and his never- ending murderous rampage in the city that does not sleep.

Detective Zelda Pettibone and mayoral aide Gina Greene, are on the outs with both the Mayor's office, the police commissioner and most other New Yorkers due to their actions against the unstoppable killing machine that is Maniac Harry in the subways during the previous volume. By chance they find themselves in the Bronx as the Maniac has decided that his latest abattoir will be a charter school, filled with cellphone distracted students, and cheap security due to its corporate owners. At the same time the New York Yankees are having their opening night, and the school is very close to a sold out stadium, just in case Harry feels the need to pick off some batters at home. Or fans in the stands.

A takeoff on the early days of 80's slasher movies, where a thing of evil with vague ties to something or someone slaughters everything on the screen for 85 minutes or so. The killer seems unstoppable, two final girl, one with a past, and a small child wiser than most with a secret are all present. And a lot of blood. The story is well slasher tale, but with a lot of sly dark humor and political jabs, which I liked. Elliott Kalen was previously a writer for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and other shows, and also wrote the Spider-Man/ X-Men crossover which I enjoyed quite a bit. Reading the previous volume will help, but it won't hinder enjoyment, everything is explained well so new readers won't be left out. The art is a combination of gritty realistic, yet fantastic, like early Giallo films, though there is a lot more red in this.

A story which hits close with the recent school shootings and a police force that seemed both ineffective and uncaring, sort of which is a big part of this story. Horror shows that the veneer of trust and belief that people hold for themselves and their society can be easily ripped away. By hatchet, axe and machete. A bloody tale of our American life. Recommended for horror fans, especially of the Friday the 13th kind of movies or Giallo fans in general.