I read Sleeping Beauties a few years ago and really enjoyed it so I was extremely excited to get approved for the ARC of the Sleeping Beauties graphic novel!
The illustrations are beautiful - vibrant and full of detail. The storyline stays true to the novel with a few changes for inclusivity. The addition of concept art and cover art galleries is fun.

I have posted this review on Amazon, Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6815740710

And Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_dbTIOgrQb/?igsh=YnB1bTlqZWk4MXZ3

Publishing date: 03.09.2024
Thank you to Netgalley and IDW Publishing for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: Abstaining from drinking anything at the bar because my date has some terrifying opinions
The book left me: Grateful that I wake up as normal

Negatives:
Heavy handed on "anti-men" sentiments
A lot of expository dialogue that could simply be expressions from the characters
Watermark on the copy made it hard to read some text

Positives:
Scary concept
Cool artstyle fitting of the story

Features:
Conversations about feminism, a look at how it could be with a (mostly) man-only world, the worst from both genders

Why did I choose this one?
I have tried reading Stephen King once and it didn't really stick with me. Thought I should try at least once more. Also the premise is super terrifying and would affect me in the real world if it was a real thing that could happen.

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
Relatively pick-up-able. Here is the thing with this comic ... When it drags, it drags heavily. There was so much text and explanation and retelling of already known information between characters. It really affected the pacing negatively. I think it would help if some dialogue was cut out completely and replaced with expressions from the characters.

What was the vibe and mood?
Apocalyptic. We didn't really see how much of the outside world was affected (the internet, roads and export/import, politics, media), but it was apocalyptic in the few scenarios we got to see. I also felt unsafe the whole read. The way the "victims" were handled got me feeling sick (endearing in this scenario)

Final ranking and star rating?
B tier, 3 stars. Fascinating concept, could be executed better. I thought it was a good idea and had mostly good foundations until we dragged some "supernatural" elements into it. I didn't really understand how it was all connected, and I also didn't like how quickly it was wrapped up when starting to handle these elements.

The dialogue and text, the dragging of the storylines. Lots could be improved. I must be honest and say I haven't read the original book, so I don't know how this compares. At the same time ... this would be better as a show or a movie.

Still, I would maybe recommend this to those who enjoy comics and want to dip their toes into horror and Stephen King. Could be a starting point.

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

I just didn't connect with this one. It felt heavy handed on the "men suck" (or at least most of them) message, and the art wasn't my favorite. The characters didn't feel very nuanced. And then there was a commentary about race just kinda thrown in at the end. Maybe I'm just an optimist and would hope that men left to their own devices could at least hold it down for a few days without going feral.

Really good, loved being able to consume the story in graphic novel form it made it fast. A good storyline but some points it dragged.

Stephen King’s Sleeping Beauties is a novel that, while not ranking among his very best works, presents a unique and intriguing concept. The graphic novel adaptation, particularly the Deluxe Remastered Edition, brings this story to life with a vivid and striking visual interpretation that enhances the overall experience and adds a new dimension to the narrative.

One of the most notable strengths of this adaptation is the artwork. The illustrations are nothing short of stunning, with a level of detail and artistry that captures the eerie and atmospheric essence of King's story. The graphic novel’s visual style effectively translates the novel’s mood and themes into a compelling visual format. The use of color, shading, and panel layout helps convey the tension and horror that King is known for, while also adding an artistic flair that complements the narrative.

The adaptation succeeds in translating the novel’s intricate plot and character dynamics into a format that is both engaging and accessible. The graphic novel medium allows for a more immediate and immersive experience, bringing King’s characters and their struggles to life in a way that the written word alone may not fully achieve. The artists have done an excellent job of capturing the essence of the characters and their emotional journeys, making the story more relatable and visually impactful.

While Sleeping Beauties may not be one of Stephen King’s most acclaimed novels, the graphic novel adaptation has provided me with a renewed appreciation for the story. The visual representation of the novel’s themes and the way it translates the suspenseful and unsettling atmosphere into art have added a new layer of depth to the narrative. It’s a testament to the power of graphic novels in enhancing and revitalizing literary works.

I’ve seen stories where all of one gender die out or disappear, or where women suddenly GAIN power, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a book where the entire fem populace is rendered inert. The sleeping sickness, Aurora, makes any woman (and that means anyone whom identifies as a woman, so trans women included and trans men excluded) who falls asleep STAY asleep. A chilling concept, all women being unable to react to the actions of men.

