I'd been following Tri Vuong for a while on Facebook and other social media for a few years, so I was already partial to the tale. With art that is both haunting and at the same time welcoming and inviting, the tale is a welcome one. At turns both macabre and humorous, the story jumps all over the place in its telling, but not in a fashion I found offputting. This book was well worth the wait. Apologies for the late review. Initially awarded the book by NetGalley (thank you for that), the reviews weren't to be posted for some time after and the date came and went whilst I was having some health issues. All that aside, this book is highly recommended for both the story and the art.

Oscar Zahn was a dynamic character, the storytelling was very unique and I loved the gritty atmosphere of the world- I did lose the thread of the story a couple of times where it was a bit harder to follow the story but all in all I found this an enjoyable read.

I’m always on the lookout for new graphic novels to read in the fall and even though you could read and enjoy this one at any time I do think it fits fall/Halloween vibes perfectly. The second volume's release date hasn’t been announced yet but I fully plan on picking it up when it does come out.

I had to stop reading this book at about the 55% mark. I simply lost interest and and couldn’t seem to stick it out, I did really like the main character though!

I had a tough time putting this graphic novel down. The illustrations were stunning and really helped bring these wild locales to vivid life. We see Oscar take the reader to some insane looking places, and each one is more dangerous than the one before it. Along the way some surprising things end up getting revealed that weren’t that easy to see coming. Once this graphic novel comes to a close it looks like these adventures are far from over.

This is equal parts spooky and goofy. Oscar is a complex character who fights such physical manifestations of his inner demons. I enjoy how Oscar helps spirits move on. Definitely recommend for those who like supernatural stories and graphic novels.

God I loved every page of this! It’s just the perfect mix of strange and creepy that hits just in the right way. The art of it all is so particularly specific to the webtoon itself. I could not put it down.

I love that it’s a mixture of stories. Telling peoples pasts as well as where they end up in the afterlife. My favorite was the one of war and how all the soldiers ended up and the sadness of everything they dreamed of having, their lives at home, everything they love will never be something they return back to.

The stories are at times very lovecraftian with alienlike creatures and fights that were otherworldly. The whole of the stories are creepy and ethereal. Like you’re living a dream reality. It’s gorgeous from beginning to end.

Yet, it keeps you grounded to its characters giving them personalities and reasons for being that pull you back down to earth juxtaposing against the grand, larger then life monsters. There were moments that were so heartbreaking and moments that had so much humanity even as the majority of the characters you follow no longer look or are human.

“The Strange Tales of Oscar Zhang” will capture your full attention from the beginning to end. After it’s all done you’ll be flipping through the pages once more just admiring the scenes and appreciating the stunningly ethereal art. Oscar has so many stories inside him. His adventures are wild and dark. I could read them over and over and over again.

This was a beautifully illustrated and wholly original graphic novel. Full of adventure and heart with a touch of the spooky and supernatural. I greatly enjoyed it and would definitely read more of Oscar’s adventures and especially his origin story. This was a blend of steampunk and Lovecraft. It was horror tinged though, not bloody or gory at all.

If you enjoy horror-tinged or supernatural graphic novels I think you will enjoy Oscar Zahn.

**Thanks to the author/artist and the publisher for the e-arc I received via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.**

This certainly evokes <i>Hellboy</i> and I mean that in a good way. There's no big right hand of doom that he uses to beat down the occult but this person with a floating skull for a head doesn't need it. He thinks things through a bit more maybe and there's a lot fewer pages of fisticuffs. That's not to say it's boring because it's certainly not. It just has a different aesthetic. Anyway I quite enjoyed this and hope we see more of Oscar Zahn in the future.

I loved the overall feel of this book. It is very steampunk with the brass gadgets and hydronauts. It reminded me very much stylistically of Mike Mignola's work. The stories were interesting and moving. I definitely would like to see more of this series.

Oscar Zahn is a delight. A macabre tongue in cheek often sad but also whimsical delight. The art work is old horror style and the main character, our storyteller/ paranormal hero Oscar Zahn is a skeleton with a floating skull. And he has equally as many problems as the living, as one will see from his many adventures. I do love how despite his insane and graphic misadventures tend to shred at the sanity of others experiencing them, Oscar always keeps a cool head, well, skull, and is borderline painfully polite to the point of correcting bad language even when it’s perfectly understandable to lapse into profanity and this adds to the comic relief in the horror of the situations. But often there is a tenderness a sweet hearted respect to him dealing with so many during his paranormal investigations that you can’t help but be endeared. I loved this and I can’t wait to read more.

Thank you NetGalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for providing me access to this ARC in exchange of an honest review.

The concept of Oscar Zahn was interesting and the adventures varied greatly, making each story arc a surprise. The artwork was gorgeous and unique. There is a lot to love here as Oscar goes on adventures solving mysteries and saving lost souls, but it didn't grab me the way I'd hoped.

This is a strange, harsh, melancholy, but delightful graphic novel. Oscar is grim-repearereqsue, but is not a grim reaper. He is a floating skull that can see spirits of the dead and battles the forces of the universe to rescue them and free them into whatever the afterlife is supposed to be. There's a lot of the background story I don't understand, but what I do understand are the emotions of this story. This story is heartbreaking and hopeful and it pulls you in so many directions at once. The art is beautiful, it's not realistic enough to fool you, but it will suck you into the deep and leave you breathless. This story is wonderful. I hope for more.

