"Blink" by Christopher Sebela is a horror graphic novel collaboration that promised a thrilling experience with its Eisner-nominated author and a talented team of artists, including Hayden Sherman and Nick Filardi. However, despite its potential, this graphic novel falls short of delivering a satisfying narrative.

The premise of "Blink" revolves around Wren Booker, a woman haunted by her forgotten childhood and a desire to uncover her past. She stumbles upon a cryptic website streaming footage from a decaying building, triggering buried memories and leading her to the mysterious location. Unfortunately, the story quickly becomes convoluted and confusing, making it challenging to navigate and comprehend the events unfolding.

While the cover art initially catches the eye and hints at a cyberpunk horror aesthetic, the overall execution fails to live up to its potential. The creative paneling throughout the graphic novel is visually striking, but it does little to compensate for the lack of clarity in the storytelling. As a reader, I found myself lost and disconnected from the narrative, unable to fully engage with the characters or their motivations.

The central focus of the plot revolves around the building, surveillance, cryptic websites, and a social cyber experiment named Blink. However, the exploration of these themes remains superficial, leaving many questions unanswered. We are left in the dark about the reasons behind the disturbing events and the true nature of the experiment. Instead, the graphic novel relies heavily on imagery and a vague sense of dread associated with surveillance and social experimentation. It attempts to evoke a sense of PTSD territory through the protagonist's nightmares, but without sufficient depth or development, it feels shallow and underexplored.

Characterization is another significant issue in "Blink." The lack of a deep dive into the characters leaves them feeling one-dimensional and unrelatable. Wren Booker's obsession drives the entire narrative, yet we never truly get to know her beyond her relentless pursuit of answers. The supporting cast receives even less attention, resulting in missed opportunities to establish meaningful connections and emotional investment.

While the concept of "Blink" holds potential, it feels more like a foundation for an art project rather than a fully realized story. The art style dominates the pages, with dark and mysterious imagery taking precedence over coherent storytelling. While this might appeal to some readers, those seeking a well-rounded narrative with a solid foundation in world-building and character development will be left wanting.

Perhaps if "Blink" had been expanded into a series, allowing for a more comprehensive exploration of its concepts and characters, it could have been more successful. Unfortunately, as a standalone graphic novel, it falls short of delivering a satisfying and immersive horror experience.

(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher team, as well as the creators, for providing an early look at "Blink".)

Thanks NetGalley and Oni Press for access to this arc.

2.5/5 stars rounded up.

This was a super confusing story, with a pretty annoying main character. I really enjoyed the art style, but the MC's constant whiny melancholic attitude really took me out of the story.

Blink is the story of Wren, a young woman who is haunted by a nightmare and a past that she can't remember. She was found as a 3 year old baby alone on the streets and knows nothing about her family or what has happened to her.
One day she comes across a streaming website that shows scenes from a place that looks familiar. Some of the scenes are even similar to the ones that she sees in her nightmares.
She decides to visit this place. Soon she finds out that her parents were part of an experiment, where they were trapped in a building that was filled with cameras.

The art style was very unique and creative, however, there are some scenes where the art became overwhelming and it was hard to follow the story. The storytelling was quite lacking to the point where this seemed like an underdeveloped version of a good albeit relatively not very unique idea.

I received an eARC of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review

First off, crazy amazing artwork. I was blown away by how good it was. The story of Wren’s past and the obsession to uncover the truth was top tier creepiness. Found footage style with mindbending twists and turn that keep you guessing the whole way through. Highly recommended for anyone who loves their horror mixed in with the sci-fi that leaves you reeling.

That plot was amusing obvsly but sometimes it felt confusing (and not in a nice way). There were so many cool details that would have been awesome to dig more into, but they were just there…
Overall, I enjoyed it because it maintained me with intrigue BUT it would’ve been better if the details and other secrets were more explained or at least better used.
Also, I really liked the art and the cool panels (some even gave me chills).

Thanks to Netgally for the e-arc. 💫

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this Graphic Novel.

I wanted to like this book however I got the vibes from films like The Blair Witch Project mixed with Big Brother and because of this, I could see what was coming and therefore it lost a bit of it's attraction.

Another part was Wren didn't seem to have much character growth and for me to love a book, the main character needs to evolve.

I will give props however to the art in this book as it really was stunning just the story could have been more than what it was, keeping the reader interested

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

This was incredibly confusing and I had no idea what was going on, so hence the low rating. The art was kinda cool tho.

An interesting, twisted story that pulls around a secretive cult and the effects it had on one of its youngest members. I highly recommend this for its well constructed plot and interestingly developed characters.

This is a really solid piece of exploratory, setting-based horror with some incredibly unique and stylish choices. The art had a lot of care put into it, and I wish I had a physical copy so I could pore over all of it with a magnifying glass to get the tiny details. I also wish I had a physical copy because sometimes it was hard for me to follow the text in the order intended, and I assume that's because the comic had a two-page layout. I also want to give major props for having a section where the whole comic rotated 90 degrees. I wish it were easier for me to read that on an ereader! It was an extremely cool artistic choice, and all of the video-feed-error motifs had a lot of flair as well.

