This was a fun little read about an (adorable?) skeleton man names Oscar, who is on the hunt to exorcise ghosts and get them moved to the next phase of your "lives". He is like a grim reaper/ghost hunter. Very fun.

Oscar Zahn is a paranormal detective, the one to call when one needs an exorcism. Essentially a trenchcoat-wearing skull, it’s clear that he’s not human, and definitely connected to the otherworldly. He understands exactly how to deal with unquiet spirits. But there seems to be an unusual amount of activity lately. Soon, Oscar comes to realize that they may be related to his own origins.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Volume 1 is a must read for fans of occult detective stories with a unique twist. While this feels unique, it also favorably evokes memories of Mike Mignola’s iconic Hellboy series. This is a volume full of episodic adventures that also tie into a greater, ongoing narrative. It has an alluring mix of dark fantasy, folklore, gothic horror and cosmic horror, with a smattering of science fiction. Both spooky and mysterious, there’s a lot to pay attention to in the panels, which are beautifully illustrated, relying on the artwork to communicate the ideas as much, if not more than dialogue. Readers should not be surprised if they don’t always get answers or understand exactly what unfolds in the stories. The sense of the unknown does add to the overall mood: intriguing and uncanny, leaving readers eager for more adventures with Oscar Zahn and his assistant Agnes.

Really liked how well the style of art fit. It was just a touch scary, but very pretty. Really enjoyed Oscar and will be looking fo more stories featuring him.

4 stars

Oh, boy. What a fun comic. The setting of the paranormal world interacting with the normal world is masterfully done. The characters and their motivations are so believably human and understandable. The art is also magnificent, easily conveying the other-worldly nature of the locations and creatures that Vuong has created. Honestly, such a fun read, I couldn't put it down.

I loved this book! It has the charm of the old, dark fantasy cartoons I used to watch when I was a kid with the maturity of the adult I am right now. It’s full of surprises, adventures, charming characters, and stories that immerse you into a new world of ghosts, magic, and murderous robots.

The art is also gorgeous. So detailed and colorful, it’s easy to get lost in so many landscapes and the large cast you get to meet. There’s not a single page I didn’t like, but there were a few that I loved more than others, truth be told. Although I usually like a clean, smooth style, the harsh lines match the script perfectly.

Some of the scenes were longer than needed, however. I’m inclined to think that it was because of being published as a webcomic first and that there were… length requirements? I’m not sure. However, there were times when everything was unnecessarily longer. It’s not a huge problem, but an inconvenience that I saw now and then.

It’s the perfect reading for those who want a Burton-esque, wholesome, yet simple story to stay awake late at night. With a perfect balance between humor and drama, fantasy, scifi, and horror, it’s an original jewel of a story that you will fall in love with.

Review to be published on July 18th: https://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2024/07/comic-strange-tales-of-oscar-zahn.html

Oh, this was absolutely phenomenal. I'm utterly in love!

A fantastic mix of horror, comedy, adventure and sorrow. I found myself laughing one minute and tearing up the next. Every character felt so full of life (the irony!), every story felt full of emotion. A fantastic story that I desperately need more of. Plus the art itself is beautiful, such a great style. Truly amazing, I'd love to see more!

ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

Summary:

Oscar Zahn, a paranormal investigator with a unique form—a floating skull in a trench coat—is dedicated to improving the world through exorcisms. Oscar and his enigmatic assistant Agnes embark on a chilling yet heartening journey through otherworldly realms. Together, they rescue lost souls, unravel eerie puzzles, and confront restless spirits across time and space. As Oscar uncovers the reasons behind these spectral disturbances, he begins to unravel a deeper mystery: his own forgotten origins.

Review:

If you love paranormal thrillers and mysteries, The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn Vol. 1 is the comic series for you. It's out of this world, with a ghostly investigator (see what I did there?) and plenty of paranormal investigations to behold.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn read as a freak-of-the-week style comic, with a different adventure/investigation in each arc. Of course, there are a few constants, such as Oscar and Agnes. It's perfect for people who love this format, though I'm hoping we'll see more character development down the road (ghosts can still develop character, right?)

I wish the arcs were less disjointed; it felt like something was missing. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it is the main reason I found myself resistant to getting pulled further into this world. I still think it's worth checking out, though!

Highlights:
Paranormal
Graphic Novel
Webtoon

5/5

THIS BOOK WAS SO WEIRD….in the best way possible. The illustrations beautiful. The story within the stories amazing.

