Murder Kingdom by Fred Van Lente is a quirky, offbeat graphic novel that's equal parts fun and strange. Imagine visiting Disney World, but with a twist, there’s a murderer on the loose, and the performers are forced to stay in character. The absurdity of it all leads to some genuinely hilarious moments, and it's clear the writer is in on the joke. The art is vibrant and captures a modern, fairytale-like feel, which adds to the overall charm. While the story is decent and the visuals are solid, it’s an enjoyable experience that doesn’t quite leave a lasting impression.

This was a fun book to read. I really enjoyed the nods to the Grimm Fairy Tales throughout it. The main character was likable and fun to read and the art was pretty and engaging! I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys darker stories and fairy tales.

Book #582
2 ⭐️

So i wanted to read this one because the cover really caught my eye and the concept sounded very interesting however i will say it was a little all over the place and a bit confusing at times but i will say it had some very good moments on the element of horror and gore and i loved all the different characters and such as a huge Disney fan i really enjoyed those elements it felt as i was reading Disney with a little darkness to it. I really don’t ever rate graphic novels high so i tend to usually go 1-3 star ratings just because they are usually very short. The artwork in this one was good as well.

I didn’t know what to expect, but this graphic novel exceeded my expectations!

In a Disney-like theme park dedicated to the Grimm Fairy Tales, staff are suddenly turning up dead in gruesome and novel ways. Tanith, a worker who is quite literally about to throw in the towel because she is over her job (I mean who wouldn’t be when you basically inhaled someone's ashes as their loved one tried to ceremoniously spread them on a ride), suddenly becomes embroiled in the mystery. She is determined to find out who is behind the deaths of her colleagues and most importantly why?

The art was fantastic, and the writing kept me on my toes. Just when I thought I knew what was going to happen next, I was thrown through a loop.

I would not recommend this for the faint of heart as some of the panels depict quite graphic imagery. I, myself, loved the gore in all its g(l)ory.

** I received a complimentary copy of this book from Mad Cave Studios via Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a super fast paced slasher story about a magical theme park where a serial killer is on the loose and killing people in the way classic fairytale ended. It is very gorey and quick, as a slasher type story usually is.

I liked the concept of this graphic novel: murders are happening in an amusement park and it's down to Tanith, an employee, to work out what is going on. Think Scooby-Doo but darker and more gory. Unfortunately I did not think the execution was great.
It felt like it was trying to be clever and funny, but fell a little flat for me. The artwork was decent but the characters didn't seem particularly fleshed out and the story was not especially original.
A diverting enough read.

This was a fun premise, and I was interested to see what would happen, but overall it felt a little stilted. The characters felt a bit underdeveloped and the dialogue felt awkward. Overall, it was an okay read, and maybe more suited to a younger audience who wouldn't mind these issues.

I received a digital ARC of this in exchange for review feo, NetGalley and the publisher.

Murder Kingdom is a fast paced graphic novel about a serial killer killing off workers of a theme park in the ways their characters died in the original Grimm Fairy Tales. It’s fun, bright, and gory.

This was a ride! Lots of blood and guts and no glory at all.

Not a favorite, honestly. The pacing was a bit off and the story wasn’t as exciting as it could have been. Especially the dialogue felt too much and I lost interest at times.

But pick it up if you want action and gory details, in a storybook setting.

/ Denise

Bizzare, weird, funny, dark and satirical.

Fun graphics , great illustration- I think this would translate well to a movie/show Ala FNAF style!

Thank you NetGalley for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion!

Thanks to NetGalley and Mad Cave Studios for e-arc of Murder Kingdom.

3.25 stars

Oh this was fun, a very refreshing mystery/slasher taking place in a very Disney-like theme park.

Tanith is a seventeen year old girl who dreams about designing and creating escape rooms. She finds her work at Storybook Kingdom very promising for her future career, as she enjoys the designs of it all, the way workers never break character and the audience is captivated in this fairy tale land.
One day, an ex friend crashes out in front of the audience and she's fired. Tanith is quickly hired as the replacement of this role and she's soon filling in for the show of princess Briar-Rose. However, a short time after, Tanith finds the previous princess dead in a very gruesome scene inside the park. This is the first in a series of murders that mimic the demise of the characters in the original Grimm's fairy tales.

This started off really good. The art style is simple but very fun and colorful. The setting has a charm, the gowns and costumes are pretty, the fact that we get to learn how these themes park work behind the scenes was super interesting. The clear complaints and digs to Disney were funny too.
I'd say I was really having fun the first two issues. When the murder spree started and Tanith was running around the park trying to solve the mystery of the killer was a bit underwhelming. It's in the nature of the story, not much time to develop characters gives way to a very rushed storyline that ends in an underwhelming reveal and final confrontation.

Still, I think it's a fun adventure that feels fresh. I liked the main character, she was brave and smart, knowing how to put the clues together as someone who loves escape rooms and puzzles. I liked the violent tone that clash with our childhood fairy tales. It had gruesome killings that made it feel like Tanith was really in danger. The little comments against corporate shenanigans were good too, interesting. But at the end, the pacing was a bit of a mess and it felt like the execution just needed more time to refine elements of the story. I d be interested in reading more from this author though.

This story had the potential to be a really great and sharp satire of the eerie reality behind massive theme parks like Disney, but it fell short in execution. The premise was intriguing, blending murder, mystery, and corporate spectacle, but the weak dialogue, underdeveloped characters, and lackluster mystery made it a frustrating read.

