A tragedy brings a surviving family to the Morning Star lookout to spread the ashes of the husband of the household who died in a fire. I enjoyed the concept of this story but it was difficult to follow and ultimately fell flat for me.

Interesting but not easy to follow. Nathan Garrett is a forest firefighter who dies with his crew in a rather strange forest fire. His remains are not found. One year later his grieving wife and children return to the forest to scatter his ashes (which are not actually his ashes) and to say goodbye but in the forest they are confronted by something strange. Suddenly they are fighting with the unknown.

I think this started out well with a great build up but it then became a bit chaotic and hard to follow, maybe that’s what it hoped to convey but it was not such a great read for me. A bit too confusing towards the end but will be a good read for people who like ambiguity in their stories. The artwork is creative and just right for this kind of story.

"1956. Kootenai National Forest, Montana. When smokejumper Nathan Garrett perishes in a raging wildfire, his surviving family's hopes and happiness turn to ashes.

One year following her husband Nathan's death, wife, and mother of two, Jolene Garrett, takes her crumbling family to the Morning Star lookout seeking solace through closure - to scatter her husband's remains. But something far beyond the reach of their wildest imaginings awaits the Garrett family in the Montana wilderness - something more powerful than their anguish and torment. Something that transcends space and time. No telephones. No electricity. No transportation. No escape."

Oh yeah, perfectly spooky and scary for this week!

The artwork is really nice in this book. A wildfire takes the life of a man and his family, a year later his family goes to spread his ashes but things start happening to each of them. I thought the plot was very creative.

A family left grieving after a wildfire claims their father's life. Strange/supernatural things start happening to each of them a year later.

The graphics of this novel were absolutely stunning - felt very old school, which I love, especially the colours used.
The storyline was a tad bit confusing but enjoyed it nonetheless.

Thank you NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Fantastic artwork from Marco Finnegan and a strong story from Tim Daniel. Morning Star is engaging as a visual story and perfect for readers who want more than an average superhero comics. Great genre work in the medium.

Morning Star by Tim Daniel, is a sci-fi horror graphic novel centered on the Garrett family. The story begins one year after Nathan Garrett, a smokejumper, dies in a wildfire in the Kootenai National Forest in 1956. In search of closure, his wife, Jolene Garrett, takes her two children to the Morning Star lookout in Montana to scatter Nathan's remains. However, what awaits them is far more terrifying and mysterious than grief.
The family's attempt at finding solace is interrupted by strange, otherworldly forces in the wilderness. Cut off from civilization, with no telephones, electricity, or means of escape, they must face something that transcends space and time. Themes of grief, loss, and supernatural horror blend to create a tense, unsettling narrative as they are pushed to confront both their emotional turmoil and the terrifying unknown that surrounds them. The art style is a successful blend of grittiness mixed with nostalgia, with muted color tones, delivering a well grounded horror vibe.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cool Studios for the eARC.

2.5 stars

This is the story of Nathan Garrett and how after a wildfire takes his life his family is left grieving. A year after, they start a journey to spread Nathan's ashes and say goodbye, but strange things start to happen to each of them. Supernatural elements keeps hunting them and the family struggles to find their way to each other.

First, the best thing about this graphic novel? It is gorgeous. The art style, the use of colour, the character design for the supernatural elements. I loved turning every page and see a new beautiful illustration.
Narratively, this had some good ideas. Personally, I'm always going to enjoy a family drama, especially one where they are all close to each other and you can feel the love and admiration between them. I'm always rooting for those stories. However, the execution of the story, of the grief and the haunting, became so messy. I can't say I understood what really happened. If the story was longer maybe it could have been better. But as it is, it missed the mark.
If there's a deeper exploration of grief, I feel like I skipped it because there was so much focus on these 'ghosts' or spirits haunting the family that I feel like the plot barely progressed until the last issue that feels quite rushed.

I wanted to love this. The plot interested me and the art style surprised me, but I just couldn't really enjoy it when there was so much vagueness in what was happening. I am interested in following the artist's future works.

A bit more down to earth than expected. I think dealing with loss and grief make this title stand out more than I expected. Solid art throughout and capturing the human emotion well. I think a nice change of pace between all the superhero comics I've been reading as of late.

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read. The story of family trauma and grief was easy to relate to. The art is fantastic. I wish it was a little longer so some of the plot lines could have been drawn out more. The ending was a little too ambiguous for my taste. Looking forward to more from these creators.

I was never into graphic novels growing up, but suddenly in my 40's I'm getting into horror comics. Lol
Ok, so ... This had really great art! I really enjoyed it. It also had a pretty good story. (Though I do hope there's more to come.)

I sat down intending to just glance at this, and then go back to my current read ... but instead I became kinda hooked on the images and breezed right through it. .
And I had an absolute blast doing so!

My only critique is that I wish the story had ... more.
But, like I said, I hope there's more to come.

3.25 / 5

Mad Cave has had an impressive offering of late. I really enjoyed the art, though I thought maybe the story wrapped up a bit prematurely. Is more to come?

This was a fast read! You follow a grieving family going through the process of saying their last goodbyes to their Father/Husband, and then things go wrong. There is anger, sadness, and a touch of the supernatural all packed in under 300 pages. The art was beautiful and descriptive, and the story was good, but it feels like it could've used more pages to relay it completely. I enjoyed this overall and would like to read more from this specific story or the artist. Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to experience this.

This was very hard to follow and understand. I guess I just didn’t get it. Based on the description, it was not at all what I was expecting.

The artwork in this is stellar and I am absolutely loving all the not-deer deers. Visually I had a great time but I wish there was more plot….

Beautiful graphic novel! Thank you for the ARC!!