A delightfully grotesque and demonic romp in rural New Jersey when four queer kids get framed for the murder of a pastor's wife. The art is lively and unique and I think could be compared to that of Archie Bongiovanni of "Mimosa" and "Grease Bats."

The story was thrilling and kept me on edge until the cliffhanger end. Hopefully that means more in the future?
Definitely worth the read!

Love, love, love! The plot was fantastic and the characterization was great. I found myself sucked into the story immediately. I want more! The fact that it has queer representation is the cherry on top of an already great OGN!

CONTENT NOTE: Discrimination against queer characters, transphobia including the use of deadnames, misgendering, slurs, gore, violence, dead bodies, ableist language, involuntary restraint, torture, police, and state-sponsored abduction and murder

Let Me Out is a great queer twist on the nostalgia for the "simpler times" of the 70's and 80's trending so often these days. It has wonderfully expressive art and a devilish story set in the backdrop of a small town content to allow evil until it happens to "one of their own"-- and then there is hell to pay for the local group of queer and racialized teen punks who will stop at nothing to protect one another.

What Worked for Me:
✦ Ugh, I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed the art in this!! I kept looking at it so much that I would forget to keep reading at points lol. I loved so much about George Williams' style: his textured brush use, his colors and light, his fun style, and his facial expressions all brought me so much joy.
✦ Williams' colors in particular were helpful in establishing so much of the mood and setting for each scene. The use of red throughout in places it wouldn't normally be seen was great for building an ongoing sense of uneasiness and reminding the reader that something dangerous looms close by, even if you can't see it yet.
✦ I really loved the relationships Emmett Nahil created with the main group of friends. It had a great dynamic that felt well-worn and familiar. I immediately felt drawn into their group and loved how they took care of another and looked out for each other. Nahil also made it easy to understand the nature of their circumstances as individuals and as a group throughout without having to outright state the issues, which I thought was great writing.
✦ Nahil also did an excellent job portraying the way white supremacy, cisheteronormativity, and Christian nationalism seeps into every aspect of a small town life and using anyone who is even remotely queer as a target for distracting from their own misdeeds. The 1979 New Jersey of this comic and the late 90's/early 2000's southeast United States I grew up in aren't terribly different, and the desire of those in the majority to scapegoat and dispose of those they deem violent for being different is all too familiar both in my memories and, unfortunately, to this day.
✦ I loved Williams' way with the speech balloons, too! I really like the look of balloons without lines around them (which isn't always easy to make work in a comic), and I felt that Williams did a great job overall differentiating the balloons from the background so that it was still easy to read.
✦ I also really enjoyed the dialogue, especially with the main group of friends. It felt easy and flowed naturally, and there was great distinction in voice between the differing groups: queer and punk, parents, law enforcement, the church officials, the devil, and so on. It really helped emphasize the dynamics of opposition with the queer kids against the world.
✦ The character designs were excellent. I enjoyed the diversity of body types in the main cast, as well as the queer punk teen/young adult aesthetic Williams gave the characters. It felt very organic to the individual characters and the group as a whole.
✦ I loved how Nahil gave us a look at the rage of the friends as well as the care for each other in response to the violence they're forced to put up with. There were complexities and nuance to the responses that did and didn't happen, and we always got to see this push and pull between allowing themselves to act upon their anger and not. The angry reactions were validated by the others while also grounded in the reality of not being safe from the consequences of their response the same way their white, cishet peers were from the violence they enacted on the queer, racialized kids. And regardless of how the others felt in response to their friends reactions, they always took care of one another and kept each other as safe as they could.
✦ I enjoyed how Nahil and Williams' work came together to build suspense throughout the story. The tension and worry of the scapegoating narrative combined with the colors and expressions of the art really worked well together.

