A Misery for the modern age. This graphic novel succinctly and grippingly tells a story of a fandom favorite actor and the obsessed fan who stalks him. Luke Indiana may be a con circuit favorite, but his real life is falling apart. Stressed by his private life woes and weary from the day’s fan interactions he finds himself at the mercy of strangers on the road.
Except there isn’t much mercy to be had.
Luke finds himself in a fan interaction turned sinister and he only has his wits and luck to get himself out of this. Very reminiscent of Stephen King’s Misery but with the current day fandom realities woven in. Kept my interest. Quick read. Luke was surprisingly endearing and Lily’s rage, despair and isolation were palpable. A quick and entertaining read.

My thanks to NetGalley for this book. This is my honest opinion.

If someone said this wasn’t misery I wouldn’t buy it at all. It was basically very very very similar. Still it was good. Thanks for the arc

❝[...]Parasocial is this generation's misery❞

Tense, unsettling, sorrowful and the author included an inscription at the end warning readers to seek therapy if they relate to it. Indeed I feel as if I need a good detox after this graphic novel. Parasocial explored the human psyche from the inside to out under the scope of a troubled celebrity vs. an obsessive fan. I never read "Misery" by Stephen King but this already was a good thriller-esque graphic novel. The art was well executed and the plot was well played- with layers of horrors of each characters peeled back, it is revealed so much. I highly recommend if you want a quick but heavy read.

Special thanks to Image Comics and Netgalley for a copy of an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Similar to other reviewers, I found the pacing of this to be a little too brisk. I think another chapter or two would have benefitted the whole arc, and would have made me care more for the characters. Art was great, and the writing was good. I loved the playlist! Also, love the author essay at the end.
Reviewed from an ARC provided by the AMAZING publisher Image, and NetGalley. Thanks!

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary.

Somebody call Kathy Bates and Lizzy Caplan, because Annie Wilkes has some competition

As the synopsis indicates, we watch as our lead - a once famous actor in his own way, has faded from that particular limelight. Attending a convention to help stay relevant, he's met with a variety of fans, the likes of which range from unfavorable to his acting or show, and those that find appreciation in his work in a way he couldn't have imagined.

It's a book that touches on the real life consequences of obsession, and the fantasies an individual can have while under this direction. It also shows that the people we often admire, or think admire us, are not always who they say they are.

The writing was fantastic, and once the action got started, it didn't stop; needing to know what will happen next. The back cover was right-side up before I even knew it.

What a wild ride. The main character feels like a mix of an exaggerated, yet totally real person. The subtext of celebrity fan relationships is such an interesting topic for me. While Lily seems a bit intense, there are people like that in our world. The way the art changes with the story adds an interesting layer to the narrative, and the interspersed songs add a layer to the story most graphic novels rarely utilize. Overall it was an enjoyable read.

This story reminds me of Stephen King's "Mercy". A bone-chilling, tense tale that will have the reader questioning everything by the end.

I'm involved in the convention space. I've had a lot of cool interactions and experiences with celebrities, and I'm thankful for those. But it's also weird, right? At the end of the day, it's an odd exchange of money and time and smiles. Enter the masterpiece that is Parasocial.

Let's start with the fact that the main character's name is Luke Indiana. Luke. Indiana. With a name like Luke Indiana, and all the pop culture history behind such a name, readers are already geared to like his character from the very beginning. Luke is an actor reeling from the fact that his popular sci-fi television show was canceled due to the pandemic. That long-running show had all the hallmarks of a cult-classic show: homoerotic undertones that are never actually explored, different character "ships," and, most importantly, it was canceled too soon. 

Luke travels to a convention where he meets Lily, a fan who is more than a little obsessed with him, though she hides it well at first. What follows is a heavy-hitting horror that's not too far from Stephen King's Misery, though it's been modernized for the social-media age. Lily interacts with Luke at the convention and begins to appear suspicious and obsessive. Here are some of the things she says. 

"I just finished [my photo op] and he was fine?! A little tired maybe[.]"

"That's the same t-shirt you wore to RogueCon Kansas City in 2015."

"I really want to find a way to end up at the same bar as him tonight."

If you've been in the convention space, you've probably heard similar. I've honestly heard worse. While Parasocial is a commentary on behavior like this, it goes a bit further. Sarah Gailey called Parasocial “A horrifyingly compelling portrait of loneliness and obsession.” But Lily isn't the only one who's lonely. Luke is lonely too. Lily isn't the only scary one. Luke is too. If there's one thing I learned from Parasocial, it's that social media is unreliable. Narrators are unreliable. Beware whose story you trust. 

Art:

The art in Parasocial is bold and clear. At times the colors are blood red or monochromatic. There is great use of white space, which I loved. Parasocial is made for nerds who've spent their lives deep in fandoms. Group chats, AO3, fandom Twitter, Cameo, Instagram, and convention halls all make appearances in the art. The art changes depending on the mood of Lily and Luke. Anime and CSI-like theming both appear in fun ways. While it's not quite a love letter to fandom, it is a love letter to shared experiences.

Final Thoughts: Parasocial is engrossing, thought-provoking, and still wickedly fun. As someone who often feels a bit powerful at conventions each year, Parasocial hit hard. If you find me at a convention in 2024, expect me to recommend this graphic novel.

Rating: 5/5 stars. If not for the twist ending, this would have been a 4/5 star book. If you attend conventions, are involved in a fandom, or if you just like the idea of a modernized version of Misery, Parasocial is for you.