Oscar is a paranormal investigator who travels around different worlds to solve mysteries and help different entities. There is an overarching story line for Oscar that involves him not really knowing who he is but slowly finding out. But there are also shorter stories within that where he either helps different spirits either figure why they are not doing well or someone they know isn’t. The worlds are gorgeously crafted. The character Oscar was well written that even within his faults he still is loveable, and you are rooting for him the whole time. Did I mention he’s a skull wearing a trench coat? What more do you need?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and can’t say enough good things about this book. I can’t wait for the next volume and to find out more about Oscar.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Volume 1 by Tri Vuong is a captivating graphic novel featuring the heartwarming and eerie adventures of Oscar Zahn, a floating skull and paranormal investigator. Joined by his mysterious assistant, Agnes, Oscar rescues lost souls and solves creepy mysteries across ethereal realms and through time. This beautifully illustrated volume, collecting episodes 1–65 of the popular Webtoon comic, delves into Oscar's own forgotten origin story. A must-read for fans of paranormal adventures and touching narratives.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press, for an advance copy of this supernatural graphic novel dealing with a mysterious man, his witch companion, and the many unsettled dead who continue to move around this world.

My Grandmother, Nan, was a witch. Everyone in the family, even the stronger Catholic ones always said it, and even after all the time she has been gone, still feel that way. Any get together has a story featuring my Nan, doing something different, something that man might consider odd, but to us was just Nan. Tea readings, aura readings, telling the sex of babies to pregnant woman, she did it all the time. Even my nephews talk about her. My youngest nephew says she talks to him all the time. I believe it. Nan talked a lot about the dead, probably more than one should talk to a child about dying. Nan always said that being dead made people look at their mistakes, and made them angry or sad. Sometimes they talked just to make themselves feel better. Nan would always listen. Nan also introduced me to comics, not that she read them, she just knew. And this graphic nove made me think alot about her. All the restless dead, and a person who was willing to listen, and lead them home. Or fight them if he had to. The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, Volume 1 is a collection of webcomics written and illustrated by Trí Vương, dealing with a man with facial problems, his guilt about past mistakes, and the hauntings he tries to alleviate, physically and in his own mind.

Oscar Zahn has just a skull without a face, one that floats free over his body, and a ton of stories why this happened. Zahn accompanied by his companion, a witch by the name of Agnes, tries to help the dead, the haunted or creatures trapped with spirits, to a better place. Sometimes this works, most of the time it does not. Oscar has an enemy, a woman who lives in lighthouse but she might be more of a frenemy than anything else. Oscar's adventures include trying to un-haunt a house, with dramatic results. Clear a church yard of ghosts, but these ghosts are World War I veterans and the have tanks. The longest involves sea monsters, and survivor's guilt, and leaves our hero battered in both mind and skull.

For a webcomic these collect quite well, none of that awkwardness that I notice in a lot of collections like these. The story is good, a little bit of Hellboy in story and art, but done so well, with a lot of thought and some strong emotion, that one gets lost easy in the story. I liked the mystery of Zahn, what happened and why, and enjoy that it is not solved easy. Agnes doesn't get much story time, but her tale is kind of funny and enjoyable. The stories deal well with survivor's guilt, what happens to us when we die, and are spooky and funny. And full of really amazing ideas. The hydroauts are probably my favorite, and I would love to see more of them. The art is very good, and adds a lot to the stories. Eerie, spooky, with a lot of steampunk mixed with Lovecraft.

This is my first exposure to the work of Trí Vương, but I really enjoyed this and will have to look out for more. Horror fans, Mike Mignola fans, people who enjoy very good art and stories will enjoy this.

It’s hard to rate this webcomic compilation. The art work is so, so good. Oscar the friendly skeleton paranormal fixer is certainly likable and interesting.

Yet it just didn’t hold my attention. This does have the feel of some Mike Mignola comics but Oscar Zahn is just not Hellboy or Abe Sapien.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn is quirky but not quite quirky *enough*.

I probably wouldn’t continue reading this work but I wish it well. There is enough here that could use some tweaking.

Oscar Zehn is a paranormal investigator, which makes sense since he's just a skull. Well, a skull with a weird Ectopus living in it. Which wouldn't be so bad I'd the Ectopus didn't want to eat the very spirits he's meant to help.

This was weird in the absolute best of ways. Oscar's got some serious issues that he is clearly avoiding (he is called out for this several times) while helping the spirits of the dead or those who have wrong spirits to cross over. Both stories were incredibly heartwarming. And absolutely laugh out loud funny at times. But what made this great is they are just ghost stories. Not scary ghost stories, mind you but ones that make you want to hug your family and remind you that courage is always doing the scary thing. It's a throwback to ghost stories from the last century. Plus, there are some serious Lovecraft style Elderitch horrors.


Overall, it was definitely a great read and a throwback to a time when horror stories had a purpose and weren't just all hack and slash.