And I think the only reason this story doesn’t devolve into constant sexual violation is because sleeping women are covered in a cocoon, which, if torn, wakes the woman to a zombie-like, homicidal rage, which only ends when the one who disturbs her is killed, or she herself dies. That said, there is still an instance of sexual violence early in the book, so check your trigger warnings. Also, the absence of sexual violence against the sleeping women does NOT mean an absence of violence, and on a large scale.

Now, a bit more of review here, before I get into spoilers, because I’m really up for speculating in a little bit.

Plot. Oh, this FEELS like a Stephen King story. A very intriguing setup, and then a need to explain. King rarely lets things just HAPPEN, there’s got to be a bigger plan. The characters aren’t moving the plot so much as it moves them. Someone may go rogue for a bit, but then something else interferes and keeps things as going as King intended. Not sure if Owen King has the same habits, but I wish he brought in a bit LESS mysticism.

Art. Incredible background detail, not a bit of space is wasted. I wish more time was spent on the characters, though. It can sometimes be hard to tell the characters apart, and I think that’s due to style. There’s an attempt at high realism, which reminds me of rotoscoping. Which leads to a lot of weird face shapes, especially around the eyes. Pudgier faces squish and distort, but not in a way that LOOKS natural. While the artist no doubt did a lot of facial studies to get this right,

There’s also a good bit of extra content here, though it’s mostly just production notes. Nothing that expands on the story, just explains the creative process, and mostly the artists’ process. If you’ve got the original 2-volume release, you likely don’t need the remaster.

Now, spoilers.

With typical Stephen King mysticism, we also get to explore the life of some of the sleeping women, who live at accelerated time in an alternate version of their town, Dooling. It’s not a perfect utopia, but the implication is that they could get damn close, without the influence of men. However, shortly after the birth of the first (and only) child in this realm, the women are given a choice: stay in the alternate Dooling, and bring all the sleeping women of the world into this new realm, or ALL return to the “real” world, allowing all women to wake up.

Now, big spoilers, they return, our world moves on. But I’d LOVE to see an alternate ending to this book, where we see how life moves on for the split species. After all, the book specified that trans people go with their lived gender, and we know in the real world that trans men sometimes carry children and trans women sometimes provide gametes to conceive children. Both populations could go on. How would they differ? Fascinating.

Man. Now I gotta see if there’s good fanfic. I’m just left…wanting.

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

Read from September 1st, 2024 to September 3rd, 2024. Written on September 3rd, 2o24.

"This is a man's world, this is a man's world. But it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl" - James Brown (said it best)

I want to start by saying that the artists, illustrators and everyone who chipped in for the final result of this graphic novel are absolutely filled with talent and deserve all the recognition for their work.

About the actual story, I didn't read the book that originated this, but the way the graphic novel tells the story and shows it allowed me to comprehend 99% of what was going on whilst making the reading experience more interesting and in-depth. Now...that was a trip. And a big one. This is a book about women and their endurance, fight and struggle, written by men. And really well written! It's profound, it shows a world without women and the caos that ensues and a world without men and the society it creates. Now, in the end we all know one cannot live without the other, and I think that that shows the beauty of the world we have. We all depend on each other and this story shows us that. At least that was my interpretation from it. Was the book confusing at times? Yes. Crazy and horrifying? Sure. But what's a Stephen King book without any of that?

About the reading experience in itself, I do have to say that there were moments I was confused about what was happening, and most times that happened because of the amount of panels chosen for a single page; while that added a new layer to how a certain part of the story, sometimes it made it hard for me to understand what was going on and I ended up losing track a couple of times. Also, sometimes the choice in colours affected the way I saw the illustrations because it blended too much into the drawings, if that makes sense.

Thank you so much for the opportunity! Stephen King is a very dear author to me so to be able to read one of his stories, with his son Owen King nonetheless, in this format was a new experience I never thought I'd have, so thank you.