The review will go live on Back Shelf Books on December 21, 2023, at the below link.

This digital ARC was obtainable via NetGalley for an honest review!

"Parasocial" is similar to Stephen King's "Misery". Our main character is abducted by a fan and tortured. This isn't usually my type of graphic novel, but I can see the charm in it. With these types of fans, who needs enemies?

The art of this book is gorgeous. And I especially enjoyed reading the behind the scenes pages after the story. The story itself was good, but it didn't do enough for me. I thought the whole plot was pretty predictable. And the ending was too ambiguous. I have more questions about the fangirl.

This was a misery-like take on a dried up celebrity and a crazy stan. It was interesting and gripping but there were no surprises. I think it needed to be drawn out - it would have allowed it to be more atmospheric. Overall good read.

Parasocial combines the frantic fandom culture of Tumblr in 2015 and Stephen King's Misery. This beautifully illustrated, full-color graphic novel quickly turns from online stan culture to a psychological thriller. It has such an interesting setup, combining in-person fan conventions with the media behind it - Instagram posts, server group chats, an ongoing playlist, the TV show itself, and fandom lingo. Parasocial explores a growing online problem of thinking we know our fans/stans and becoming unhinged from reality. I loved how this graphic novel changed my sympathies throughout and had me questioning who I was rooting for. I wish the ending had more clarity, but the ambiguity effectively kept this story in the forefront of my mind days later.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley.

I didn't think I'd like this one as much as I did. I liked the art and color palates, the pacing was good, and although this is not a new story to tell, it was still interesting. It gave a lot of depth to the characters in a short amount of time. The writers also included a soundtrack to go along with the story, which I thought was a cool idea.

I don't think this is quite horror, but there is violence, so just keep that in mind if that bothers you.

If you have ever spent time deep in a fandom the main characters in Parasocial will ring true on some level. This is a story of a stalker superfan who goes to the extreme to get what she wants and the actor whose lives behind a facade. The art by Erica Henderson is unique and enhances the story. If you have read/seen/heard of Misery the story won't seem wholly original but there is enough of the modern internet culture to make it fresh.

'Parasocial' is a modern take on the nuances of fan culture and the troubles that arise when lines become blurred between fiction and reality. A misery-esque story that follows a "fading-genre TV actor" and an obsessive, crazed fan from a convention.

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I'd like to start by petitioning that the Spotify playlist QR code is moved to the FRONT of the book instead of the final page, because searching up those songs honestly broke the flow of the story for me.. But the song choices themselves were perfectly picked for each scene! They really emphasized the intensity of certain moments (like Will's capture and his fight with said crazed fan), and I think more comics should consider creating companion playlists for their stories.

The discussion of parasocial relationships between celebrities and fans feels especially prevalent in our current times, and I honestly did not find any part of the comic particularly surprising. Sadly, we live in a world where something so misery-esque could easily happen to any celebrity at any time and that's putting it mildly.. The boundaries between fans and the idols they worship have become so blurred that many people find it difficult to separate that which is fiction from reality.

I found both Alex and Erica's explanations/essays at the end of the comic to be particularly interesting to read, and I can definitely say that they succeeded in portraying the darker side of parasocial relationships. The illustrations and the change in art-styles really helped to change the perspective, and I loved that they used such an expressive colour palette~

Also the main lead's name of Luke Indiana as a response to the recent controversy surrounding Marvel's editor-in-chief was genius! It definitely gave me a good chuckle when I read their explanation


— Thank you Netgalley and Image Comics for sending an eARC for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

It's a good quick read. The ending is left open. I kind of hate that. I like a story to be opened and closed, if it isn't going to be retouched. In a way it's alright because I get to come up with theories on what happens next. However, the story wasn't too special to want to revisit this story again and again. The story is straight forwards. Parasocial. Crazy fan who is obsessed with a star. There were things that did not make sense to me, though.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

The art is good and evokes a lot of emotion--the scenes revolving an altered state of awareness was done extremely well. (I feel like the cover is exceptionally homoerotic for something that has no gay representation save for the in-universe shipping lol)

The main characters are fleshed out and written well. At first I thought that we didn't see enough of Luke's public persona to get an idea of why the (at the time nameless) fan would develop a parasocial relationship with him, but by the time the climax hit I was like, "ah, yeah, I get it now".

The topic and theme isn't one that I've seen a lot of, but I also feel like it didn't give me anything new? Still an enjoyable, albeit fairly quick, read.

This was a really entertaining read although it did remind me of Stephen Kings Misery... a female fan with an obsession acts upon it in a chance encounter! Great artwork and an easy to follow storyline. I liked Parasocial a lot.

3.75 ⭐️
I was taken by complete surprise with how much I enjoyed this. I had no idea what to expect but I found myself laughing quite a bit at this meta commentary on parasocial relationships.
This felt like a comic book written with the same tone as a camp Netflix original slasher.
It even has small details like songs for certain scenes almost like footnotes or subtitles on a tv show which was such a small but unique addition to this experience. The author even gives reasoning for each scene song chosen at the end of the author’s note, and TRUST ME you are going to want to read the author’s note.
How this story came to fruition was so unbelievable that I almost thought it was part of the comic and I had to double check that it was in fact the author’s note. This read is worth it for that alone.
I had such a good time with this short story. If you are in the mood for a quick comic with a sense of humor on social commentary and fandoms then give this a try.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this work in return for my honest opinion.

Too unfinished to give a full review. The art felt lazy and story was predictable, although I do usually like women in revenge stories. But overall, the ending was disappointing