Light horror with a sort of Doctor Who feel. Oscar is a floating skull who is also sometimes possessed by a murderous octopus made of ectoplasm. He is called upon to solve various hauntings and similar paranormal phenomenon, and does so with compassion, humor, and a good depth of knowledge. That’s what I mean by Doctor Who feel: someone fixing strange things in a friendly, competent manner.

The first story is brief, a single issue of a comic, but is such a good intro to the character. Oscar is asked to clear up a haunting, but instead of going in with aggression, his focus is understanding. Thus, we learn about the nature of the ghost, and see how compassion can be given to the dead in this universe. The second story, 3 comic issues long, shows us an equally tragic figure: the ghost of a solider at the Somme, young and trapped in war, even after death. And story 3…well, that one kind of drags this down, I think. 3 issues long, again, but it dragged on. I think it was the reappearance of the ecto-pus that did the damage. It’s not necessary to bring it back EVERY storyline.

The artwork is intriguing. The human figures remind me a bit of the Tintin comics, but with just a tiny bit more facial features, and good effort on the clothing. Part of that might be how long the story spent in the Somme. The foregrounds don’t have a lot of extra details, but do feel lived in. The far backgrounds are moody, atmospheric, and rely heavily on color theming. The color shifts as the story progresses, so what might begin with a lighter, happier blue can transform into an unearthly, sick green and then to red and black in the moments of greatest danger.

Overall, I liked this one. I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if Netgalley or my library gets a copy, though I don’t think I’d buy one for my permanent shelf. So, that’s a firm 4-star recommendation!

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

For something that gave such eerie horror vibes at times throughout, I can't believe how absolutely heart warming this was. To the point that I actually shed a few tears. You're following Oscar through time where he's helping different people along the way. Some are brave, some are cowards, and some just want to be forgotten; but in all ways Oscar is trying to help his friends in their own lives as to not have to look at everything wrong in his own. The art was a fantastic, dark vibe to balance out all the wholesomeness and I loved every second of it.

Posted on Goodreads:

4.25/5⭐️

Paranormal investigator Oscar loves to share other creatures stories but his own. However through those stories we little by little learn about him.

What a cute cozy (semi) horror graphic novel. This lil guy with a floating skull just investigating big monster babies, war soldiers and ship captains.

This was a nice little read and a story that I wish to continue. The first and last takes were my favorite but the rifle one ended up being longer than needed. And the artwork and color palette were perfect.

Thank you netgalley, ten speed graphic and Tri Vuong for the opportunity to read this volume.

Oscar Zahn is a paranormal investigator who also happens to be a floating skull dressed as a man. He travels the world trying to solve problems make the world a better place, more or less successful in the short run, but he seems to eventually pull through.

What I enjoyed the most was illustrations in this graphic novel, it was colorful and imaginative with all the odd characters. I especially loved the hydronauts. I did feel off kilter with some of the transitions between chapters. I guess I expected more of a continuous story, but Oscar jumped between stories and timelines. Still, the plot usually kept my attention but I was really in it for the illustrations. I enjoyed those short stories with Agnes and the hydronauts the most.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC; this is my honest review.

*Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review*

This was a fun/spooky series of stories following our skeleton-headed hero, Oscar Zahn and a varied cast of characters including robots, ghosts, and tentacled... ghost monsters? Aliens?. The art style and humor is very reminiscent of Hellboy. Upon some Googling, it doesn't appear that Trí Vương worked on Hellboy. But since I love Mignola's work, that was fine by me. I would definitely check out Trí Vương's future work.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall, The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn is a beautifully illustrated story, with several poignant moments that do lend to an interesting plot. I did enjoy reading it, and felt that it was intriguing enough to keep me reading without much pause. The sequential chronicles lent to a book that was easy to set down and pick up again without worrying over forgetting a plot point, which made it very nice to read while I was going about my morning.

I could not wholly get invested over the course of this story, though I believe that with more time and more comics, this could be changed. The story told was interesting, and if I could I would instead rate it 3.5 stars, because I did enjoy my read. I did like Oscar, and I think in further books I could grow to truly care about him.

This was a good book, it simply did not blow my mind. I'd recommend reading it if you need something simple, maybe during a commute or over a meal.

The story of Oscar Zahn will take you for a wild ride.

At first I wasn’t sure who was who or what was going on, but I was intrigued by this mysterious character with a floating skill for a head and kept reading. Is he good? Is he rotten and filled with selfish intentions? And much long with the other characters, I began to understand just who is Oscar Zahn.

The story sucked me in more than I was expecting to and the wild ride that ensued was enjoyable. The graphics were stunning and the colors were the perfect tint to carry the mood of the story. I loved the historical elements and after a while I got the rhythm of the flashbacks. It is thrilling and, at times, horrific; best suited for mature audiences. I did enjoy the themes about spirits and the afterlife. The more I read, the more I wanted to understand Oscar Zahn’s tale, even if it’s not his tale, but a tale he must tell.

This graphic novel was beautifully made. This collection of stories made me cry as well as laugh. The adventures of Oscar lead you through beautiful stories of life, loss and regret. The easiest 5 stars I’ve ever given.