Cue the Monster High theme song and prepare to be taken back to 2010 with this nostalgic new comic run featuring your favorite ghouls! Taking place after the event's of Tiffany Schmidt's recent novel, Once Bitten, Twice Dead, join Frankie, Clawdeen, Cleo, and Draculaura as they juggle new responsibilities, relationships, mysterious disappearances, and their friendship with each other. This new scaremester promises to be the most frightful one yet.

As one of the original 2010 Monster High alumni, I can't overstate how excited I am that Mattel has been reviving the fandom with new MH content. You can tell how much thought went into these comics and that Mattel is trying to reach and do right by the original Monster High fanbase. There were references not only to Once Bitten, Twice Dead but also to the movies from the 2010s which was a fun surprise that I wasn't expecting. I'm a sucker for connecting characters and events to each other across many movies and books--it scratches my brain just right to know that everything is linked together in some way. In addition, I love how hard Monster High has been leaning into LGBTQ+ representation. It makes me so happy and a little weepy as an adult to know that the fandom I chose when I was ten that told us to, "Be yourself. Be unique. Be a monster." hasn't broken away from telling little kids, through its characters, that everyone deserves to belong no matter their freaky flaws. Finally, the artwork in this volume was absolutely stunning (I couldn't stop thinking about how amazing all the ghoul's hair looked), and I appreciated how the publisher featured artwork from different artists in between comics. I can't wait to get my hands on volume two and I hope we can look forward to many, many more volumes to come.

This was fun! The art style is really nice, and I quite enjoyed the story. I thought it was a great adventure with the characters, and I'm excited to see where it goes next.

I do wish it was cleared that this was picking up after the recently published Draculaura book, Once Bitten, Twice Dead. Read that first! I also loved the inclusion of the Pride comics, though I wish it had been added at the end of the book, so it didn't interrupt the story between the prequel chapter and the rest of the story.

Absolutely loved this!!! I love that they put the pride artwork from the website into here. I’m also glad I got to see my ghoul Ghoulie Yelps! I can’t wait for the second volume and can’t wait for this to come out to get a hard copy to add to my other Monster High books.

As someone who only knows the original monster high lore, I was so happy to get to read this comic. I really enjoyed the original monster high, and the characters in the franchise.



I was so happy to see that the characters where in their original art style, as that is the looks that I am most familiar with. I loved Al the colors and background that were used.



However, there were some things that I found confusing. Like I stated before, I only know the original monster high lore. I was confused by Torelei and Clawdeen’s relationship, as they hadn’t liked each other originally. I was also surprised that Clawdeen’s parent were also separated. I don’t recall much about her parent in the original, but I definitely do t remember them having and problems. I was also confused about Clawdeen being in a relationship. Originally she hadn’t seemed interested, or needed, to be in a relationship.



Another thing I found confusing was the fact that Draculaura’s dad, Dracula, had been killed. I assume the fact that the blood of Draculaura is needed to keep the school safe comes from the animated movie where Clawdeen, Frankie, and Draculaura started the school. It was sad seeing Draculaura under so much stress, and not hanging out with her friends. Also she was drinking blood? Draculaura had always been a vegetarian and couldn’t handle even the smell of blood, so the brief mention of her actually drinking it was a surprise.



I did enjoy the relationship we got to see between Frankie and her father, Frankenstein. It was nice to see them acting as father and daughter, and how excited she was when he became headmaster.



I was also surprised which Duece and Cleo’s relationship, or lack there of. I could believe that Cleo had broken up with Duece because she though he was flirting or looking at Clawdeen. They had always been the perfect couple. I didn’t like the fact that the main group of characters weren’t all friends.



I loved seeing Ghoulia playing video games. It was nice seeing a side of her that wasn’t the brainiac, problem solver, but that she was also a normal girl who liked to play video games and write fangfiction.



I don’t remember much about Valentine, but I don’t remember him actually liking Draculaura. It was fun seeing more about him, as there weren’t many mentions of him in the original series.



Another confusing part for me was when the editor would refer back to other stories when the characters mentioned things from the past. At first I though that maybe this was the second or third issue, but when I went back to look, I saw that it was actually the first. If someone was a first time reader, or, like me, getting back into the franchise, they would probably be just as confused as me about theses callback to stories that they don’t know. I wish they had maybe started with the stories they were talking about first before going I tot he new school year, so that the reader could understand they things they were talking about.



Overall, I give this comic a 3/5. There were many things I enjoyed, but there were things that detracted from it.



But I would love to keep reading about Monster High and the ghouls’ adventures.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC! 
"Who cares what your relationship is supposed to lurk like? We're monsters after all--We already defy expectations!"
   I found the two short stories to be so fun and adorable! I really hope we get more short stories about other ghouls and boos because it'd be fun to learn more about their characters too.
   However, I do have to say, I was extremely confused in the sudden change in plot and storyline once we got into the main storyline of the comic. I'm glad there was a note that stated to refer to Once Bitten, Twice Dead to get more info on the backstory of Draculara and the normies. I didn't know the backstory, but I could still follow along to the story and sumrise what happened through context clues.
   Regardless, I really enjoyed the comic as a whole and I am excited to see what happens next!

The story definitely picks and chooses where it follows G1 canon. Like relationships and references rely on you knowing things from some of the movies and webisodes. And then they mix that with total retcons. The story about Valentinie was my favorite. It was very cute. Overall, it was okay and a mostly nice dose of nostalgia. I can't get behind Clawdeen and Toreali. It makes zero sense.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
As someone who grew up on Monster High, it was such an amazing and refreshing experience to read about these ghouls again. Not to mention, the artwork was phenomenal. New friends and new adventures, but still the same classic ghouls we all love. Now I will say, there were some very unexpected developments here, but I loved them & the representation that came with them. Reading this was a ghoultastic time!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

Definitely an aged up take on Monster High. The art is glossy and engaging. I enjoyed the inclusive romance pairings as well.