What Didn't Work for Me:
✦ I really hated the reliance on ableist language throughout the script. Using slurs throughout a book about scapegoating disempowered people in particular really bothers me. I think writers are incredibly creative people, and I know they can make more creative choices than relying on slurs. I honestly think I would have enjoyed this book more if I didn't have to read so many iterations of d*mb, st*pid, and imb*c*le throughout.
✦ There were a few times in the story that I became confused and wasn't sure what was happening or felt that something wasn't followed through on enough. I think they needed just a page or two more to give us more information and context to better understand what was going on.
For example, there was a single page that seems to be indicating a flashback in the middle of an irrelevant scene, but there's no indication about that. It was extra confusing because it seemed to involve a character we knew to be dead. It wasn't until I was reviewing and looking at this page over and over again that I finally began to puzzle it out. Its placement in the storyline just didn't make sense and could've been a lot stronger in a different place in the story.
✦ The ending of the story didn't completely fulfill its promises for me. It felt a bit rushed and not entirely clear. I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll be vague here, but it felt a bit forced to me when the big moments began happening. I didn't understand the connection between the [spoiler] and the kids and why it was necessary in the first place. I would have appreciated a bit more information to get it more.
✦ I also felt the explanation between the bad actors throughout the story and the [spoiler] weren't explained enough for me, too. I needed more information about what was happening, why, and how it came to be.
✦ Related to that, I felt the relationship between the cop and the federal agent could have benefitted from a little more clarity. At the beginning, it felt more like an equal footing situation, but it later was revealed to be one where the cop was directly reporting to the federal agents. Perhaps that was the case the whole time or perhaps it evolved into that, but I think if the reasoning for the actions of the villains in this book had been a bit clearer, it would have been a little easier to understand the dynamics between more of the characters in the story.

Overall
I give Let Me Out 3.5 out of 5 speech bubbles, rounding up to 4: This was a good queer horror story with some great characters and an interesting plot! It has some flaws, but I think it's great for a queer Halloween read or anytime of the year for horror lovers.

How to Read It
Let Me Out comes out October 3rd, and you can pre-order a copy from Bookshop, your local comic book store, or Barnes & Noble

Read This Next
If you liked this, check out Darlin' and Her Other Names - Part 1: Marta by Olivia Stephens, Squad by Lisa Sterle and Maggie Tokuda-Hall, and Something is Killing the Children, Vol. 1 by Werther Dell'Edera, Miquel Muerto, AndWorld Design, and James Tynion IV.

If you enjoyed this review, I have a monthly comic review series called More Comics Please! on my website with interior page excerpts and additional information not shared here on NetGalley, as well as digital indie comics. You can sign up to receive them in your inbox by subscribing to my newsletter Into the Bramble at jbeoin.com/newsletter.

Thank you Netgalley, OniPress, Emmett Nahil & George Williams for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. 🥰
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This is the perfect book to add to your spooky TBR! Let Me Out is set in the 70s during the satanic panic and this leads to a group of queer kids being the main suspect in a murder. This one has some government conspiracy along with a found-family-type group of kids. I loved the illustration and thought it fit perfectly with the story! I think the ending was a little quick and it felt rushed. I hope there is a sequel to maybe add some more explanation. But I still felt like it was a solid spooky graphic novel! Please mind the trigger warnings before reading! ☺️🫶
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I’m sorry this review is a bit short, I read this one a while ago and wasn’t able to review it sooner due to migraines. 🥲
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Let Me Out, by Emmett Nahil & George Williams comes out on October 3rd!
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⚠️Trigger Warnings: Blood/gore, violence, torture, mentions of period-typical transphobia and misgendering.

3.75/5 stars

REVIEW
Let Me Out is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel perfect for an angry queer autumn read despite a fractured, unfulfilling ending.

I adored the main cast. They fit together and play off one another well, and the way that they navigate an unwelcoming world together, from the small things (giving a ride to Terri, a guitarist, to her show and cheering her on) to the big things (covering for each other against parents and cops, providing first aid, and being ride or die ‘til the end) is so quintessentially queer that, despite the grim context, it warms my heart.

I’m also head over heels for Lucifer. Like, can we appreciate their design? Hello???????

The main issue I have with Let Me Out is the ending. While there were some really interesting moments during that final scene, such as Lucifer possession-jumping from person to person during the chase scene, the storytelling became extremely fragmented and I had difficulty following the action in those last 10 or so pages.

Related to the ending, the pacing of the last half felt strange, too–I’m not a graphic novel expert, so maybe this is just the way things are done, but it felt like the main action of the book post what’s summarized on the back happened way too late. The spark that lights the kindling, Lupe punching her manager, doesn’t happen until about 60% of the way through, and the deal with the devil doesn’t happen until about 80% in. The part that interests me most–the deal with the devil–is rushed through. If I'm promised a deal with a devil, I want that to be narratively front and center, and it's just not in Let Me Out.

