With a few exceptions, I'm generally not a King Fan. As such, I have not read this source material this adapts. This is very much a King tale, with everything that entails - interesting premise, good writing, questionable needlessly harsh dialogue for stereotype black hats (men in this case...just...men), vague supernatural connections and its all related....somehow? Often with no satisfying wrap up, though I can't speak to that particular here, as I just couldn't finish this.

The "good" characters are largely very bland and personality-less , meanwhile the "bads" are genuinely dislikeable scum bags, who have the run of things. This discomfort IS the point, but the tale largely seems fine to just linger in it, while nothing of value progresses with any pace, including the all important character development.

That said, the Kingisms aren't the worst part, the art is. The art is a mess. Character renders are inconstant from one frame to another (EX: a character will have a beard in one panel, not have one in the next. This happens several times, with a main character), scale (and sometimes anatomy) is all over the place, and the whole thing often looks like bored doodle work.

The worst offender, however, is the amateurishness of visual story telling here. I very often, genuinely, could not make out what one panel, or another, or an entire page of them were trying to convey was happening. I was more than once left scratching my head in confusion, with a page full of art showing a character's demise, and yet I had NO CLUE how it happened based on the art I was seeing.

I reached roughly the 54% mark before my desire (only) to know the almost guaranteed to disappoint cause behind everything was overridden by my boredom and distaste for the art. You're probably better off just reading the novel.

*ARC provided by NetGalley & IDW*

I'm so sad to say that I didn't like this at all. I have read the book and enjoyed it very much but this was not great as a graphic novel . The artwork was messy and it was hard to keep to the plot. Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the free eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

I didn't very much like this book. I thought the artwork was very chaotic, the story was messy and it just didn't grip me as it should.

Not great, not terrible. Definitely intriguing and it sure made me want to read the novel it was adapted from too.

It features the old classic comic book art style that used to be very popular. It's not my favourite but I admit it was quite fitting to the story.

I haven't yet read the novel version of Sleeping Beauty, but I still appreciated this graphic novel. It had an interesting storyline and message. I enjoyed the artwork. It did have a few typos that were included in the final copy though. Overall, it was a nice and quick read for the Halloween season.

Thank you Netgalley, IDW Pubilishing, and Owen King; Stephen King; Rio Youers; Alison Sampson.

Sleeping Beauties: Deluxe Remastered Edition (Graphic Novel) is out now.

This is one of the few King novels I haven't read, so I was interested in reading the graphic novel. I loved the artwork -- the use of color told a story in itself. The story was interesting and frightening, although I'm not sure how I feel about how it played out. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

One of the least engaging comic books I've ever read. I wamted to stop reading after the 15 % mark and wish I had done so. The premise sounded interesting at first, like there was some real potential there. Not only does it fall completely flat, the comic book itself is so incredibly bad that I cannot for the life of me understand what prompted a deluxe edition of it. The art is atrocious imo - characters look robotic and unexpressive, rendering any emotion completely flat; panels and their overall layout are cramped with text all the time and the action is hard to follow as a result; and, and that's just personal taste, I found it ugly and uninteresting. The art style is run of the mill, boring, uninspiring, you name it.

Writing-wise, Sleeping Beauties was also just a mess? I don't consider myself a huge Stephen King fan but I did like Needful Things, The Shining and Misery a lot. I imagine Sleeping Beauties works much better as a novel/novella: here, the dialogue was so badly written that I couldn't bring myself to truly read through everything and had to skim pages. The overall plot was also just not interesting beyond the first couple of pages.

I'm really disappointed with Sleeping Beauties; I fully expected to love it but ended up forcing myself to read on even though I wanted to dnf so badly. Sorry, IDW, I usually really enjoy your stuff but this was a dud.

- ARC provided by NetGalley -

My goodness, what to say about this VERY graphic novel! I believe that the graphics themselves are outstanding; from the animals, to the nature, and even the grizzly scenes of murder, the sad scenes of woman in cacoons after trying so valiantly to stay awake for their families. Going into this book I had no idea what to expect, having never read the actual novel, I figured if the King's had a hand in things, this would be like nothing I've ever experienced and it was! I did not expect a book that was dystopian in nature, the world at large realizing that without women most of what they (the men) did was fairly barbaric. As the women were life creators, they'd already figured out how to start over in their new utopia, they had skills and training to mechanically fix things as needed, they were fully prepared to start over, meanwhile the men were blowing things up and setting cocooned women ablaze, effectively ensuring that they were fully dead. Those women also disappeared from the utopia as well, never to be free to return. Wow, this has made me want to read the actual novel. To distill over 700 pages to 280 of graphics and 💬! Maybe that will be on my 2025 TBR.

Enjoyed this graphic novelization of the Stephen and Owen King novel Sleeping Beauties. Really enjoyed the original book, and the graphic novel, like a show/movie, gives a more visible view of the story. Rio Youers writing was also true to the source material. #SleepingBeautiesDeluxeRemasteredEditionGraphicNovel #NetGalley

DNF. Abandoned at 49% I really wanted to like this book, but the slow pace and confusing narrative put me off time and time again. I liked the idea and have meant to read King's original novel for a while, but this adaptation didn't motivate me that much. The art is not my style, which is fine, but the script was so slow, erratic, changing at all times, that I just kept waiting for "that" to happen, whatever "that" was: the climax, the part where the sped up, the part when it got better, or just good to begin with. Definitely not for me. I will still read the original novel, but I'll stay away from it for now..

