Let Me Out is a fun queer horror adventure following a group of misfits who are wrongly accused of a local murder. All of the characters were wonderfully fleshed out and the adventure of the mystery surrounding this murder was a page turning delight. I look forward to more from this team in the future.

I feel like I'm doing a disservice to this graphic novel by reviewing it before reading the next volume (it's not out at the time of me writing this). I say that because I feel like I, the reader, just didn't get enough time with the characters because I didn't care. We're supposed to side with them because they're marginalized LGBTQ+ youth who get treated terribly by almost everyone. And because I'm not a monster, I did sympathize, but that wasn't enough to make me care about anyone.

Without any spoilers there's one scene when two of the characters are working and a third is just hanging out and their supervisor gives them crap about it. True, this supervisor may be far from an ally and maybe even antagonistic towards them, but dude (or the gender free equivalent), you have two friends working at a customer service job and you're just hanging out.

So it's the 70's and this small Christian town is scared because people have been murdered, supposedly by a cult, so they focus on the group of LGBTQ+ punks. On the surface this is a great idea but there's such a big scope to the story that in the 120ish page graphic novel, there wasn't enough to sink my teeth into.

Also there's a trans youth who gets misgendered and deadnamed by his parents and it's never mentioned within their friend group. The friends use he/him, which is great because it's what he wants, but I'd have liked a little more dialogue about his parents and also a better explanation about what caused the event at the very beginning.

There's a great idea here and I get the feeling that I'd really like this once it's complete and I can read it from beginning to end. But as it is, I'd just wait.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Content Warnings: Transphobia, Homophobia, Trans/Homophobic Slurs, Physical Abuse, Blood, Gore, Police Brutality

Thank you Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I guess this might just be a product of it being a comic that'll release in bits, but it was really short and a bit confusing overall. It's a very good setup with great characters, but it ended right as it started to go into the story after the setup so I don't really have much to review in all honesty.

A group of queer teens are just trying to live life through severe homophobia and transphobia while a missing person has turned up dead. Evading having the crime pinned on them, the teens must try and survive in a world that might literally become hell.

I really can't say too much about this, the bigory is quite explicit throughout and while I imagine it is a setup, the background to why at least one of them keeps actively seeking it out isn't explained at all. Pretty much *nothing* is explained even slightly.

I think this feels like a trailer for a show/movie kinda thing, that sort of vibe and amount of content to it. It's most certainly interesting enough to make me want to read more, but on it's own as a product to buy and then have to wait for the next bit feels a fair bit bare bones in my opinion.

The art is beautiful. The characters rule. But the plot never grabbed me. I think the premise -- Satanic Panic meets transphobia -- is powerful, but I think it deserves a better story. By the time the book reached its big finale, I had a hard time continuing to suspend my disbelief. It just felt sloppy. However, I am coming to this as a cis white guy, so feel free to ignore my thoughts completely. It's still a fun enough story.

The art, especially the colors and lighting, was great. The characters were expressive and I personally enjoyed George Williams' level of stylization a lot. Some panels were downright gorgeous and I sometimes lingered on a page just to take in all the beautiful color work.

Sadly, I do think the writing was not up to par. We don't really get much characterization for...anyone, really. The main cast is a group of queer teens, leaning on each other while suffering from the homophobia present in the 70s. That's really all I can say about them - it felt like they were fully defined through their queerness and nothing else. No distinctive personalities, no backgrounds we truly learn anything about. It's a short comic book for sure, but maybe it would've been better to have two fleshed-out characters instead of four flat ones.
The story itself fades into the background really quickly. Ritualistic murders, corrupt police, devil worship - all of this is present but takes a total backseat to the main characters being assaulted by homophobes, which would be fine if the finale didn't veer back to the devil-murder stuff only to end abruptly with the teens being possessed and killing the bad guy? The writing felt totally disjointed and everything was over far too quickly. I don't know if Let Me Out is the first volume in a series, but as a stand-alone it just feels incomplete.

All in all, Let Me Out is just okay. It's neither very special nor memorable, but it does feature really nice art and a cool devil design!

- ARC provided by NetGalley -

Four friends are caught up in a conspiracy as they fight the FBI, local law enforcement, and the devil themselves in Let Me Out. After a pastor’s wife is found murdered in the woods, the friends are a convenient scapegoat to hide the crimes of the FBI agent and sheriff. Already outcast as punks and queers, they are forced to run as they discover the truth behind the murder. Based upon the 1979 Satanic Panic in New Jersey, the book will also remind readers of the West Memphis Three case from Arkansas. The four main characters face challenges that will feel familiar to teens – parents, discovering who they are, and battling local bullies. It would be a good addition to libraries as a queer horror title and should find appeal to young adult readers.

"Queer teens get caught up in Satanic Panic (but actually it's real)."

This logline sold me on this book so fast I can't even describe it. I am Queer and live within an hour of one of the towns hit hardest by the Satanic Panic in Canada. I love Queer horror stories, especially when they are done well.
Horror, in many ways, is inherently queer and this book really captures the elements that underscore that while also actively bringing Queerness to the forefront of the story.

