It took Luke by Mark Bouchard was a little outside my wheelhouse but I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this graphic novel.
I though the story was engaging right from the first few panels. The art style was really beautiful - familiar but also nothing too out there that I couldn’t follow the action. I loved that the only colour we get is red. I think it made it so impactful when we did see that colour, especially when it was the red of blood. Particularly towards the end - just wow.
A slight warning though: it was rather graphic at times.
Highly recommend you give this one a chance!

This graphic novel was absolutely everything that I was looking for. It is a perfectly dark look at the way that we work jobs that we hate for longer than we should because change is scary whilst also being an incredibly dark and graphic horror story. The art reminded me a lot of the work of Junji Ito with just how horrifying it is and it paired so well with the very dry humour that was incredibly irreverent.

There were parts of the story that I didn't feel like I was following along with as easily as I would have liked but I think that was largely due to the format that I was reading and I will 100% be buying a copy and regularly returning to this story time and time again.

This is one of those stories that just happen to come into my life at exactly the right time as I relate so much with Sal (even down to the fact that we are both enby and 31!).

It Took Luke is a gory graphic novel set in a very near, but quite interesting future. The world has taken a turn it seems, with monsters hiding in plain sight, and exterminators going after them. One such exterminator is our main character, Sal. They are generally in a rough spot in life, with their partner drifting away, living in the work van, and the work being extremely draining. They are the best at what they do, but they've sacrificed pretty much every other aspect of their life for the job. They are finally ready to be done with the job and fix everything, but there is one more shift they have to complete. Coming into it with a concussion from a previous job, the line between what's real and what's not, becomes dangerously blurred.

Okay, I have to say I loved this graphic novel, I thought it was so amazing. The combination of the story, the unreliable narrator, the art style, the use of color - everything was right up my alley. I will say, there is quite a bit of gore, blood, and body horror, so keep that in mind if you decide to read this!

Plot-wise, this is not too complicated as it's pretty short. There is not that much world-building, you are kind of dropped into the middle of everything happening, but I didn't find it confusing. I think it really fits into the story and the overall tone of the novel. We follow Sal as they go about their day, from one job to the next one. The first job gives them a concussion which turns them into a pretty unreliable narrator, as Sal hears and sees things no one else does. That brings a whole new level of suspense and uncertainty.

As for characters, besides Sal, we see his coworkers Molly and Hussam. I thought they were all very well done considering how short the story is. With graphic novels, I often feel like they should be longer for me to have a whole picture of who the characters are, which here wasn't the case. I definitely would love to see more of them and the story, but I didn't feel the length of it as it took anything away. The characters felt relatable and familiar, so they weren't lacking in any way. It was so easy to feel connected to them. Sal especially, as we see everything through them. They're down on their luck, and they feel trapped in something they worked really hard for. It is always such a struggle to leave and rebuild your life, especially knowing how much time and effort you put into something that's no longer serving you. Molly and Hussam are less present, but they feel very distinct, their personalities are clear from their actions and I enjoyed them a lot.

And now to the art style. I really loved how the characters were drawn, and I really thought there was just the right amount of grossness in the drawing of the monsters. They were really detailed and honestly terrifying in that alien-creature type of way. The whole novel is in black and white, with the only color splashed on being red (pun intended). As I mentioned, this is quite bloody, and there is quite a bit of red. I really enjoyed that use of color here, as the amount of red gradually grows, and by the end of the novel, there's a lot of it. It really creates the atmosphere for the story, raises the stakes, and makes it feel more and more serious as the story progresses. It shows a lot, I think, about how the main character (and the rest of them) feels, and how gradually the situation gets more dire and desperate.

All in all, I really loved every aspect of this horror novel, and I would love to see more! The world was awful and interesting, and I would love to know more about it. I would also love to know more about what happened after this novel ends. I would highly recommend this if you enjoy gory hack and slash horror!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This read was really cool. The artwork drew me in, and it is great throughout. The unique coloring is also great.

The monster design was truly disgusting, even with the limited coloring. It's a great monster design, which is essential to creating a truly grotesque eldritch horror like the thing in this story.'

I really enjoyed it. Part of me wants more, but also appreciates something that is this tidy.

What an odd and horrific graphic novel. I love it. We follow Sal as they do their job and try to get their life together. There is little world building done, but the story and visuals are strong enough to allow you to fill in a lot of gaps. An off the clock incident affects Sal before they go in to work, allowing for a disoriented storytelling. Are the barks real or are they auditory hallucinations? How much of what Sal is experiencing is real? Let me tell you, the body horror is real. The art is perfect for a horror comic, with great lines and amazing use of adding red to an otherwise black and white comic. The story and action are strong enough to carry you on with less than fleshed out characters. You get a glimpse into Sal and get a feel for them, but their coworkers and ex play their role well enough to move the story forward. The more I sit with it, the more I love it and wish I had gotten more. It's a short read, just a moment in the life of Sal, but will leave you in awe of the quick and precise storytelling. Just... don't look for a happy ending.

It Took Luke is a great graphic novel, awesomly gorey. The art style is really cool and it reminded me of some classic comics. 

I do wish that the action took a quicker pace, it would've been more interesting and it would've given more space to the character's history, interaction, as well as to developing the main theme the comic is trying to cover, which is exploitation of workers. 
I think the biggest sign of this is not super textual as it comes more from the title and the blurb of the comic itself. 

