Unfortunately, this was not it for me. From the cover art and description, I expected a very different vibe for some reason? The description is not wrong by any means but had I known what the content of the book looked like, I would've not picked it up.

The art style was a bit too messy for my taste and the writing was not precise enough for me to actually understand what was going on half the time. The stories were very disjointed and context-less because of its structure - every chapter has kind of a new story but also not always because sometimes there is an over-arching theme/story. A bit of weird choice ngl and I am still wondering why the decision was made to make this into one singular book because there is potential for multiple books within this collection.

Most of the stories, I was not interested in at all. The characters were pretty cool though! I wish we could've had more time with the stories and characters in general.

My favourite story was the last one before the Epilogue with the old lady and the cat ^-^

Really enjoyed this book. It was out of my usual reading genre, but I was pleasantly surprised. I’d definitely recommend it to others!

As someone who hadn't read the webcomic and requested the graphic novel from the publisher based on the description and art alone, this was much more real and emotional than I expected. Oscar Zahn and his fellows are so HUMAN, and the abstract interpretations of their earthly plights are both gorgeous and terrifying. There is so much in the text and subtext about death, fear, love, acceptance, understanding. I ADORED Stardust and Soliloquies: Forgotten Memories and Stardust and Soliloquies: Cassiopeia most of all, but wow. Make sure you are ready for an emotional, intense read when you sit down to Oscar Zahn, and I think you will love it. This made me reflect on my own life and fears, so I did take some time to complete it, but I'm so glad I read this.

My one critique I have re: the art is that the fish were very simplified in The Hydronaut. They looked a bit like Goldfish to me, and compared to the more intricate art throughout this book, the fish were kind of jarring. Vuong's whales and robotic fish are detailed and beautiful, so I see it was an artistic choice, I'm just not a big fan of them. In terms of the writing, there is VERY little to improve on, and I'm happy to give this 5 stars. Very few books have moved me like this, and my experience with this text feels like it changed my brain chemistry for good.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Ten Speed Press for the ARC and allowing me to read such a beautiful book.

TWs: <spoiler>child loss, stillbirth, light gore, war, murder, violence, monster attacks, near death experiences, attempted drowning</spoiler>

Art-wise, this graphic novel is absolutely stunning. I loved the atmosphere the color palette created. The character of Oscar is very original and the premise intriguing. "The Last Soldier of The Somme" absolutely gutted me.
I was just a bit confused by the storyline, not knowing if the chapters are meant to be interconnected in an overall arc or if they are more like short stories because it seemed they were separate but then they started blend into each other. I guess we will get to know more in the following volumes but as an introduction, it was perhaps too confusing. I'm definitely intrigued to read more though, so perhaps it worked as intended :)

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn by Tri Vuong is an incredible graphic novel. A strange tale told with heart, I was both swept up in the stories, and pulled in by the magnificent artwork.

Charming, mysterious and filled with adventures .... Did my inner child some good.

5 / 5

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn follow Oscar, a skeleton, or rather a skull, and ‘the world’s greatest paranormal investigator’ along several of his adventures. Each story Oscar brings us along starts in media res, often with tangents that seem more like non-sequitors. None of these stories explain why Oscar is an animated skull or why he seems to be possessed by ‘the Ectopus’, but we get hints of what his life was like as living man.

The graphical style of the novel shifts between spooky eldritch horror and awe-worthy. The plot is heartbreaking and -warming in turn as Oscar works to solve the issues of his companions.

This story features graphic violence and death (though in cartoon style) at times and deals with heavy topics, but is perfect for the teen to adult audience. And if like me you can’t get enough, check out the author on Webtoons to read more of Oscar Zahn’s strange tales.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn Volume 1 comes to print 9/10/2024, thank you to Ten Speed Press for the ARC!

All I can say is WOW! I'm amazed at what the human mind can produce! Tri Vuong opens our eyes to the wondrous tale of Oscar Zahn and his dark passager and his story telling of tragedy and the fallout from it, and how it alters the world or in this case the afterworld. This graphic novel has what your little fantasy heart desires. It is an experience and I'm so thankful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this. I can wait to continue the tales of Oscar and to see where he takes us.

WOW. There is just something about webtoon books that always stun me. Obviously I know they’ll be good going into it but wow. This one was fantastic. It made me smile and feel feelings. I instantly found myself looking for the webtoon after this book just to know what comes next in the adventures of Oscar Zahn.

Funny, mysterious and reflective!
Oscar Zahn is a charmaing and mysterious paranormal investigator, with changing appearances his original is a floating skull in a suit
Through short stories and flashbacks, oscar helps free spirits from their personal darkness and tries to heal from his own past

Disclaimer: I received this arc in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars out of 5

The art style was magnificent! Some of the tales I enjoyed more than others. The art style reminds me of the comics I used to read when I was a teen in the early 2000's, so it hit me in the nostalgia a bit there. I do feel like the stories didn't fully grip me. I loved the first one, but the second one was just okay.

This was cool! I loved Oscar, and his character voice. The concept is cool and the art is gorgeous. My only critique is that I struggled a bit with following the story and the chapters didn’t feel all that cohesive.