I’m a huge Stephen King fan, so I was really excited to read the graphic novel of Sleeping Beauties. The artwork is original and detailed and I would love to pick up a physical copy to read and enjoy. Unfortunately, I was unable to finish reading this one. The watermarking on every page of the digital version made it too difficult to read, and the writing was so small, I had to zoom in on each pane and then zoom out to go to the next page. The user experience did not lend itself to the graphic novel format, sadly.

Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced ARC of this graphic novel

I didn't know this was part of a series of graphic novels that has been released till after I read this and now I am interested in reading the rest, I did enjoy this and thought it was well done + left me intrigued to continue on

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for this ARC. This is my honest review.

2.5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️

In this comic adaptation to Stephen and Owen Kings novel “Sleeping Beauties” we follow a mystery where women all over the world are falling asleep and are covered in a type of webbing, awaking in a parallel world with no men. The men are left with the bodies of all women and the question arises: what will men do when left to their own devices? An interesting concept, which I’m sure is interesting to read in a novel format.

Positives first: I enjoyed the graphic adaptation to better picture certain scenes and descriptions. It was a fairly easy read that helps the reader feel more immersed and it’s easy as an abridged version of the book.

However, I think that adds to its downfall. It left me wanting, especially at the end. I felt like there was no satisfying ending or explanation and seemed very abrupt. Sometimes the way the comic was formatted made it hard to understand which was the correct flow of dialogue. Some scenes were also hard to depict from the drawing style: I didn’t actually know what was going on at times from just looking at the pictures. And my biggest pet peeve of all: so many spelling errors. Hopefully this will get revised before it goes to print.

I may only recommend this if you have already read Sleeping Beauties and want a visualization of the story.

I tried multiple times to pick this book up and push through but unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it. I’m not a huge fan of the art style, I appreciate NetGalley and the Publishers for giving me this arc in exchange for my honest review!

Had read the book before so it was great to see it in a new way. Enjoyed the art style. Great adaptation of the story.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

“Sleeping Beauties: Deluxe Remastered Edition” is a visually stunning and narratively gripping adaptation of the novel by Stephen King and Owen King. This graphic novel, brought to life by the artistic prowess of Alison Sampson and the narrative adaptation by Rio Youers, offers a fresh and immersive experience for both fans of the original book and newcomers alike.

The story unfolds in the small town of Dooling, where a mysterious phenomenon known as the Aurora virus causes women to fall into a deep, cocoon-like sleep. As the world grapples with this bizarre epidemic, the town becomes a microcosm of societal tensions and gender dynamics. The men, left to their own devices, must navigate a world without women, leading to chaos and introspection.

Sampson’s illustrations are haunting and beautiful, capturing the eerie atmosphere of the story perfectly. The use of color and shading adds depth to the narrative, making the supernatural elements feel tangible and real. Each panel is meticulously crafted, drawing readers into the unsettling world of Dooling.

The writing is equally compelling. Rio Youers does an excellent job of condensing the sprawling narrative of the original novel into a graphic format without losing its essence. The dialogue is sharp and the pacing is brisk, keeping readers engaged from start to finish. The themes of gender, power, and societal breakdown are explored with nuance and sensitivity, making this more than just a horror story.

What sets this edition apart is its deluxe remastering. The enhanced visuals and additional content provide a richer reading experience.

For those who have read the original novel, this graphic adaptation offers a new perspective, while newcomers will find it an accessible entry point into the world of “Sleeping Beauties.”

“Sleeping Beauties: Deluxe Remastered Edition” is a must-read for fans of horror and graphic novels. It combines the storytelling prowess of the Kings with stunning visuals, creating a unique and unforgettable reading experience.

Whether you’re a long-time fan or a newcomer, this graphic novel is sure to leave a lasting impression.

I’m conflicted on this one. If I could rate it solely based on the graphics, I’d give it 5 stars. Amazingly awesome pictures and artwork. (Spoilers) The story is a little lacking, though. It was intriguing at first but after a while I was tired of it and then it never actually wrapped up. The ending was confusing and wasn’t really much of an ending. It didn’t really tell me what happened or why, and it didn’t explain what the fox was. Was that supposed to be the woman evie? Anyway, 3 stars because the story just didn’t make sense in the end but the pictures were cool.

Having read Sleeping Beauties, I don’t think this adaptation really suits the book. It’s an interesting idea, but I much preferred the original format.

This book had a great plot with intriguing characters. I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author.

Did not finish at 60 percent. This kills me but the version we had to read was horrible. Just out of focus. Reading it gives me a headache. I'm sorry. I was enjoying the story though. On one of the pages where she tells the guy that the woman may not choose to wake there is a dialogue box that says one instead of once. It's very noticable