The story makes me wish I had a physical copy too - I can tell I would understand more about what was going on if I could just flip around the pages and find more continuity. As it is, Wren is supposed to be disoriented on her journey through Blink, and we the reader are, too. I'm looking forward to doing what Wren did and reexamining the entire experience with new eyes and more context. Really enjoyed this one.

To be honest, I wanted to like this a lot more than I did. Despite an interesting premise and some intriguing world elements, this graphic novel just felt way too bloated with overdone ideas while simultaneously not embracing an actual character arc for its protagonist, Wren.
Keeping it simple, I love horror, and like most fans that love spans across mediums—meaning that my love of the ghoulish isn’t only limited to the literary. I also adore horror movies, which is where I think Blink runs into some issues. While the found footage sub-genre isn’t something typically seen in books and graphic novels, it is popular in movies, and unfortunately if you are familiar with movies like The Ring, Choose or Die, The Blair Witch Project, or the V/H/S series then you will probably see everything Blink has to offer coming a mile away.
The only thing that could have saved this narrative from being entirely prosaic is if the characters offered some sort of focal point, but Wren felt stagnant. She was pretty much the same person from beginning to end. Which, while likeable, was far too consistent and lacked that necessary character growth to make the journey of the novel feel worthwhile.
Ultimately I can’t say I am a fan of this or that it has convinced me to look into more of Sebela’s or Sherman’s work.

Blink is as surreal as it is dark so trauma warnings. The paneling, the art, and lettering are all fantastic. The themes, however, used more for intrigue than subversion, aren't fully explored. So, yeah, more of a narrative wallpaper for me.

As a horror fan, I'd have loved a more audacious approach. As a fan of comic art, I'm immensely satisfied.

I wanted to like this book badly and even now I still think it has a lot of potential to be something really good. I normally really enjoy reading graphic novels, and I tried to enjoy this but it just wasn’t clicking for me.

The premise of the book was intriguing, however the book was really hard to navigate and comprehend. The art was beautiful but the story was really hard to understand and it didn’t feel like we got to know the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book.

"Eisner-nominated Christopher Sebela (Dirtbag Rapture), Hayden Sherman (Dark Spaces: Wildfire), and Nick Filardi (Rogue Planet) team up for a found-footage horror where uncovering your past will leave you trapped inside it.

Wren Booker was three when she was found alone and covered in blood on the streets of New York. Since that day, she's been haunted by the childhood she can't remember...until decades later when she finds a cryptic website streaming multiple CCT feeds from strange rooms in a ruined building. Something clicks, setting off hidden memories that lead her back to a place she's seen in lifelong nightmares. Hunting for answers, Wren breaks in and finds herself lost in the camera-filled dark mazes of a decayed social experiment known only as BLINK...which she quickly discovers is not abandoned at all. But what should be a foreign nightmare-scape feels all too familiar for Wren as she follows her obsession all the way down, piecing together the story of BLINK - as well as her own ties to it."

I love Oni Press. That is all.

I liked the artwork but I don't think this is my kinda cup of tea. It was a bit hard for me to read. Didn't enjoy it much but I'm hopeful for more from this author and best of luck to them

This book tried to do a lot of things without fully sticking the landing on any of them: failed/complex relationships, digital cults, collective vs. individual, etc. It was visually lovely, though.

I'm not really sure how to describe my feelings on this one. On one hand, the art and the plot idea is pretty interesting. At one point my husband looked over and said, "oo that looks cool." On the other hand, I was left trying to figure out what had happened in this story, and not in a mind-blown way.

Wren is trying to figure out something that has been bugging her-a place she came from, but has limited memories from. She goes to find it and bam, it's creepy and there are creatures (?) that immediately attack. She gets saved and searches for answers, but ultimately has more questions. Me too, girlie.

It's like, all of the bones, but none of the meat. And it's also missing, like, 5 ribs too. So, in conclusion, neat, but not my jam,

Thanks to Oni Press and Netgalley for the e-ARC!

I picked this book purely based on the gorgeous cover art. Fortunately, the internal art did not disappoint. Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy the story. While the premise is really cool, the plot was confusing. I think this story would have been better if it were told through a traditional novel format with illustrations, rather than a comic-style graphic novel.

I picked this up on a whim after seeing a friend had it on her TBR. This is a disturbing read...Big Brother gone wrong and I am totally here for it. I was hooked from page one and found myself stuck in my bed (my chosen reading spot) because I couldn't put it down. Action packed with zombie apocalypse vibes, I was scared at times and didn't know who to trust! Very intrigued to see where the story takes us and would happily yet cautiously continue the series to find out...

Wren Booker was three when she was found alone and covered in blood on the streets of New York. Since that day, she's been haunted by the childhood she can't remember.

The graphics are really good. This had so much potential to be brilliant story. I felt it was slow in parts and rushed in others.
It was sometimes difficult to follow with the layout.

Overall it was a good story. Nice, light reading.

Wren is haunted by memories of a childhood she can't remember, until an encounter that leaves her grasping to reveal the mystery. She struggles to sleep, struggles to remember, and finally struggles to find the truth. The artwork and words are beautiful and really well done, but the story kind of lost me somewhere in the middle. I was left feeling like I wasn't in on what was happening in the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the Advanced Review Copy.