By the final page, there are several plot threads left dangling. I won’t list them here in the interest of avoiding spoilers, but there are several left unanswered, both ones introduced in the first ten pages and threads opened in that final 20%.

It is likely that cuts had to be made to meet page count, which is unfortunate. The ending’s potential fell flat.

I think the page count is why I am often left wanting more from graphic novels–the stories are often hampered by heavily restricted available space, requiring heavy story cuts be made, which negatively impact the story’s structure and pacing.

FINAL THOUGHTS
While I enjoyed this graphic novel and loved the characters, I’m left wanting more from a fractured ending. I hope there’s a follow-up that picks up some of those dangling plot threads and features more Lucifer (my love).

If you’re looking for a spooky, tense autumn read that centers queer experiences and can be finished in an afternoon, then I definitely suggest picking up Let Me Out.

Thank you to Oni Press for providing a digital ARC via Netgalley. If you are interested in Let Me Out, it releases 3 October 2023. You can find more information from the publishers. If possible, support indie bookshops by purchasing the novel from your local brick and mortar or from Bookshop.org!

Thanks to Oni Press and Netgalley for the arc!
Due to be published on Oct 3 this will be a good read for anyone looking to get in the Halloween spirit. This is a quick graphic novel about a group of queer teens during the satanic panic where just being different had made them a target. I really loved the art style and am always excited to see more queer horror out there. I had a good time with this book.

A Hauntingly Beautiful Introduction to Graphic Novels: 4 Stars
As someone who typically doesn't venture into the realm of graphic novels, "Let Me Out" by Emmett Nahil & George Williams was a captivating departure from my usual reading material. The horror elements were right up my alley, offering a dark and thrilling experience that kept me engaged from start to finish.

The Artwork: A Visual Feast
The art in this book is nothing short of stunning. The illustrations are expressive and add a layer of depth to the story that words alone couldn't capture. The color palette and design choices perfectly complement the eerie and unsettling atmosphere of the narrative.

Queer Representation: A Strong Suit
The book does an excellent job of representing queer characters in a genre that often lacks diversity. The characters are well-crafted, and their struggles and experiences add a layer of authenticity and relevance to the story.

A Learning Curve: Dialogue and Pacing
While the book was generally compelling, I did find it a bit challenging to follow the dialogue at times. This is likely due to my unfamiliarity with the graphic novel format, where the flow of conversation can be different from traditional novels. However, this didn't significantly detract from my overall enjoyment.

Final Thoughts
"Let Me Out" is a compelling read that offers a fresh perspective on horror through its unique storytelling and exceptional art. While it may require some adjustment for those new to graphic novels, it's a journey worth taking. A solid 4 stars.

I could not put it down! I loved the story, art and characters. It was gross and creepy! I definitely would recommend this if you enjoy queer horror

4.5 stars

A graphic novel about a group of queer teens during the Satanic Panic, stuck in a town where government agents are trying to summon Satan? Of course I had to read this! I ended up flying though this, reading it in the space of just a few hours, and I would very, very much like a sequel, please and thank you. From its opening pages, featuring a grisly ritualistic murder alongside Mitch, a trans man, being beaten outside the YMCA, the brutal, bloody tone of 'Let Me Out' is well and truly set. I have to admit that I haven't read many horror graphic novels outside of Junji Ito's works, but I imagine that it can be difficult to find an art style that conveys both the gritty struggle of being queer in 1979 and the horror of bloody demon summoning at the same time, and this book managed to thread the needle. I really enjoyed the lose, at times chaotic style that also managed to convey the fun companionship between Mitch, Terri, Lupe, and Jackson. I am always looking for queer books (especially horror) that depicts us as more than uwu smol beans, and Nahil and Williams did not shy away from the grim reality of queer friends defending themselves from hostile agents of the state, as well as the paranoia of fire and brimstone Christianity. I would really love for this to gain a wide audience, and for there to be a sequel!

I love a good daemonic book. This ticked all the boxes for me I would 100% read more from this author in the future. I think that it was fun. It was easy to read. It was quick to understand it wasn’t confusing at all. Am I absolutely love the art style, the main character group in this comic was actually really diverse, and I really think that the Satanic beast was fun. Although he was portrayed as an evil entity. He did have some soft parts to him and it was a well rounded great story. I would love to see more from this author, especially read more of the backstory, especially if they’re more on the darker side as I do love them I would 100% recommend

Gaaaah this was a lot darker and gorier than I expected. Overall, creepy and really intriguing. Not sure I fully understood everything that is going on though.