As always, thanks to Clarkson Potter and NetGalley for the eArc!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-copy of this book!

This graphic novel was done very well. The artwork is stunning. The characters are fleshed out. However, this book just isn't for me, so it was a bit of a slog for me to get through. This volume follows Oscar as he goes on different journeys and tells other people's stories. So it is more of an anthology of stories with a couple recurring characters. While there is nothing inherently wrong with this story structure, I just tend to prefer books that have a throughline plot that ties the story together.

Everything about the book absolutely glitters. The characters are gut-wrenchingly beautiful, the artwork is pure magic, the dialogue is surprisingly hilarious for being so emotional. Every once in a while there was a little nugget of wisdom that would absolutely floor me, because Oscar deals with a lot of lost souls. I’m absolutely obsessed with our dear friend Oscar and his sense of humor. I’m genuinely excited to see what adventures he goes on next if the ones in this volume were so unique. This was the most entrancing book I’ve read in a very long time.

This one was a miss for me. I did not care about the characters or plot, and was bored through most of it.

More like a 3.5 star. I will definitely be interested in Oscar’s story as it continues to be an intriguing premise, and I would like to know more about lady grey and their relationship. I think my biggest hang up with this collection is that it didn’t focus more on Òscar and his story. It would’ve been nice to conclude his story before at popped into the one featured here, which by the way I really enjoyed. Will definitely continue reading in this series. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC copy!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I loved this!!! Graphic novels are always so fun because the art styles are always so different but it's rare to find one that feels like such a fresh and new idea. This story was so well done for a first volume!! I really got a sense of who Oscar is as a person? An entity? and I really enjoyed how it was him telling other peoples stories of their lives/afterlives. It was a very cool concept and I can't wait to read more of this story in the future!

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley.)

--- 3.5 stars ---

"In this half existence which is now my life, I have witnessed mysteries and miracles, both big and small. Most are beyond my understanding, but this much I know to be true: the dead are just as haunted by the living. And nothing stays lost forever. [...]

"My name is Oscar Zahn, and this was not my tale. But it was a tale for me to tell."

Oscar Zahn might be a floating skull in a trench coat (carrying a chaotic, octopus-like dark passenger, at that), but he's also one heck of a paranormal investigator. With the help of a network of otherworldly friends and allies, he comes to the rescue of the living and dead alike. From the battlefields of Somme, France, circa 1916, to an ethereal, in-between place located in the Arctic Circle, Oscar, Agnes, Mr. Crane, and the cobbled-together crew of the Cassiopeia travel the world(s), solving creepy mysteries, freeing trapped souls and hunting malevolent forces.

THE STRANGE TALES OF OSCAR ZAHN is as touching as it is bizarre. Oscar makes for a compelling (if mysterious) protagonist, and his exploits are literally the stuff of legends. Vương showcases a wild imagination, with ghost stories rooted in both history and science.

I do wish we'd learned more about Oscar's backstory, but that's teased at the end of the volume, presumably because Oscar Zahn's origins are intertwined with the Big Bad that our protagonists are pursuing.

Honestly, all the plots and subplots are so out there that this review proved difficult to write - I just couldn't keep everything straight, or not from memory alone. I think that learning more about Oscar's role in the story will tie things together so that I can see the puzzle from the pieces. THE STRANGE TALES OF OSCAR ZAHN seems like a series I'll devour a second time, from start to finish, once the final panel is released.

**Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of this through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a really interesting collection of stories.  I liked Oscar as a character, and I liked the super unique world-building.  It really kept me guessing about what would happen next and how the story might all come together.  I would liked to see more of this world.  The art was really great.

Follow Oscar Zahn as he tells the stories of the souls he’s doing his best to help. While avoiding his own demons, this floating skull with a heart of gold does everything within his power to help his friends, ghosts who haven’t realized they’re dead, and even those who have been long forgotten.

I really enjoyed reading this book. In this volume, we get to know Oscar through the stories he shares with us. We start with the story of a young soldier. Long dead, he and his fellow soldiers have been trapped on the battlefield that took their lives for decades. This story was probably the saddest out of the stories we see by the end of this volume. It was easy to almost forget that these characters weren’t ghosts reliving a version of their final days.

The first story really pulled me in, so by the time Oscar moves onto the next soul in need, I was fully sucked into the book. I like that the first story is more about the souls he helps than him, and then we slowly get to know more about Oscar once we already know about how important his work is. It’s surprisingly character driven and manages to have a lot of depth no matter what’s happening. It’s truly an intriguing story full of wonder and mystery. The artwork helps tell the story beautifully, and I’m really looking forward to eventually learning about the memories that Oscar has been running from.