In advance, a huge thank you to IDW and the literary platform NetGalley for allowing me to get an advanced copy well before the official release!

Since the project to bring new comics to life in the Monster High franchise was announced a long time ago, I knew it would face the difficult task of appealing to all possible audiences, and unfortunately, it didn't succeed with me. I want to clarify that this has absolutely nothing to do with issues of inclusiveness of couples and identities, because that's something the Monster High franchise always wanted to achieve from the beginning. The story simply wasn't for me.

Positive points about the book:
-The title of the comic series refers to a first-generation fashion line; that was great.
-The cover is incredibly stunning.
-The art style was definitely the best part of the book; both the illustrator and the colorist did a fantastic job. There were many moments when I just skimmed the book to appreciate the character illustrations.

So, just for all the content this first volume will contain, such as the free introductory comic, the variant covers, and the themed one-shots, they're definitely worth a look. Unfortunately, everything related to the story, the narrative, and the handling of canon wasn't enough for me as a fan. But I understand this isn't the author's fault; she only worked based on the ideas that Mattel, as well as those that the publisher itself, approved.

If Mattel could have approved the publication of a young-adult book based on Draculaura that destroyed several parts of the canon, and that the new comics would continue that storyline, I really wouldn't have given it a chance to read.

Thank you so much for reading.

I loved this a lot, especially since the pride issue was included in this volume. This volume has a great collection of the monster high comics and gives a behind the scenes look at many characters who otherwise aren't really seen much. Thanks IDW Publishing for this arc read

Rating: 2.5/5
I think this is worth reading if you are really into Monster High and want to check out a new interpretation of it. The art is amazing as well.

With that being said, I found most of this a bit boring. It really took awhile to pick up, and the drama felt forced.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have never read anything from the Monster High series, but I have heard about it. I enjoyed reading this graphic novel about monsters going to school. I really liked how words were changed to sound scary. That was clawsome. (See what I did there?) The story and characters were interesting. The art is also great. Fans of the series and young adult horror fans will like this book.

Ugh, the way I screamed when I saw this!!! Our favorite Ghoulfriends are back in action in this new graphic novel. It collects issues 1-4 of New Scaremester, and a couple other goodies!
We see the ghouls in the aftermath of multiple fallouts between another, but spooky things are going on around the school. We see Draculaura dealing with massive grief and pressure, Clawdeen and Clawd having familial issues, and Cleo is well, very Cleo!
I love that we see Clawdeen and Toralei, and Valentine and Spelldon as couples because AHHH!
This is the perfect read for any Monster High Fan, new or longtime. It’s got spooky, cute, and the each of the ghouls are more similar to their G1 versions of themselves. (Ghoulia is back to her groans and I’m so here for it)

Where was this comic when I was in middle and high school?! This was such a cute nostalgic read. From the writing to the artwork, it was all fangtastic. My favorite ghoul friends and Monster High characters were perfectly captured. I can't wait to read more of the Monster High comics!

This graphic novel fits the style of the Monster High dolls and shows well. You can tell it was made to fit the brand. I think the overall plot is weak. I wouldn’t purchase this book.

Cute illustrations, good story. Perfect for any young or old monster high lovers. I love the inclusion of most of the well known monster high characters. Thank you Netgalley.

Very nostalgic for me. I loved the portrayal of each of the characters. The story was pretty good and the illustrations for the pages are beautiful.

I loved that each girls have their own color palette explicitly shown on their scenes. The storyline was a bit wonky for me and not that solid to follow. There's also too much text in panels that sometimes overwhelmingly consumes the space.

Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an early read of the book Monster High: New Scaremester!

You may need prior lore knowledge to appreciate the stories being told about the group of friends. There was mystery and conflict between the girls in this collection. I did not have much of the lore that created the conflict and so it was hard to keep up. But the general story was interesting, and I can see kids really enjoying this graphic novel of some of their favorite characters. Especially the ones that know the ins and outs of the Monster High universe. There were some really cool lessons and concepts explored in the book. We deal with grief, the loss of a parent, boundaries in relationships, parents and family splitting up, and overall growing pains. The illustrations are colorful and well done.

Monster High: New Scaremester follows the main ghouls during a new school year with something evil brewing just beneath the surface. I am going to warn that the plot and relationships don’t line up with the G1 webseries we knew as kids or the current G3 tv show/movies. This is a new spin on the original webseries which has been done before to monster high as we’ve seen this through books like ghoulfriends forever. As someone who enjoyed reading just about any official monster high content I could find as a kid and who grew up into enjoying graphic novels, I found this comic series to be a lot of fun! I can’t wait to find out what happens next!
The art for this series was done by Caroline Shuda and is beautifully made. I really love how she draws all of the characters in her own style while still maintaining the look that they have from the original material. I’m in love with the way she draws Cleo. The writing, which was done by Jacque Aye, was a fun and fast paced read. All of the ghouls managed to keep the qualities that we enjoyed from the original material. The drama, the friendship, the fun. All while developing other characters such as their parents and more minor character. I loved the representation that they were able to put in there as it really feels like a monster high series where you are accepted for who you are. The only thing I found annoying was the use of puns. A lot of them were clever and fun, but sometimes I felt like there were just too many per page and it almost distracted from what I was reading.