This was an unexpected enjoyment, and much lighter in tone.. I was expecting the book to be very dark and grim, but what I got was a very wholesome character, Oscar Zahn, in some dark circumstances. I really like Oscar who strived as much as possible to do the right thing in those circumstances, and he also has a couple more surprising superpowers, as well.

Oscar himself is something of a mystery, often mistaken for the Grim Reaper, because he's just a partial skull, with no "body" of his own. He can affect human minds to appear to them how he pleases, but sometimes people can see through his disguises. He works in the human world as a King Paranormal Investigator and Exorcist, and reminded me very much of Hellboy, only he's less grumpy, more idealistic, and a lot less punchy!

I would definitely recommend this book to teens, but not someone younger than ten, because I don't think someone younger than a preteen would fully understand the events of the book.. But it's a great book for people who like scary stories, but don't want to get too scared or read anything too violent.

Thank you Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press, Ten Speed Graphic, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This spooky, action packed volume is about Oscar Zahn — a paranormal investigator who helps lost spirits cross over to the other side. The art is just the right amount of spooky without being too scary. The story, or rather a collection of stories, felt a bit disjointed, and it wasn’t clear how Oscar got to be in the state he is currently in — with one foot in the living world and one in the other. I’m glad for the opportunity to read this book, but am not sure if I’ll continue with the series.

Note: I received access to read this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book has some excellent characters and good humor. It doesn't always get the tone right in the later chapters though. The plot could use more of a through line but each individual chapter makes sense.

Holy cow. This is non stop gas pedal to the floor horror. So good, cannot not at all wait for volume 2.

///// English /////

*Disclaimer: I had received a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 6 / 10 – 3 stars out of 5
Genre: graphic novel, fantasy

Sometimes it’s easier to face other people’s monsters than our own.

Oscar Zahn is a paranormal inspector tasked with solving problems with entities from other dimensions. In these pages we will find stories that need to be tell, not his own, although he draws a little between the lines.

The illustrations are quite nice and eye-catching, especially those of the hydronaut case. They are very appropiately coloured and the technology is always present.

For the text, I feel that I lost some context and that many situations are resolved on the fly. Maybe I didn’t fully understand them or they just stayed on the surface. However, I liked it overall.

It talks about self-acceptance, about facing one's own traumas, about fighting to the end, about loyalty, about humanity... These are complex issues that are treated with a lot of tact and artistry, but without much depth.

“After all, I know better than most that the most difficult monster to face is the one you see in the mirror”.




///// Español /////

*Aviso: Recibí un eARC gratuito a cambio de una revisión honesta.

Puntuación: 6 / 10 – 3 estrellas de 5
Género: novela gráfica, fantasía

A veces es más fácil enfrentarse a los monstruos de otros que a los nuestros.

Oscar Zahn es un inspector paranormal encargado de solventar problemas con entes de otras dimensiones. En estas páginas encontraremos historias que deben contarse, y no la suya propia, aunque se dibuja un poco entre líneas.

Las ilustraciones son bastante bonitas y llamativas, especialmente las del caso de los hidronautas. Son colores muy apropiados y la tecnología está siempre presente.

En cuanto al texto, siento que me falta contexto y que muchas situaciones se resuelven sobre la marcha. Tal vez no las entendí del todo o solo se quedaron en la superficie. Sin embargo, sí me gustó en términos generales.

Se habla acerca de la propia aceptación, de enfrentar nuestros propios traumas, de luchar hasta el final, de la lealtad, de la humanidad… Son temas complejos tratados con mucho tacto y arte, pero sin demasiada profundidad.

“Después de todo, sé mejor que la mayoría que el monstruo más difícil de enfrentar es el que ves en el espejo”.

A weird, but interesting graphic novel that manages to keep a light tone despite touching on some deep themes. Told in little short stories that seem unrelated at first but end up connecting to a bigger mystery just out of our reach in this 1st volume. I can’t wait to unravel it in the sequel.

(Review to be posted online the week of release as per publish instruction)

I’ve never needed to get something in physical copy from NetGalley before BUT now I need to get all of Oscars adventures. In volume 1, we meet Oscar who is a supernatural detective. The first two stories give you a tone of what you are walking yourself into. I loved how the rest of the stories connected into a bigger story and that ending???? I will be here happily waiting for the publication is volume 2. This was wholesome, funny and sweet. The side characters are great specially Agnes and Lady Grey. I loved how at points it explored complex topics regarding physics and got a little philosophical. If you like adventures with a little spooky sci-fi. You would love this. For fans of light box ♥️ this graphic novel will bring joy to you.

Originally a webtoon, I think the Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn was successfully reformatted into a traditional graphic novel. The story is unique and the art definitely packs a punch. Strange tales indeed.

I liked this universe and the illustration style of this. The latter is a little in the vein of Mignola and personally, that's one of the things that pulled me toward this book. Oscar was a fun main character and I enjoyed each little mini story themselves. I'm not sure about the major plot as a whole about how that thing got into Oscar and turned him into a skeleton. I thought I understood what was happening with the flashback, but then the end of the book through me for a loop. So there seem to be pieces to the puzzle we're missing as a whole that I hope will come in Volume Two. Those missing pieces made Volume One fill a little clunky and bumpy. But, I think volume one did a great job of setting up the universe in this story and introducing us to Oscar. So I'm interested to see where the next volume will take us.