3.5 stars / 5 stars

At the core, this book felt more romance than fantasy or mystery. I would've loved for the main antagonist to be revealed during the climax of the story instead of as soon as he is introduced - it doesn't leave for any suspense or wondering. The twist with the horseman was nice and delightful, i loved their character.

The romance is where I docked off the most points, Vicky went from disliking and avoiding Izzy to having a huge crush in the matter of 5 pages, all because Izzy helped her from the bridge once? She gave up on her antagonism so quickly, then the romance just spiraled so quickly from there. Where was the pining and flirting?

At the end of the day, the story was fun and refreshing, the art style was very cute!

I loved this beautiful, spooky, queer take on the Sleepy Hollow mystery. The fact that it involved some of the same people working on it who worked on Lumberjanes was just the icing on the cake. Definitely recommend for fans of graphic novels, or those looking for a great spooky season read.

I LOVED this!! Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced digital copy.

I REALLY enjoyed this. A nice modern day twist to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow with queer romantic leads and unexpected allies. Just in time for spooky season!

A graphic novel with a new twist on Sleepy Hollow.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. The pacing was very quick, but took the right amount of time on the necessary things. All of the characters were wonderfully fleshed out, and I loved the new twist on an already interesting classic tale.

Izzy and her friends were such fun, and I finished this novel very quickly, though I didn’t want it to end.

There is a bit of building that goes on the legend of Sleepy Hollow, but a quick Wikipedia skim would give you all the background information you need.

Overall I really liked this graphic novel. Thank you to NetGalley, BOOM! Studios and the authors for allowing me to read an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I chose this one because I’m into sleepy hollow stories and retellings. So I was intrigued by a graphic novel that explores what it would be like in sleepy hollow’s future. And it was super cute!! Isabel and Vicky are our two main characters and I absolutely adore them both. They’re sweet, smart, and strong women. I also enjoyed the girl on girl loving as opposed to Vicky falling for Croc, which wouldn’t have been nearly as cute.

Anyway, the story is unique and kept me interested the entire time. This was such a quick read that I had it done in one sitting. The art wasn’t perfect, but it’s still good and it’s full color throughout, which I love!!

I highly recommend this graphic novel to those who enjoy sleepy hollow retellings and an adorable lgbtqia+ love story.

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Boom! Studios, and Shannon Watters for the opportunity to read this for my honest and unbiased opinion.

This was so freaking adorable and amazing!!!! I loved it soooo much! It was definitely a new look into a classic tale.

This is easily one of my fave graphic novels. It has everything: sapphics and spooky Halloween stuff. I will definitely be rereading this every year for spooky season.

Arc received through Netgalley.
The art in this comic is amazing, the Lumberjanes style mixed with Pumpkin heads, the colour palette in this is beautiful and really inspires autumnal vibes (appropropriate for a Halloween inspired town)
I read this copy digitally and will say that there was a lot of digital fuzz that was leftover from the editing process (although i'm sure this doesn't last with the paperback copy)
Summary: Izzy Crane has just moved to town and, in between tutoring the town celebrity and trying to make friends, there isn't much sleeping occuring in the lead up to Halloween. No one in Sleepy Hollow wants the headless horseman's legacy to rest, including the three spirits that make up this classic tale. Izzy, her crush Vicky Van Tassel and town prankster Croc Byun join forces to help protect the Van Tassel legacy from a force more familiar than they know.
Review notes:
What strikes me immediately is the confusing nature of audience. I can't tell if this is supposed to be marketed to high school students based on the subject matter and the age of Izzy and the gang, or if its dedicated to a middle school audience, based on the inconsistent cliche conversation style? his could be a reflection of my disconnect with this comic style but i found the back and forth banter and juvenile tone to the narration a bit grating. This feeling of annoyance is something i felt slightly with the characterisation and design for the antagonist which in comparison to the rest of the unique casts, story-line/design was very disappointing.
On a more positive note, as mentioned the art style is amazing and this is carried through with the characterization of Izzy, Vicky, Croc, Marjorie and The Horseman who are all very compassionate and endearing leads. The romances between certain characters are utterly adorable and the innocent embarrassment and lowkey obsession with each other is very genre realistic for a Y/A Fantasy comic.
My favourite Part:
I LOVED the design for the blushing, it was so adorable, and the storyline for a queer romance in a small town is just... MWAH! Vicky Van Tassel and her agency and development as a character and young woman in a 'restrictive' environment was really wonderful to see. I really recommend this comic, Particularly for fans of Scooby-Doo, Riverdale, Nancy-Drew (2007) Nimona and especially, Mandy ( I am not Starfire)