I've been a fan of George's art for awhile, and I was not disappointed by this turn towards something much more dark and violent. Honestly, my only complaint is that the story was over in 200 pages as I would have loved to see more of the characters.

.

I think I'm just not the right reader for this. The content is better for teens than adults. Some of the lines came off as cheesy and awkward. I couldn't really connect with the characters, and often I had no idea what was going on. The artwork is good but could be more descriptive.

<blockquote>Our town must square with the fact that the devil is here in Columbiana, We've seen him, and he has run through every street, every house!
He's run through every man, woman, and child, and has settled in to stay where sin is!</blockquote>
First of all Thank you and apology To Emmet, George, Oni Press for this Graphic novel ARC, and for delaying it this long, i actually finished 2 ARCs at least i got approved for after this, What delayed me was the trigger warnings, it felt like ugliness i wasn't quite ready to get acquainted with, I don't want to see Trans people hurt or insulted or humiliated in anyway, Sometimes i feel the best defense against ugliness is just not experiencing it, but we are living in the real world so?!
This will come out 03 Oct 2023, and This will be an honest review as usual, So bear with me!

<blockquote>Nothing Holy About it.</blockquote>
I am writing this review listening to Debbie songs! The Graphic Novel had a playlist in the end for famous metal songs, and i actually like one of them so much already, Second Skin - The Gits!
This story was about a fanatical little town, Where everyone is buying into the bullshit the preacher is saying, fear mongering, hate mongering quivering mess of a bastard.
Nobody seemed to be kind to them even their own families are misgendering them.
Nothing Holy about it man, Nothing Holy about it, you will not make anyone love your god with hate and discriminations so peddle your shit elsewhere.

<blockquote>I just can't imagine why he's so obsessed with me.
I'd almost be flattered if he wasn't such a blessed fucking pain, trying to trap me in summing circles.
And in a human form too!, so messy and COLD</blockquote>
The devil was here, and the devil has ugly tits!
<spoiler>It's quite sad, Because i felt the kids took the devil in, they told the truth for the first time, and called people on their bullshit for the first time directly straight to their face.
I need a devil in me sometimes, To call out the elitism around here, so many people thinking their shit smells better than other people's shit.</spoiler>
Even the devil was fed up with humans i swear, it was so funny, when it shouldn't, but the devil this time wasn't the bad guy!

<blockquote>I don't know if you've heard, But i do love a deal!</blockquote>
Like the devil i love a deal! I love a good deal though, and this comic was a good deal, not the best in my opinion about trans people, not scary even though it's horror genre, But it did a great job in addressing the discrimination and it's origin, everyone is looking the other way, to be "nice"
But we know where it's coming from, even if we won't say it.
Regardless of my three stars rating this was a good read, 3 stars for me is always a good read, it's when i give 2 stars that we have to sit down and have a talk.

<img src="https://imgur.com/HTjH1w9.jpg"/>
What killed this for me was actually the art, not really the writing, i have come to lose hope in reading real horror stuff long time ago, Only Jungi Ito does it for me now.
The art style while Unique, i didn't like it, that might be a me issue, But yeah i didn't like it sadly.
I think it did way better at drawing scenery than drawing people!

<img src="https://imgur.com/dZwfkDs.jpg"/>
But George did draw the cutest dog ever! can i have him please? 🥺

<blockquote>When i felt my ribs crack, I knew.
I knew it was letting something out, It wasn't fear, It wasn't sadness.
It was rage leaking outta me onto the concrete.
Rage, and something else i didn't have a name for.
Not yet at least.</blockquote>
Rage was exactly my feeling getting out of bed, to write this review, I wish one day i ll look back at all of this, and say we are past all of that, probably we will be discriminating against Human Cyborgs, Or AI Robot slaves that we made so human and now they want their rights, Or human/alien transients!
But a promise you will never see me on the ugly people side again.
<img src="https://imgur.com/wj0lsRb.jpg"/>

Let Me Out was entertaining, but also challenging with the homophobia and violence surrounding it. I wanted these characters to stand up more than they did. I enjoyed the story and the comedy was good too. Great queer and diverse race representations. I wonder if there will be more as the book left an opening. No cliff hanger, though. I received this as a #netgalley arc.

My first thought with this graphic novel was how much I love the art style! It was beautiful and engaging, with everything from the lighting to the poses to the colouring. I loved it! The story was okay. I sort of wondered about the point of it all. It jumped around from place to place and it felt sort of hard to follow, but maybe that's because I read it on a phone! I don't know, I just never felt super gripped by it all. I knew exactly where it was going because the entire plot is in the synopsis. Maybe that's why I wasn't sucked into it.

Loved this book, the queer representation and the illustrations were beautifully done, my only criticism would be that I wish it was longer or multiple volumes so the story could be fleshed out a little more!

Oh man this went from really stressful to really fun pretty quickly in a sort of, "outcast queer teens in 1979 New Jersey get caught up in Satanic Panic but actually it's Real and not just weirdo conservatives playing the blame game" so when the Realness caught up with them I was having a GREAT time in this revenge situation they all got into. The devil was great and although it ended rather abruptly, I hope there's a sequel?? I want more of this devil (non-gendered) guy!

