'Tentacles at My Throat' by Zerocalcare is a graphic novel that may be biographical. It's hard to tell, but it feels legit.

At a story told in 3 parts of the lives of the characters, we see how childhood events affect and haunt the characters. A skull found in the woods, a creepy haunted house, and a strict school are all part of the story. So is a fair amount of humor. One characters guilt is worn around his throat like an octopus choking his neck (hence the title). Pop culture characters serve as a conscience throughout the story.

I liked this zany second graphic novel by the same author as Forget My Name. That book was more poignant. This was more goofy.

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

Zerocalcare returns with three stories revolving around his school, all about 10 years apart. They are all very funny and irreverent. They are certainly embellished or maybe just completely made up. He's a gifted writer though. The first 2 deal with sneaking off school property on dares, the third is a return to the school at 28 to clear up his misconceptions and fears growing up.

I really like the stretch of zerocalcare, I've read almost all of his comics and watched the TV series, the stories he tells are funny and at the same time the story is really intense.

I do not know what it was that drew me to this book, but I definitely did not expect what I got. The story begins at a school, with daily behaviour between various members being displayed as the norm. Some seem to do better there than others, while others just survive and hope to get home in one piece. The people who are meant to supervise them are not really present either. Gossip runs rampant, as do some crazy rumours.
The first half of the book traces the actions of more than the three people we are meant to focus on. The ominous feeling within the school grounds can be felt through the dark panels and the general expressions on the people's faces. Secrets are the tentacles around the throat, as mentioned in the title, and there seem to be quite a few of them.
After showing us certain events in the first half, the book jumps fifteen years, and one little discovery has everyone revealing some of their secrets. In a surprise twist, we are left holding more information than I am personally comfortable with. Although labelled as humour, I think it borders on a thriller/drama. I did not find anything to laugh at in the book, although that is not a bad thing in this case since that was not the point. I enjoyed my new experience with this title.
I recommend this to readers of graphic novels who are looking for a new story to pursue.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

Looks a lot like Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, I love this art style. The story though is a bit lacking. I don't really like any of the characters and therefore don't really care what happens to them.

Ablaze really need to pick better books from the Europe Comics backlist:-

My second and last time trying to get anything out of this creator's badly-drawn, none-more-arch looks back at his Italian childhood. The previous had animals, this goes for a Super 8, Stranger Things etc etc shtick, but I still quickly disliked it.

This was what I put originally, and I dare not waste time on seeing if this has somehow changed (it won't have).

I'm sorry, I couldn't get into this story. I felt lost and disoriented. The narrative seemed to be going at a weird speed (was it all chronological??) and I just got lost. Unfortunately, I don't think the art was good enough to keep me hooked, mainly because I felt the paneling was also confusing! I feel bad giving this a bad rating though because I feel some of this was my fault for not doing a little bit of research on the title beforehand and finding out that there were some other works in this series or at least that the concept is from another thing. I'm sure that the fanbase is happy about this entry, I just couldn't be.

Summary:

Tentacles at My Throat is not your ordinary story. This is the tale of three friends and one secret. It's a secret that festered for fifteen years before coming back to bite them all. As with secrets, they have a way of multiplying and growing the longer they are left alone.

Review:

Huh. Tentacles at My Throat is a witty and fascinating read about a group of friends and a dark secret. I love how each friend thought their secret was just that – something they were dealing with alone. Only that quickly proves not to be the case.

As the story progresses, the secrets get more complicated in a way that mirrors real life. It made for a pretty interesting foundation. Throw in the coming-of-age elements and the dark humor; it is the perfect quick read.

Highlights:
Comical
Italian graphic novel
Dark humor
Coming-of-age

I thought this was interesting and a well told story, but I don’t think it was for me. It was actually a mystery, coming of age story which unfolded well, supported by good black and white graphics. Overall the story didn’t grab me but other readers might like it because it is overall a good story.

A group of friends who all harbor secrets; covering their childhood, adolescence, and adult lives. It all starts with our main character lying and getting one of his dear friends in trouble. He can't bring himself to tell the truth and holds onto the secret until his 30's, feeling like he's constantly choking on his lies. It turns out he isn't the only one hiding something. An interesting tale of friendship and the hardships they endure over the course of a short lifetime.
A somewhat dark and twisted humorous comic about keeping secrets and what they cost us.

Good book, really great artwork and overall it was a very deep thing, I really enjoyed it and would recommend it to others if teen graphic novels like this are what they’re interested in,

The art style was really cluttered and I had a hard time understanding what was going on. Maybe it would be different physically but the digital copy probably didn’t do it justice.

This book will be a fantastic addition to a school library. It’s engaging cover will catch readers attention, and the story with an impactful lesson will leave kids feeling educated. You know it’s a good book when you can trick readers into learning.

Thanks so much to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for providing me with a free eARC of this book for me to review.

I couldn't miss this fantastic graphic novel by my compatriot Zerocalcare which tells the story of the beginning of a friendship and is set in three different timelines: childhood, adolescence and adulthood.
My favorite things are the unique style and the issues addressed that are delicate but at the same time are dampened by an irony that really makes me laugh.
The ending blew me away!

Zerocalcare's Tentacles at My Throat by Zerocalcare is a unique graphic novel That explores three different timelines with a group of friends who are all holding secrets. The graphic novel is illustrated with Zerocalcare's classic style of dark bold lines. The story has a very raw grungy aesthetic and isn't afraid to shy away from heart topics. I love the imagery included to express how one feels with guilt and shame. This graphic novel is One that will make you stop to think time and time again.