This is a really good start to a graphic novel series. It begins with a murder in a circus. Anna and her twin sister Kat are part of a circus act; Anna is a fortune teller while Kat is a knife thrower. One night her sister gets murdered and becomes a ghost. It is up to Anna to root out the murderer in their midst.

I liked the art and how the narrative flowed. It introduced characters and provided background stories to the members of the circus. I think there are hints of what to expect from the series; there were details that I think would be explained in the latter volumes. I like the whole supernatural murder mystery part of the story, and I cannot wait to read the next book.

This is a graphic novel that follows the story of Anna and Kat who are twins that work at a circus, Kat is a knife thrower and Anna a psychic. However, Anna has no real psychic ability until one night when her sister Kat is killed and Anna is able to see her ghost, they then team up together to fin the culprit. Overall, this was a really fun and quick read. I enjoyed the characters of Anna and Kat and how they are so different from each other even though they are twins and I also liked finding out the backstories to the other circus members. I loved the artwork in this as it really adds to the circus feel of the book. While I enjoyed this book I wasn’t swept away by it and I felt that the ending was very abrupt.

This book contains murder, circus, ghosts, unique characters. It is a unique story to me. Artworks are amazing. I love it. I really want more.

Title: Spectacle Vol. 1
Author: Megan Rose Gedris
My Rating: 3 Stars

What it's about:
Anna works as a psychic for the Samson Brothers traveling Circus. She knows it’s just for show, though, as she doesn’t actually believe in the supernatural. This puts her in a bit of a predicament, however, when her twin sister is murdered and comes back as a very insistent ghost. It’s up to Anna to figure out who killed her, before the rest of the Circus workers find out what happened.

What I liked:
I really loved the idea behind this story. It’s a circus book, so naturally I was interested. It also had the mystery element that tends to draw me in, not to mention all the artwork throughout. (Half the fun of a Circus is the sights after all.) I liked that it was so fast paced. It jumped right into the story, introducing you to the different characters as you went along.

What I disliked:
The artwork wasn’t as amazing as I wanted it to be, it could have been so much more magical. But what really got me was the ending. It was very abrupt and definitely a cliff hanger. We’re set up to get some information and suddenly nothing. Now we’re stuck waiting an entire year for Vol 2 to come out.

Overview:
I enjoyed this book, but I think I would have enjoyed it even more if I weren’t catching the series right at the beginning. This is a story that I’d like to sit down with and spend some real time reading, so I wish there were more of it, and that the wait was shorter between volumes.

This graphic novel was a beautiful change from the influx of superheroes we're seeing these days. I love the different body types and differences in the characters, very refreshing.

Poor Anna finds her sister Kat dead, Kat promptly haunts Anna and also takes over her body. Anna, someone who doesn't even believe in the paranormal, has a rough time taking it all in. Despite her disbelief, she gets the chance to help other ghosts, as well as helping the living communicate with their passed loved ones.

All in all, a beautifully made book, with characters you definitely want to see more of!

I loved that book very very much!
I am amazed at the writing of the author and I loved the action and the characters.
The first thing that got to me was the title and I immediately decided that I wanted this book ad that I wanted to read it ^^
I am not disappointed and I hope everybody else gets to enjoy it as much as I did.

Spectacle is a really interesting, fast-paced read, full of ghosts and steampunkery and circus freaks. It's got bucket loads of atmosphere which is gorgeously expressed in the quirky lines of the art - the artist has a real knack for facial expressions. The full-page cover art of each of the collected issues is beautiful, particularly that of Issue 5 with the ghosts overlapping the landscape. The story itself is witty yet dark - I love the characters of Anna and Kat - and there's enough humour to keep what's essentially a story about the death of a loved one enjoyable. Overall, this was a very cool read, and I'll be looking out for further issues - what a cliffhanger!

This was a gripping and exciting graphic novel. The art style has an old fashioned feel to it which suits the subject of a travelling circus. The cast of characters are fascinating and have time invested in building them. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and can't wait to read the next volume.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this unique graphic novel!

When I first read the synopsis for this, I was very intrigued. Circus themed settings are one of my favourite kinds, add in a murder mystery plot and I am sold.

I really enjoyed this short graphic novel, I was hooked from the start. The artwork was stunning, I loved the relationship between the sisters and also the added comedy was a bonus.

Why I didn't rate it 5 stars: The story dragged in the middle and the ending was slightly weird and abrupt (I am, however, very curious to see where this goes).

A unique story with a diverse set of characters, I would definitely recommend giving this a go if it sounds like something you would enjoy.

I will be posting my review on Instagram within the week.

This graphic novel held so much promise; a circus setting, a psychic main character, and an unpredictable murder mystery - what more could you ask for? Not only that, but the art style was stunning and the way the narration intertwined into the graphics was really unique.

However, the deeper I got into the story, the more problematic it became. Religion became an important aspect to a chunk of this novel but it just didn’t seem to fit with the overall tone and ultimately wasn’t needed. The use of heroin was brought in as a comedic relief towards the end, but it just doesn’t seem morally right to promote using hard drugs in the way the author did.

