I read a lot of graphic novels and this one felt disjointed and rushed. Pacing was good at the start but towards the end the story became jumbled, and random. I started having issues with the story after the characters would commit crimes but act like victims. Although I think character choice is excellent and inclusive, I feel like it was odd that the characters would do something immoral such as assault someone and then use an excuse that they’re being targeted because they are queer. Kind of an odd way to get your point across. I also feel like some of the content fits our generation more than the 70s. Like the whole pronoun thing. I understand during the 70s that there was talk about pronouns where people would shorten they to te and things like that but pronoun talk is much more relevant today. I didn’t feel a 70s vibe.

By the time the “devil” came into the story I was already checked out and wanted to get it over with.

What saved it for me is the inclusion of different characters and the art style.

Horror in more ways than one, Let Me Out uses a backdrop of small-town homo- and transphobia to tell an occult story centering on a group of queer friends and the way society demonizes them. The story builds a lot of tension very quickly, creating a situation that is both horrific and, unfortunately, believable. The setting was fleshed out very quickly, which isn't something that always comes through this well in graphic novels, and I was immediately invested in the characters.

The art in this book is eye-catching, and it's utilized very well as a medium for telling a story. Good comic art needs to capture a lot of motion and I think the artist did an exceptional job of that. Each of the characters is unique and instantly recognizable from their first introduction, and I particularly liked how they used different fonts and ways of displaying the text to communicate differences in delivery.

Now, I do have one gripe about Let Me Out. It builds this very compelling tension, creates an exciting climax, and then it kind of just... ends. I'm not sure if there'll be another volume coming - if there is, I'll be all over it - but as is, the story feels a bit unfinished.

Thank You Netgalley and Oni Press for the e-Galley,

Queer Horror graphic novels are in a league of their own, toss in Satanic Panic from the 1970s and you've got a winner. It was dark, bloody, queer as hell.e and style of the illustrations is really cool.

This was a fast paced graphic novel of a queer group of friends, who already feel like outsiders on their own town when they start getting targeted and blamed for a satanic murder in their town. I loved the illustration and would loved to read a follow up!

(I received this book from the editor and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review)
Let Me Out, by Emmett Nahil and George Williams, is a mesmerizing story about friendship in the middle of an outbreak; a maybe-not-so-impossible-to-believe Satanic panic outbreak, if I may add.
From the very beginning, it kind of reminded me of a mixture between Something is Killing the Children and the movie Cabin in the Woods, where an obscure organization pulls the strings and the characters are nothing more than puppets, but the group of friends in this case, Mitch, Terri, Lupe and Jackson, are very different to the ones in the movie. They are the punks, the queers, the outcasts; and even the Devil knows there is a kind of rage that is very difficult to control.
I thought the art was just perfect for the type of story. The gore was just spot on, it would have been easy to go overboard but it felt just right and, without spoilers, I really enjoyed that some things were cuter than expected. The rage itself is very well depicted as well.
The only downside thing to this endeavour was the abrupt ending. I know it says the end? And that questions marks are very important if placed in there, but it felt as the climax was severed a couple of pages too early.

Nevertheless, I really liked Let Me Out and I think it is a very interesting addition to the horror genre in comics.

Let Me Out has beautiful artwork and a fast paced plot. This debut graphic novel left me wanting more and I hope the story continues (is there is more to the story). This novel also served as a reminder of how much things have (and have not) changed around the LGBT+ community since the 80s. I look forward to seeing more from these talented creators.

What was that ending?! This is a wild ride of a graphic novel and woah did it deliver on the horror. Im too young to have experienced satanic panic but the way the community and the police used the group of queer outcasts as a convenient scapegoat felt very true to reality. This isn’t so much scary as chilling and disturbing with a fair bit of blood and gore. I think this was an interesting graphic novel, and I hope to see more stories from Nahil and Williams.

3.5 stars rounded up!