Also can I say the little illustrations of the authors at the end are adorable? c:

It Took Luke tells the story of a small group of “exterminators”, aka monster hunters. All the while they’re hunting, Sal is desperate to rekindle their lost relationship.
Let me just start by saying, the art in this graphic novel is breath taking. I adore the contrast of the black white and red, and the gore was amazingly drawn.
The story was pretty decent! It was short, and it left me longing for more of the characters, the ending was very open to interpretation… i wanna know what happened to the three of them!
I’ll give this one a 3.5/5

Interesting story, cool graphics and not a bad monster. Was a quick short read, hopefully there's more to come.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc!

It Took Luke is a jagged, blood-soaked one-shot graphic novel about Sal (they/them) with imaginative monsters, a fantastic art style, and a fast-paced story.

I found myself a little lost at times, and wish the world/the characters could have been expanded into an entire series. I also don't know how I feel about the gut-wrenching ending.

Overall, though, I loved this graphic novel and would definitely read more!

Really cool story
Art work is really good

Would definitely read more


Thanks netgalley for the arc

Well… that was an astoundingly beautiful, depressing read. What an interesting world to be thrown into, I am so eager to learn more (if I ever have the ability to do so)!

The story was a little hard to follow at times, which worked well with our concussed MC Sal for a while, but then I just began to lost? I wished for more of an explanation other than "we are exterminators and obviously that doesn't mean what you think!" It seems like an interesting world, where the police are abolished and there are giant, body horror creatures running around that require trained professionals to enter into a life threatening situation to kill them, but there's nothing deeper there. I feel like I should've read a graphic novel before this one, one where I got a little more of a venture into the world other than just the job Sal and their crew went on.

The art was gorgeous, the body horror was shudder-inducing, and I am such a big fan of restricted color in graphic novels. I think it really adds something to the story and in this one it DID. Oof, some of the scenes were really met with a lovely extra bit of horrifying spice when the only color was red. And not a ruby red or a dark, deep red, but like… an off, almost pink-ish red. Ugh. Awesome.

Unsurprisingly, I liked all the characters! There was very little to them other than "I have a family" or "I am the responsible one" but they were enjoyable one note characters, helping fill in the story.
And the story just made me sad, fuck dude. I wasn't expecting too much in terms of happiness but… shit. Heavy ending.

It was a simple read that left more to be desired, but fun all around! I would absolutely love to see more of this world.

Thank you, Oni Press, for allowing me to read It Took Luke early!

Mark Bouchard delivers a compacted, but highly innovative and riveting horror story, which will enthral all fans of the genre, especially because of the awesome illustrations by Bayleigh Underwood.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the ARC!
This is a super rapid and fast paced graphic novel with a focus on horror that is exceptionally well done. The art style fits perfectly, with the purposeful use of red and the well captured action, It Took Luke kept me involved right up to the last page. The design for the creatures are perfectly disturbing and fill the story with such a sense of unnerving.
There are countless panels that just flow so well together, especially within the different fight sequences. I wish this story was slightly longer! I adored it and just wanted a few more pages out of it!

Really well-drawn and written queer monster story. Ghostbusters for the modern age. Short and sweet but with a lot of heart for our Never-Can-Win lead, Sal.

It Took Luke is a short graphic novel about a team of exterminators that get hired for a job that turns into a rescue mission for their newest coworker, Luke. The three main characters Sal (they/them & queer), Hussam and Molly have a terrible relationship that affects the mission.

I loved the art style and the character designs and also the concept art at the end. The plot was really cool and the characters were really interesting too. I really enjoyed reading this and I’d love to see some other works by this author and also by the artist.

TW/CW - Blood; Body Horror; Cursing; Gore; Possession; Vomit

Great art, good characters, and a short glance at a very interesting world where sword-wielding exterminators fight against strange and terrible creatures in a punishing 9-5 grind that merges bad bosses, risk of life-and-limb, and burnout.

A good choice for horror-comic fans!

This graphic novel was short but packed with disturbing imagery in the best way possible. The artistry was amazing and dark and I audibly gasped at some of the creatures/scenes. Very easy to read and sucks you into the world seamlessly.

Ugh I'm so upset that this is just a one shot! I could have read a whole series based on this comic. The art work is amazing and the story really drew me in even though it was short.

It Took Luke: Overworked Underpaid interested me, since I've read Mark Bouchard's works before. I do like how short this is and how the comic actually still works. Sal is an exterminator with mental issues. He now lives in a van and his relationship with his partner isn't going anywhere either. He still has the last shift and boy it doesn't look good. His coworker Luke is abducted by the monster and now the group needs to save him only to enter a massive slaughter. The tone is very dark and depressing, feels like Alien actually. There's lots of blood and gore, so this isn't for everyone. The monsters are hideous and it gives that extra spice to the story.

The art looks good as in the comic style works well with the dark scenes. The comic is black and white except for the blood that's red. It looks great like that and somehow highlights the brutality and still does the exact opposite at the same time. Still, I think this would've needed more pages to work out and the beginning is very fast and it takes time to get what is even happening. Otherwise, an interesting comic with a LGBTQ+ theme to it too.

It Took Luke is a gory horror comic that holds the same terror as Alien kinda.
It got beautiful black and white artwork with spashes of red that gives a real impact to the visuals.
The action sequences were full of motion and really exciting to see, and the story just keeps you on your toes the whole way. It was a bit short, I would LOVE to read more!