(Free ARC from NetGalley and IDW Publishing that I chose to review after reading - Cross-posted on Goodreads on September 3rd, 2024)

Okay, real talk: THIS was a wild ride! Let’s talk about the message behind this strange, almost utopian world they created. The idea of a world where all the women fall asleep and the men are left to their own devices? Brilliant and a little terrifying, if I’m being honest. But the best part? The irony of it all! Wake a woman up, and she’s immediately pissed off —like, yes, that’s just a reality check, but it’s also such a clever play on what happens when you mess with our peace. 😉

I also gotta give props to the art style. It’s unique and really sets the tone for this eerie, almost cult-like atmosphere that you just can’t look away from. Don’t get me started on the touches of gore. Chef’s kiss! Just the right amount to keep things interesting without going overboard.

I have never read the novel that this graphic novel is based on, and I'm not sure if I will after this. The concept of the story is pretty interesting. All of the women of the world are slowly being affected by a sleeping sickness called Aurora. They fall asleep and slowly become entwined with a strange cocoon-like substance; if someone removes the cocoon the woman inside will go into a mindless murderous rage. With all of the women falling asleep, the men of the world have turned the world into a warzone. I found the overall story to be very disjointed and a bit confusing. I feel like there's meant to be a deeper theme, but instead, I found myself confused. I think the fact that this story was originally split into 10 comic volumes didn't really help matters. Also, there were WAY too many characters! I very rarely complain about the size of a cast, but there were so many characters I was starting to get different people mixed up. It felt like every chapter was introducing more and more characters. With how overcrowded the story was with characters, it feels like you learn only very tiny pieces about them. I wish there had been fewer characters so the story could have gone a bit deeper into their characters. I'm not sure how I feel about the main character, Eve. The second she introduced herself as Eve, seemed very mysterious yet all-knowing and then seemed to be tied to nature motifs, I instantly understood what she was supposed to be. But it wasn't some great revelation, it was more of a "Oh...okay I guess?" moment. I don't know, maybe this all works better in the original novel. But the story just did not translate well to a graphic novel format. Finally, the art style was just okay. It did have a lot of beautiful imagery, but the facial expressions seemed oddly stale or like they were traced off a photo.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Well that was a fever dream of a read! It all begins where there is a pandemic type event they have nicknamed “Aurora” where young girls and women fall asleep and a cocoon starts enveloping them and if the cocoon is disturbed they become extremely violent. Both men and women all over the world are freaking out, and with good reason, then we pull into where our main story takes place, the town of Dooling, near the appalachian region, where the main story is centered around the female correctional center, its officers and the men and women living in the surrounding areas. It was a very interesting read, hard to follow at parts and the story sometimes felt all over the place. It would probably have helped if I had read the original book and had some reference to follow along with. The artwork is wonderful, detailed and mesmerizing, the story… it left much to be desired. I enjoyed it overall, it was just a lot of work to get into personally. I will re-read once I read the original book and circle back. It’s labeled as horror but felt more like a mystery/thriller. I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC.

In Sleeping Beauties, both the authors and illustrators deliver a visually stunning graphic novel that explores fascinating themes of gender and societal norms. The artwork is striking, capturing both the eerie and beautiful aspects of the story perfectly. I loved how the narrative dives deep into the complexities of human relationships while maintaining an engaging pace.
However, some sections felt a bit convoluted, making me wish for clearer character motivations. Despite that, the collaboration between the Kings and the creative team shines through, offering a thought provoking read that keeps you invested from start to finish.

So in my great but slow Stephen King (re)read I'm nowhere near the Stephen-and-Owen books, so this was a brand new title to me! Nor had I read the previously published graphic novel.

It was a fascinating story told in many many panels with various color stories depending (and this Deluxe Remastered Edition also has the benefit of a behind the scenes process after the main story is over!) about a sleeping sickness that just affects women-- yes, even trans women and femme nonbinary people (which honestly is a great addition! Since it's a magical sickness that has to do with women-as-others as compared to men, there's no reason that designation at birth should matter when its one's place in society that is the thing here.

In any case, sometimes the panels were a bit confusing, although I think at least part of that had to do with the size and saturation of the watermark in the eARC, but I did get some of the characters confused for one another at times. The art style wasn't my favorite, but sometimes I did like it too, so it was mixed for me.

I do want to read the novel, so I'm sure I'll be thinking of this adaptation when I eventually get there.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing for the eARC in exchange for review!