Visually, the art style was too simplistic, which might not have been a dealbreaker if the characters had at least been drawn consistently. Instead, the inconsistent facial designs kept throwing me off. On top of that, the characters themselves were more annoying than engaging, making it hard to care about their fates.

Something else that ticked me off was how the story leaned on shock value rather than substance. The excessive gore felt like a crutch, as if the book was trying to distract from its lack of effort in crafting a stronger plot or more compelling mysteries. Instead of using its setting to deliver a smart or biting critique, it relied on cheap thrills.

Ultimately, while this story had all the ingredients for a darkly entertaining satire, it didn’t deliver for me. It’s a missed opportunity that could have been much sharper in both its writing and visuals.

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this graphic novel as an ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

That was pretty fun! The characters were flat and the story was predictable, but I had a good time anyway. The art's gorgeous, at least! It's the graphic novel version of a popcorn movie, I'd say. There's no depth, really, but it's fun! And I really enjoyed the jabs at Disney, always love to see those. The Mouse deserves it.

Three stars out of five for Murder Kingdom!

Somewhere between Six Flags and Disney is the fairy-tale theme park at the heart of Murder Kingdom. I loved the idea of this one, a serial killer terrorizing the Magic Kin- I mean, Charmingshire? Sign me up! But it mostly left me wanting.

Tanith is a fun protagonist. She's clever, determined, and brave, occasionally to the point of stupidity, but mostly tries to make the best decision in every outrageous situation she finds herself in. The deaths are fun and cheesy, and I spent most of the book imagining this as a fun cheesy b-film, which only made me want more humor, of which there isn't much. But for such a cheesy story, humor would have benefited it.

I'm actually confused over the tone of this. It's obviously all very tongue-in-cheek, but then it also seems to take itself too seriously at times, before again jumping to something silly. I mostly think it would have benefitted from being a little bit longer. I think it needed another 15-20 pages of Tanith investigating, and playing cat and mouse with the killer.

Mad Cave always puts out interesting books though and I like picking up things from them randomly and always being surprised. Like, I wouldn't hate this book on my shelves at all, and I'll probably reread this again sometime (it's very quick). I'm just sad it didn't quite reach it's potential... but then, there is set up for a sequel, which I would definitely read.

I wish I liked this more than I did. I’m a fan of Mad Cave but this felt just predictable- it’s not a new story to mock Disney.

Thank you NetGalley and Mad Cave Studio for the opportunity to read an ARC of this graphic novel.

Murder Kingdom immediately captures attention with its striking artwork—gritty, immersive, and disturbingly beautiful. The balance between gore and restraint makes for an engaging visual experience without being excessively graphic. The story follows Tanith, a performer working as a double in a fairytale-themed park in Florida, who unexpectedly witnesses a murder on the premises. Determined to uncover the truth, she is drawn into a dark and twisted mystery.

While I enjoyed the premise and the eerie atmosphere, I found myself wishing the story had been expanded further. The pacing felt a bit rushed, and I believe the narrative could have been even more compelling if it had been developed as a full-length novel. That said, the visual storytelling added a unique layer to the experience, making it a worthwhile read for fans of horror-themed graphic novels.

Overall, I gave Murder Kingdom 3 stars!

Have you ever wondered about the real deaths behind the Brothers Grimm's fairy tales? Murder Kingdom delivers it incredibly. Imagine being in Disney (or something similar) and a psychopathic killer starts murdering the park staff in ways faithful to their stories. Our protagonist, a woman who has been promoted from "member" to "character," is now one of the park's most famous princesses. But everything takes a dark turn when she witnesses the murder of her colleague, the other princess, Briar Rose. Now, Tanith is the only one who can uncover the killer—before they take down all her fellow cast members. As a fan of classic fairy tales and a devoted lover of slashers and movie franchises like Saw, this read was a must.
That said, while the choice of bright colors matched the "childlike Disney" theme and the murder scenes were top-tier, the volume felt a bit short for me. I would have loved to see more character exploration and their hidden motives.
Still, I can't deny that it was a really fun read, and the deaths were incredibly well-executed.

This was such a cool adult manga! I really enjoyed the art style and new take on the horror subject. The retelling aspect was also fresh and enticing.
However, the plot / storyline was a little hard to follow and had me doubling back a few pages.
I would read more from this author and definitely more from the artist!

The premise of the novel was good. Although sometimes I was confused when we would switch scenes too quickly and all of a sudden we were in a completely different part of the park. I think adding some filler where our main character is running or moving to the other locations would be better than turning the page and she’s somewhere else.

I think the story line was good, and the illustrations were very well done. But I was left wanting more a lot in the conversations and the movements throughout the book. I understand that “filler” scenes of them moving might not seem necessary but I felt whiplash a lot and left confused where we were going and what had just happened. I found myself also switching back and forth on pages to make sure I didn’t accidentally skip a page.

Tanith works at Storybook Kingdom, an obvious rip-off of Disney World. Tanith is told to replace a Storybook Princess that has gone viral. Richard, Tanith’s best friend, stumbles upon the body of the original Storybook Princess. It does not seem like Tanith's employers are handling the matter properly, so she takes it upon herself to get to the bottom of this mystery and hopefully not get killed in the process.

#ThxNetGalley #FredVanLente #MurderKingdom