It feels that the conclusions to both small and larger plot points of this story really need to be worked on. Just when you think you understand that parameters of the magically realistic setting, a character is completely torn in half by apparitions. It cautioned on the side of ridiculous and lowered the value of the overall work of art. The actual ending wasn’t so much of a cliffhanger, but more of a ‘WTF’ moment. Readers didn’t receive any closure to the story which is frustrating when there isn’t even proof of a sequel yet.

I had such high hopes for this graphic novel and hope that others will be able to enjoy it more than I did.

Big thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the advance readers copy for my honest review.

 So, I'm going to be honest. The first couple of panels of this comic book were kind of meh for me, but I pushed through and am glad I did!  This comic is filed with Murder, supernatural things and what else could make it perfect? The circus in the 1800’s!  Twin sisters Anna and Kat are performers in the Samson Brothers Circus, so what happens when one twin is murdered and the other now sees dead people and scary things? This story is filled with awesome vibrant characters and great story telling.  The story has lots of twists and turns….and that ending! Ugh leaves you wanting more! -Also, I hate how some reviews giveaway the whole dang story!

 The art was by far my favorite thing about Spectacle. I loved how it was unique in its own way. I couldn’t get over how pretty it was! The artist/author started with a webcomic! http://www.spectaclecomic.com/  check it out and see where it all began!  

  The story was oddly engaging and I hated that I read it so fast! So, I did what any good bookworm would do…I read it two more times!

We are rating this book a 3.5/5 stars!  The book comes out on May 22nd!  Make sure you pick it up!



-Angie

I was pleasantly surprised by this graphic novel. Sometimes, graphic works are just too short or too simple to connect with properly, but it certainly wasn't the case with Spectacle. The story revolves around a murder mystery in circus settings which is a cool and refreshing concept that works really well. Our main character, Anna the fake psychic, is trying to find the killer in a world of "freaks" and acrobats where everyone seems to have a past and secrets, they're not willing to share. Although I didn't like the drawing style I got used to it and I appreciate the humor that is put into facial expressions and awkward situations. A solid graphic novel that I would definitely recommend and I am for sure going to read volume 2.

I really enjoyed reading this graphic novel.I really liked the mystery. The artwork is different but I liked it.

I really hope the Netgalley ARC was missing pages at the end of the book, because it literally just ends in the middle of a scene and left me wanting more, but also just plain annoyed at that being the ending. The art is pretty and the story is intriguing, but other than the weird ending, I wasn't a huge fan of the font. I'm not sure if it was the font itself or that it was a lower quality digital ARC, but the font used was fairly "swirly" and was honestly just difficult to read at time, especially when the text was smaller.

Anna and her twin sister are travelling with the Samson Brothers Circus, when something bad happens. Anna's sister Kat is murdered. Now it is up to Anna to figure out who did it. Kat helps her, because she appears as a ghost. There are also some other mysterious things going on, which leads to a troubling ending of the book.

This graphic novel kind of surprised me! It was really engaging, funny and the art was really cool sometimes. But I thought the ending was a bit abrupt, and a lot of questions are left unsolved.

I would recommend this if you want to read something quick and mysterious!

Really liked this! It's a great start to a series. The story was really good, I loved the mystery, and the art is lovely!

I liked this one! It's a good start to what could be a very good series. I liked the mystery, I liked the characters, and I liked the slightly odd but lovely art. I definitely want to see what happens next, as this volume stops very suddenly.

My rating is 2.5 stars
I didn't really like this but at the same time I kinda did while reading.
The artwork is good it suits the atmosphere, though I didn't like it at the beginning, but it grows on you.
Thers's mystery, magic, bond between sisters, and it's sometimes very fun.
I will read the second volume but only because of the abrupt change and cliffhanger.

What a fascinating comics. The story is intriguing, the characters are charming and the art is so beautifully original. It keeps you on guessing on the intrigue and the twists and I can't wait for the second volume to find out more.

Spectacle's art style is lovely, refreshing and very in tune with its story: warm, vibrant colours that lend each individual scene the appropriate tone. There is no shortage of varying tones throughout and across each chapter and I loved the abundance of contrasting ones that all worked together as a whole.I also loved how the narration text was done, the white text in a handwriting style was incorporated seamlessly into the drawings, it really added to the atmosphere and emphasized Anna's internal thoughts against the dialogue. There was a particular page that stood out in only black and white where the effect was at its best.

While certain parts of the plot were disconcerting, it felt like the story was intending to do just that. Many scenes were poignant and powerful, most notably ones where Anna is confronting either herself or her sister's ghost. The story focuses on various characters from the circus and their backgrounds and potential motives, but the strongest parts steadily focus on the main two and I look forward to seeing them continue to develop both together and as individuals throughout the series. 

The ending, while sudden and jarring, once again felt consistent with the comic's tone and ways of surprising the reader. I'll be looking out for the continuation in the second volume.