Free e-ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher for reviewing purposes.
This was a fun, quick, gory little graphic horror novel. When the Pastor's wife turns up dead, the local sheriff and the investigating FBI agent conspire to blame a group of punk/outcast/queer kids, and some satanic panic cooked up along with it.
This might be really specific, but the storyline and art style reminded me of the Nintendo Switch game Jenny LeClue. The art style is solid, but the comic has quite a lot of violence in it, and the storyline is a little weak/hard to follow at some points. I also didn't find the ending to be a satisfying conclusion to the story, it's definitely setting up for more to come.
Recommend for fans of Something Is Killing The Children and A Taste For Blood.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I am speechless.

This was my “out of my comfort zone reading”, and oh boy, it was outside what I usually read, indeed.

This graphic novel set in 1979 show the story of a small town in which a tragedy recently occurred. The inhabitants of the town want answers that the authorities cannot give them, since said event is part of even worse things that are happening, of which the authorities are aware and worse still… they are partly responsible.

In their attempt to cover up their crimes, they decide to take advantage of people's fear and start a whole plan to sow fear and suspicion throughout the town using the sermons of the local church pastor.

Of course, all this means that soon all the suspicions fall on the group of the “weird” of the town. A group of four friends who stand out for not fitting in at all… they dress differently, listen to “violent” music, among other things, which makes them the perfect scapegoat to be framed.

I don't want to go into too much detail to avoid spoilers. The story begins after the tragedy has already happened and no background or explanation of the situation is given, it just begins and as the reading progresses we discover everything. At a certain point in the story, it feels a lot like the West Memphis Three case, in the sense that the fear and narrow-mindedness of a town turned against a group of people who, probably, have nothing to do with what happened.

The art and illustrations are magnificent, the plot is also very well done. Horror is not a genre I read on a regular basis, but I enjoyed reading “Let me out.”

Let Me Out is a great mix of 70s satanic panic, queerness and small town spookiness.

I REALLY loved the character designs and the art style over all. It’s what made me interested in reading it to begin with (that and that it’s queer horror) but the writing in itself and the plot really made it whole. It’s always fun reading stories with the outsiders in the centre of it all, especially when the outsiders are queer or punks. It also makes for really great designs.

The graphic novel was super diverse and inclusive, which is always a plus on my side, as it often makes for better storytelling — especially in this case, with the characters being in the middle of a small town’s satanic panic hysteria.

My only real issue with the graphic novel is that it felt too short and I can only hope there’ll be a volume two in the near future 🤞🏻

// ARC courtesy of Oni Press and NetGalley.

I would not consider myself familiar at all with graphic novels, and this is actually the first time that I have read one on a device, so it’s something new for me. I did really love this one though, both the story and the art were done really well, as a horror fan. The plot being about how typically marginalized groups are the ones blamed for all the problems, even when the people in power are the ones directly responsible for them is unfortunately all too realistic for today. The characters were also really cool, and it was easy to tell how close they all were to each other even though the book was really short. Definitely worth checking out for queer horror, and the art is gory enough to be gross in a fun way but not too much to actually freak me out. Just the right balance.

A bloody graphic novel focused on diverse queer characters and exploiting the satanic panic of the late 70s? This should be right up my alley! And while it was a quick paced and fun read, it left me more wanting than satisfied. The central gang of characters is fun and diverse, but barely fleshed out. There is a good amount of character development through what is not said, what is implied, and it was good but I still felt like I had barely more than a surface-level experience of them, or any of the characters, really. Everything just fit into a simple narrative and simple character archetypes, without anything inventive. Shady cops and government agents? Check. Emotionally abusive and small-minded parents? Check. Physically abusive jocks and popular kids? Check. But… that is all these characters get to be. And the art didn’t feel like it fit the story, at least not for me. It was well done, a distinct style that I appreciated, but it wasn’t a style that fit with a satanic panic horror story set in 1979, it had a web comic vibe that wasn’t colorful or out there enough to be intentionally clashing with the story/tone but was too cutesy to convey the weight of what was happening in this town or with these characters. It was hard to ever really feel a sense of dread. And lastly, while I enjoyed the story, it just felt disjointed. An event that happened halfway into the book should have happened less than 20% of the way in, and then given our central characters more to actually do… Because they didn’t really do a whole lot of anything. Things just kind of happen, without any real agency or deliberateness on their parts. There were so many interesting places this could have gone! Especially if the plot points that happened near the very end of the book were the proper starting point of the story, which is what I had anticipated going in. I almost feel like the format knee-capped it a little, and if this was a 100-page novella the story could have really had some depth, more twists and turns, and some real teeth. As it was, it just felt like a missed opportunity.