I'm a huge fan of Lumberjanes, so I jumped at the chance to read something new by Shannon Watters. What made it impossible to pass up is that Watters was putting a more modern twist on one of my favorite Spooky Season reads. So really, there was no way that I could have been disappointed. Too many of my favorite things were converging on top of each other.

I was in fact not disappointed, and I'm so glad I started more Spooky Season reads off with Hollow.

My favorite part of Hollow is the characters. Of course, we have the staple characters of any Sleepy Hollow retelling, the Van Tassel's and the Crane's are present. Even Washington Irving gets a small mention at some point in the story. I liked that Vicky was the descendant of the original Van Tassel family like Iriving just used an existing family to set his story around. But, like the story, Izzy Crane was new to town. I felt it was a fun play on canon. Hands down though my favorite character was Croc. He's had such golden retriever energy. He honestly was the sweetest guy and I'm so glad he got himself a lady at the end of the story.

Of course no Sleepy Hallow retelling without the Horseman, and say this is my favorite version of the Horseman. I love the way that Watters changed his story, it's a nice twist and I thought it added a lot of comedy to the story. Gordo's responses to things Croc would say were my favorite moments.

The storyline is also really good from start to finish. It's a lot of fun, it's heartwarming and full of a bit of teenage angst! The kind of story where everyone, except for the villain, gets a happy ending. Where one character finds their voice, another finally finds real friends, and Croc gets to have an adventure. Plus, the cutest sapphic romance of the Spooky Season.

Hollow is perfect for anyone looking for a non-spooky read this Spooky Season. This is definitely it, but it still gives off those Fall vibes.

I also can't close out this review without mentioning the artwork in Hollow. It was really good. This is one of those stories where the artwork helped tell Watters' story. From the amazing facial expressions from Gordo to Croc's master prank that almost worked. Every panel was amazing and the color palette worked perfectly not just for the spooky season vibe but kept the story from getting too dark as well. The story definitely has Scooby-Doo vibes and the artwork helps sell that.

I don't have a single issue with the Scooby-Doo thing, it did my 90s kid heart good! Hollow is for fans of the Lumberjanes series, Sleepy Hollow, or just cute Spooky Season reads, this is the book for you!

Set in the town of Sleepy Hollow, NY, this graphic novel follows Izzy Crane, the new kid in town, as she and her ragtag friend group try to stop the supernatural force that’s been terrorizing the town for the past few centuries.

This was a coming-of-age tale with some romance… and ghosts! It was sweet, it was queer, with just the right amount of spooky. I loved the friendship between the three main characters. Croc is such a sweet goof and Izzy is definitely the straight man of the group (in that she’s the rational skeptic), but my heart belongs to Vicky. I absolutely loved reading her journey of dealing with familial expectations and coming into her own.

Another thing I really appreciated was the disability rep. Marjorie’s disability is never disclosed or discussed, but her crutches are almost always visible. She also gets her own love story. Should there be a sequel, I hope Marjorie gets to play a larger part.

If I have one complaint, it’s that while I felt like the authors did a wonderful job with Vicky, I felt that Izzy and Croc’s characters could’ve been better developed. That being said, compared to other graphic novels, I’m still impressed with what the authors managed to do in under 200 pages, hence the four stars instead of three. This was such a fun read that I highly recommend.

Wow! I adored this queer story and beautiful art-style and particularly loved the way magic is entirely brought to life in this reimagining of the classic "Spirit hollow" storyline.

This is a wonderful story that will be perfect for all ages to enjoy and love during the spooky halloween time. I know I'll be picking up a physical copy to re-read again! And I can only hope that everyone else will do the same!