This was a graphic novel adaptation of Stephen and Owen King's Sleeping Beauties, a powerful story about a world that becomes a shit show when all of the woman fall asleep and are shrouded in a cocoon-like gauze. In their sleep, the women are transported to a land of peace and harmony while the male dominated realm is fraught with violence. I did read the novel but it was a few years ago. I am glad that I had some baseline knowledge about the book from my previous read or I don't think I would've been able to follow the story very well. In the novel, the Kings do an amazing job weaving the backstory of the individual characters and that is almost impossible to mimic in this format. The story also seems much more grim and macabre via pictures.

The artwork was very beautiful and gruesome where it needed to be. I was able to identify all the main players: Evie Black, Lila and Clint Norcross, Janice Coates, Michaela Morgan, Frank Geary, etc. However, it was very difficult to figure out who was who among the other characters, the inmates and all the raging men in particular. I liked the inclusion of transgender women in the female led society as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc of this graphic novel. Personally, I prefer reading the novel over the graphic novel format. The Kings are master storytellers via the written word and this version seems to lose some of that flair. I would recommend this as a companion to the novel for anyone who enjoyed the book!

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this graphic novel from Stephen King!

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ | 1/5


Where do I even begin with this…? Firstly, the art style being like the show “Archer” distracted me so bad I couldn’t focus for half the book. But you know, I feel like this was appropriate as the plot of the graphic novel - based on an actual novel that never should have gotten a second adaptation - was just so… all over the place.

Sexiest, misogynistic, this plot relied heavily on female characters IT RARELY SHOWED. Glorification of shitty men without any consequences for what they did ( which by the way, also made no sense ) on top of this strange, no answer virus, and the end feeling like a “and they lived happily ever after!” In a horror story feels as cheap as a Kidz Bop version of a radio song.

Maybe I missed some nuance of the story without having the background of the novel version but will I be reading that? No.

this was an experience, I did like the story, but I didn’t like the drawing that much, it was like an Americanized version of a junji ito story, and that was what I did enjoy about the story. The main difference from a junji ito story Is the ending, women all over the world, from new born to elderly women, when they fall asleep they become victim of a strange sickness that involves women in silky threads, and if someone tries to remove those silky threads women react with terrifying violence…

I didn’t read the original story, and maybe I am losing something in translation, but I still liked it, wish the drawing looked a bit better, that's what let me down a bit in this book…

Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing, for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

Comic is based on a novel, which I did not read. Think it would have added more nuance to the story.
Comic is about an unknown virus that only affects women. Also see how things just hit the fan afterwards.
Trigger warnings
Graphic scenes of violence
Violence against women
Sexual assault
Overall it was a very haunting comic with great characters and art style.
Thanks NetGalley for the arc.

Its not bad, though I would have preferred a different art style. Its just boring. That's the worst part. With all the talent associated, it's just boring.

3.5. I don’t think I’ve ever read a horror graphic novel. It just hits differently. I’m wondering if adapting someone as descriptive and hypnotic as Stephen King will ever successfully capture the strength of his storytelling, I feel like there’s just a lot missing. However, it’s not the artist’s fault. The use of color is great here, and a lot is accomplished with line drawings. That aspect is very well done. It’s just that the story doesn’t translate to this medium very well.

Overall, an ok book. The graphics are well-done with a somewhat interesting story. Perhaps it was me, but I was looking for more from a Stephen King novel. Some may enjoy this graphic novel, but it was not for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Full disclosure, I haven't read the novel this graphic novel was based on. I also have never read an Owen King book. But I have read a lot of Stephen King and this is very much a Stephen King story. There's lots of story, it's kinda creepy, and I'm a little confused about what was happening.

Sleeping Beauties is about a phenomenon happening to women. When they fall asleep, they don't wake back up, but are covered in a cocoon like thing. They wake up in different place, a place with all the sleeping women. Meanwhile most of the men have turned violent, while a smaller group is trying to figure out how to save all the sleeping women. There's one lady, in jail after a pretty gruesome murder (the reason for that isn't even explained), who can sleep and wake up again. Is she the key to solving this whole thing?

Overall, the story isn't bad, but in graphic novel form I feel like I missed some details. The art style is nice, it feels very much like most modern horror comics. There's a lot of chitchat that felt like just filling pages. The bloody bits have red tinting to the art and that is pretty neat. It wraps up a little too well at the end, with an almost touching "lesson" to be learned. The novel is on my TBR list and I'll definitely be keeping it there, hopefully it can fill in some gaps for me later. It was a very odd, quick story, but not unexpected coming from King. Personally, it didn't hit the horror spot I was hoping for.