Thank you to NetGalley and OniPress for the eARC borrow in exchange for this honest review!

So in this graphic novel, we follow a group of young adults who are queer and marginalized during the satanic panic in the USA, especially in a very religious and conservative little town. So when a murder happens the authorities create a moral panic saying Satanics did it. And the group of outcasts is the perfect one to blame.

I really really really like it. I love queer horror stories. Like horror is queer for me, and we need way more queer horror stories. The drawings are great, and the group of friends is superb. We can see how much they care for each other, they always have each other's back, and are here for each other. The horror was pretty good too. And I really wanted to know, how they would survive this.

The thing that bothered me was the pacing. It felt weird at some point, but not bad either… I just hope we will have a sequel because... this ending????

Rep: Trans guy MC, Trans woman MC, Black MC
TW: Homophobia, Queerphobia, Transphobia, Deadname, Misgendering, Gore, Violence

Thank you NetGalley, the authors, and publisher for the arc of this book. This review contains only my opinions and is left completely voluntary.

Queercentric graphic novels are among my favorite things to read and this one did not disappoint. The pace was very fast and at times I wanted more detail which is the reason for 4 instead of 5 stars. That being said this was awesome! It was gorey and unapologetically queer. Each of our main characters are somewhere in the community and I love that. The story itself was incredibly engaging and the art style is gorgeous. I'm hoping there will be more after this!

Thank you to Oni press and NetGalley for letting me review this.

The artwork had a 70s comic book feel which I loved. It was fast paced and may possibly be my first queer horror graphic novel. It left me wanting more at the end which is a great thing. I’d definitely recommend it, it’s perfect for the spooky season.

Like most reviews I've skimmed, I agree that the pacing was kind of off and the story was a little choppy in the first half. I was kind of scrambling trying to piece together all these plotlines and different players in the story, and then once I felt like I got the feel for the story - the protagonists are possessed by the devil (which may or may not be a good thing?) and the book promptly ends. I don't know ... I just wish there was a little more between the kids and the devil and the mystery of it all before it escalated that far. If this is a series then this short abrupt ending is annoying but in the grand scheme of things just fine because this book was very much laying down the groundwork but if this is it? ... prepare to be a touch disappointed TBH

I requested this book from Netgalley not realising it was a graphic novel. I mention this because these are not my thing for horror. That's not to say it's not good but I'm just unsure how it stacks up in that genre.

The story was good and has a lot of elements that you'd want in horror and the illustrations are really well done and evocative.

Although this wasn't for me, personally, I would recommend it for fans of horror comics and graphic novels. It's obvious that the writer and artist are talented and really put a lot of work into this book. I just personally prefer written novels.

Since this was most likely a mistake on my part, I don't want to say anything negative about this book. If you like this format you'll likely love it so give it a go!

Set in the United States in the midst of satanic panic, the life of a group of queer misfits is inadvertently intertwined with a murder investigation conducted by the sheriff and a strange government agent. Given the cruelty and rituality of the discovery of the body, a curfew is triggered throughout the city and the boys can do nothing but disobey the provisions of the authorities. The group's everyday life runs parallel to that of the investigations until the paths meet and the mess breaks out. Is there really something demonic that is terrorizing the citizens or is it all the result of people's paranoia? Who will side with the "weirdos" against the prejudices and accusing looks of the community?

Very topical, funny, macabre, this story is truly one of the most beautiful I've read in recent times. The devil hides behind the most innocent look but man is the real evil.

Absolutely recommended, if you drop a tear you'll know you've really made it yours.

The handling of dead names, lgbtq+ violence along with trigger warning at the beginning of the novel were all handled very well and never once did I feel uncomfortable or that this story was indulging in lgbtq+ suffering just for the sake of it. That being said, I do understand how someone could find it uncomfortable. This genre isn’t for everyone.

The writing was excellent. Between the humor and the more dramatic moments, this novel had me turning page after page. The interactions the main gang of characters had with each other were heartfelt and funny and the moments they had with the homophobic and border-line violent characters rang true. If you haven’t gone through these things, you will be able to easily understand the sense of fear and injustice that the main characters felt.

The one thing that really surprised me about this book was how genuinely funny it could be at times. Although most of it would be considered on the darker side, I found all of the humor more than appropriate.

In terms of the art style, all the different emotions portrayed on the different characters faces, especially the towns people and their mayor were incredibly expressive, whether it be humorous or terrifying. I really loved the different angles the artist provided of the various characters and scenes.

The way the artist had text bubbles on certain pages that would extend or bleed into the other frames was something that I’m not sure I’ve seen used to such great effect, if at all. This is definitely the first time it stood out enough for me to remember it. Not only text bubbles but window panes, trails of smoke and more. It really took me on a journey through all the different panels, especially when one of the word bubble were wrapping around a character connecting the two panels.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more adventures with the whole gang 😈