Also... a volume 2 in the future, perhaps?

I want to say thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange of an honest review.

Actual Rating: 1.5 Stars

Hollow is a graphic novel and reimagining of Sleepy Hollow. The concept was very interesting. However, I felt the story to be rushed and confusing at parts, specifically, the parts where they showed people and their sightings of of the headless horseman. This back and forth took me out of the story that I really wanted to enjoy.

When I saw this graphic novel on bookstagram I immediately wanted to pick this up as well.

In this graphic novel, we follow Izzy Crane who has just moved with her family to Sleepy Hollow the town made famous by--and obsessed with--Washington Irving's legend of the Headless Horseman. Izzy wants nothing to do with this 'superstition' and just wants to focus on school and maybe make some friends. Izzy meets Vicky Van Tassel and Croc Byun. Vicky is connected to the legend and it turns out to be true when they are haunted by the Horseman. They uncover a curse set to destroy the Van Tassel line and have to break it before Halloween ends. Izzy of course has no time for this and certainly not to get a crush in the entire investigation.

First of all, I loved the art style in this graphic novel! The colours were all very vivid, which I always love seeing in a graphic novel! There were also many details in all of the drawings and the facial expressions were also done so well. It was immediately clear how one of the characters was feeling from the expressions alone.

I also loved the story itself, it explores the normal life of being a teenager, but also trying to navigate a way to solve the curse. I do wish that this book was a bit longer to give more time to the planning and investigating. I did love the parts where they went investigating and I just wanted a bit more!

I loved the characters. Even though Izzy only knows Vicky and Croc for a short time, they become friends fast and only grow closer throughout the book. They each have their own personalities and show what they want. They also grow in the short amount of pages and I enjoyed reading about Vicky and Izzy's interactions.

All in all, I would recommend this to anyone looking for a queer graphic novel, plus it's perfect for fall time with the spookier Halloween vibes!

This was fun! It'll be a great Halloween-y type read for anyone who wants something light but gets you in the mood for spooky season. The characters were mostly fun and I really enjoyed Croc and Izzy the most. Vicky was a bit annoying at times but overall she was fine. I think the story moved a bit too fast for my liking so I wish the pacing would've been better. There was one time an argument between two characters and it happened so quickly that I had to make sure I hadn't accidentally skipped a page. So yeah there were a lot of those moments, but overall this was cute and the art was pretty!

What a cute, fun Sleepy Hollow story! I would have loved this as a tween. The art is fun, the characters are quick and easy to like and understand without feeling flat, but the plot and Vicky Van Tassel's feelings of being trapped in a role of essentially town princess are the major players here. Pranks, heists, crushes, moments of actual scariness, a talking pumpkin–this book has it all.

I really liked this one! It was super cute, even if I am a sucker for queer graphic novels. It was quick paced and the illustrations were stylistically well done (although my copy was a little rough). Definitely worth a look at buying a copy in October.

Hollow was good fun with great art. The story reminded me of the likes of hocus pocus or that fun 90’s kids Halloween story.

The characters are amazing, you can’t help but love them. The plot is really interesting and has a fun twist to a known story. The art style and colors are perfect. The dynamics between the characters are great, funny and so lovely,

This was so cute! I love Sleepy Hollow retellings and this was an incredibly fun, fresh take on the story, especially since it's less of a retelling and more of a "sequel" set many, maaaany years later, following the Crane and Van Tassel descendants. The plot was a lot of fun, and I loved the Headless Horseman getting to be involved as a major character with a bit more dimension, even if it was a surprising change from what I'd typically expect in a story with this setting. The art was lovely, the characters were sweet and charming, and my little queer heart swooned for the sapphic romance playing out in the subplot. ♥ I highly recommend this for your Halloween TBR, or any time of year!

Spooky season is one of my favourite tunes of year so I was beyond thrilled to be able to read Hollow by Shannon Watters! It was my first Halloween-y read of the year and it was the perfect kick off the season!
Stunning illustrations with an absolutely enthralling story - it was a complete winner for me.
It was also a pretty quick read, and I read it all in one sitting (no regrets).
Highly recommend picking up a copy of your own!