I loved Let Me Out. I'll start out by saying that I'm not a horror buff, so this was a little bit outside my expertise. But Nahil and Williams have created a truly remarkable queer horror graphic novel.

We follow a group of queer kids in a very bigoted town in the midst of the satanic panic. As the town queers, the kids are villainized when a women ends up dead in an apparent satanic ritual.

The art style of this book is gorgeous, I could stare at it all day. The book really masters mystery and insidious.

Really great read, honestly need to reread it when October hits because it will be perfect for Halloween vibes.

I loved the art style and the concept! The characters were really interesting and got me really curious about them and their world. I do wish this was longer and explored more, there were alot of open ends. What happened at the Y??? and the ending was very ubrupt, wish it was finished more

Best thing here is the art. The plot is ok (satanic era + gay fear, nice combination!), mind, but the art!

This graphic novel made me angry, but in a good way. The portrayal of how society treats queer people and alternative culture in a overly religious town or in general is pretty spot on. A group of queer kids being framed for a crime they did not commit just because of dumb stereotypes, but being able to get revenge and justice was delicious since books tend to kill off their gays. Also the "devil" helping the queer kids against the people who summoned them was my favorite part. I really loved all four of the main character and really wanted to know more on their backstory. I also wanted more at the ending, but in general I really like this graphic novel. The writing and art were so good.

I liked this graphic novel but the plot was a little disjointed at times. I feel like there should’ve been more pages to explain things better. I also wish we knew more about the characters. Art was good, and I liked the setting! I’m sure the authors’/artists’ next works will be even better!

Let Me Out is a queer horror graphic novel that is fast paced, which sometimes leads the story to feel a bit muddled at times. The point of what happens is kind of confusing, and was a struggle to stay invested in.
The representation throughout was something that's needed in more horror, but not at the expense of a good story line, and it almost seems as though the authors felt it was more important to have the diversity over a strong coherent storyline. If it had been fleshed out a bit more, maybe split into two volumes, I think that it would have been much more successful.

I do think there is an audience that this would be perfect for, but I don't think I'm personally one of them.

Review of NetGalley ebook arc
Let Me Out is a supernatural horror story about a group of poc queer and trans teens in a satanic panic scenario. The teens accurately depict how it feels to be in a queer subculture, as they dress the part and attend punk shows. They are bullied frequently by other students, employers, and struggle for acceptance amongst family members. Because of the frequency we opted to not order this for our school library. The group really bands together, but I worry it would be difficult for our queer students to read. The trigger warnings at the beginning were helpful! If you are a queer adult, I think you will enjoy this book.
The plot itself was centered around the teens navigating their lives, and a federal agent investigating missing persons cases in the town. I liked the plot, but found most of the scenes to be the characters coming and going. Longer scenes in the same space could have slowed down the pace a bit.
I loved the art and general setting. Nostalgia and spooky settings are still highly sought after in a post-stranger things media world. Let Me Out delivers!

This immediately became one of my favourite ARCs I’ve ever received, and to put into context how much I loved it, my first response after reading it was to contact one of the authors and gush about how much I adored it. (Heads up, if either of the authors are coming to Thought Bubble comic fest, hit me up!)

I could fully see this becoming a series or an animated show in the vein of an adult version of Paranormal Park. I also just think we need way more books set in the satanic panic that focus on queer teens, aka the people most obviously targeted by the religious zealots who LOVE a satanic panic.

In a way, this felt extremely timely. I feel like, right now, we’re living through if not a satanic panic then a moral one, and trans people are facing the brunt of it. It’s so nice to see a trans guy get to go feral, especially because I was rooting for some attacking of bigots the whole time.

This graphic novel follows 4 friends who are caught up in an investigation after the local priest’s wife is found murdered with a satanic symbol carved into her.

I’m struggling on what to rate this. For the most part I kind of enjoyed the story and it was something that appealed to me. However, the story started as a slow burn for around 80% of the novel and the last few pages were paced strangely fast and the story ended abruptly. The illustrations were beautiful and creepy but I didn’t find myself connected with the 4 mains character one bit. I really wish I’d have loved this.