Look, all that said, it is a fun read, with good art and an inclusive, engaging core set of characters. So much so that I would want to see more of them. So, while it didn’t really work for me, there isn’t a lot of queer horror like this out there right now, and it might scratch the itch for you. It does show there is a lot of talent in both the author and illustrator and I hope they keep producing more things like this, because I want to see what else they produce. (2.5 stars rounded up).

I want to thank the author, the publisher Oni Press, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley and Oni Press! I'm so glad to have been able to read this story early.

I loved this book! I wasn't planning on spending the morning reading a queer horror graphic novel, but when I got started I just couldn't stop. The story is absorbing and pulls you in, and you feel a sense of creepiness, disbelief (yet sadly also recognition - queer rebels have been blamed for much in the past), and hope. The art is gorgeous - the colour palette reflected a time of the past while feeling modern. The characters were spunky and relatable. I'm not a fan of gore so I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this, but was creepily pleasantly surprised. I'm super happy I got to read this as an ARC, but think I might also dish out on a printed copy of the book - I'd love to see the art in published form.

Queer horror is the future. I'm happy to see queerness moving beyond queer stories to seep into other genres.

And also... I hope there's a follow up to this!

(slight spoilers)

Ending with a question mark is much too titillating! I also love the design of the devil with boobs. Yes please.

Thank you to NetGalley & Oni Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I love anything spooky and queer, and this delivered on every level. This graphic novel focuses on a group of friends who are on the run during the Satanic Panic while the town is conspiring against them. Some period typical homophobia and lots of guts and gore. My only issue is there wasn’t enough explanation to the plot. I liked the characters and was able to feel for all of them and their struggles, but I wanted more from the story. The art here is very well done but some of the pages had too much text and it was hard to see everything. All in all this was a great read and I’m looking forward to seeing if there is a next volume with that cliffhanger!

It has strong artwork and a focused narrative. Nothing particularly new here, but it was enjoyable all the same. I have a few patrons in mind to recommend this to.

Let Me Out is radically one of my favorite graphic novels of the year. It is explosive, bloody, and beautiful.

This story is set during the Satanic Panic and follows a group of friends as they try to simply exist. This group of friends is trying to exist in the face of some tough experiences (and they are somehow stuck in the middle of figuring out how someone was murdered with ties to the Satanic). Throw in some super secret government entities and that mystery kept me hooked. This book has some seriously gruesome and horrific scenes and I really enjoyed it.

This graphic novel is so full of LGBTQIA+ experiences and I loved every second of it. This book doesn't shy away from some hard family dynamics either. It expertly weaves some tough experiences while the overarching mystery explores exactly how Satanic the world can be. The last 30 pages of this story is so wild, that I could not put it down.

From raids by homophobic police to transphobic parents to gruesome murders, this story has so much to offer readers and readers everywhere are going to love this book! Check it out!

4.3/5
Quality of writing: 4
Plot development: 4
Pace: 4
Characters: 5
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of reading: 5

A quick horror read about an outbreak of "satanic panic" sweeping the New Jersey suburbs in 1979. And it's queer. Do I need to say more?

Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

4/5

I always adore queer horror and this graphic novel hit every mark I could have wanted it too.
It's set against the 'satanic panic' backdrop of 1980s America and invokes all the themes I hoped it would as we follow our cast of queer outcasts. They're the freaks, the outsiders, the scapegoats. So when the pastor's wife goes missing and is found with a pentagram carved into her, who else would be easier to blame?

The cast of characters are so empathetic, it's blatant to see how much they care for each other. They're so easy to connect with and to root for. I loved the representation of such a tight-knit group of queer friends in such a hateful time. Despite the world being against them—in fact, because of it—they're loyal to a fault and will always stick together.

I thought this was an amazing story with such beautiful illustrations. I desperately hope that it's continued because I want so much more of it.
If you like Stranger Things, this small town supernatural horror graphic novel is perfect for you!

Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Quick read, great graphics and good story. Easy to follow, felt there could have been more horror. Liked the alternative character choices.