Member Reviews
I like the message but this isn’t the best execution. I give it three stars but it’s more like 2 1/2 stars. This is a graphic novel and a large aspect of a graphic novel is good illustrations. The design of this is very lackluster. I can’t put my finger on it but I just don’t like how the characters are drawn. I will say one positive is I thought the killers aesthetics were really cool.
As for the plot, the overall message is cool but it honestly went too fast. It’s always satisfying to see a group of women band together to fight evil. . However, the main and supporting characters really needed to get fleshed out more. I didn’t get attached to any of the characters at all. And there were interesting characters! I wished this was a collection of graphic novels so that you could get more time with these female characters. Introducing all these characters in one short novel doesn’t give the reader a chance to fully immerse themselves into their stories.
Not my favorite. However, thank you to Netgalley for the digital ARC of this.
This was...horrible. vapid. Badly done. Between the dialog that even made the fbi agent sound like an uneducated princess to the "killer" this whole thing was just bad.
Not my sort of book, unfortunately. A little too fast-paced and jittery. Nothing atrocious, but still noticeable.
This was a really cool idea and there was definitely a decent story in here somewhere but I felt like a lot of it was really awkward and convoluted and I'm sorry to say it but the art style is just awful. Proportions are all off and the coloring is weird and patchy as well. Maybe it was supposed to make it look like some kind of old school indie comic? Whatever the reason behind it, it was just awful to look at and really kept distracting me the whole time I was reading.
Full disclaimer I haven't finished reading this. It's exactly what it claims to be. A slasher movie in graphic novel form and it ended up being too much for me at the time. I like slasher but I have to be in the right mood and mind set. This was just too much for me but I might like to read the rest in the future. It's extremely graphic and gory with a pretty interesting story concept of a safe community for slasher survivors. It's a bit cheesy and a little funny as well. I give it 4 stars because I think it's solid as what it's supposed to be.
Sacred Lamb is set in a secret town where the survivors of slashers can be protected. It is a witness protection type of program that is meant to prevent sequels. The art style works really well with this style of story. I found myself unable to walk away from the story. I am super excited to get my hands on this trade and kicking myself for missing the single issue release.
4 stars
This is a strange comic is very sure about murderers, killing victims and the victims going to a support group and The Killers than grouping together to kill them and the victims, then killing their murderers, which I think was very strange. It was also a little violent and bloody and some of the panels didn’t make sense when you read through them, but overall I thought it was good and I enjoyed the art style.
This book has a very interesting premise complemented by a great graphic art style. There were certainly some pitfalls found throughout the book, but overall this was a delightfully gory and twisted horror comic.
While I didn't really click with any of the characters per say, I did find their backstories interesting and compelling. The idea of being locked away in Sacred Lamb for upwards of 40 years after going through their traumatic events sounds awful, and I found it to be a moving starting point for what develops throughout the book. Each "final girl" was distinct in her story and the way she was presented artistically. Despite them feeling a little flat I did still find myself rooting for them as the story progressed.
The plot and storytelling are where I find myself struggling. The plot feels messy, I guess much in the way that most movie sequels tend to. The jumps between scenes could be confusing and it was hard to follow some of the events that were taking place. It was also weird that, for example, someone could be stabbed in the neck or shot in the stomach in one moment and then a couple panels later they seemed relatively fine. Like...huh?? How?? On the one hand I find it kind of annoying, but on the other hand they do things like that in thriller/slasher/horror movies all the time. Somehow the people who have never fought in their lives are suddenly able to withstand being beaten up and can fight back. Suspension of disbelief and the desire for the good guy to win are needed to get through it without getting too irritated, I think.
I liked this book but I think I would have loved it if it had been written by a woman. Some of the moments that were supposed to feel empowering for the women fell a little short of the mark. I think the characterization, dialogue, and story arc would have felt more genuine had it been written by someone who has gone through some of what these final girls have- certainly not to the same extent but who still knows what it is like to move through the world as a woman. Again, some of what was written was done so through the lens of old misogynistic horror movies, but I think this book could have been written in a way that pays homage to those movies while also feeling like it has a place in modern storytelling.
Overall, this was an enjoyable read. I liked the high levels of gore and violence along with the revenge plot that unfolded. None of the characters, other than a handful of the guards intentionally, were unlikable, so I found it easy to stick with them and root for them as the story progressed. Although it was difficult to follow at times I did enjoy the overall story and plot development in the book. There were some interesting twists that, while hard to believe, were fun to see. The artwork complemented the vibe of the story and managed to be both vibrant and distinct while also being unnerving and suspenseful. I would recommend giving this book a shot!
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through NetGalley. Trigger warning for misogyny, violence against women, and self-harm.)
-- 3.5 stars --
"They put us together so we weren't dangerous. They fucked up."
When YouTube influencer Kellyn West is attacked by one of her 9.2 million fans, she prevails - kind of. After smashing her would-be slasher Clay Coogan to bloody bits with a backhoe, a "secret judge" declares Kellyn an "Eve" - short for "endemic victim" - and sends her to Sacred Lamb, a sort of witness protection compound for similar survivors. Based on the theory that such savage and widespread violence is like a bug, Eves are sentenced to Sacred Lamb as much for society's protection as their own, to prevent the collateral damage that copycats and versions of the slashers "previously unknown to science" (whatever that means) might wreak.
While there, Kellyn meets the very first Eve - Diana Grell, the infamous babysitter who survived the Soulsaver massacre, and inspired the Soulsaver Act of 1979. She's as creepy as you'd think, pushing a baby doll around in a squeaky stroller and popping into other survivors' houses uninvited. But when everyone's victimizers are resurrected within Sacred Lamb's walls - even those declared legally dead - Diana might be the Eves' best shot at survival. Well, that and their own audacity.
SACRED LAMB is a bit of a mixed bag. You can tell that the story wants to make a Larger Point about society: whether it's the folly and cruelty inherent in victim blaming, or the dangers of misinformation, "fake news," and conspiracy theories, all of which seem to spread like a contagion. And it does succeed, to a degree - but ultimately I felt like some of the more supernatural elements of SACRED LAMB distracted from the social critique.
I do so love seeing a bunch of incel, would-be slashers getting their asses handed to them by a group of women who were deemed to be damaged goods, and then locked away for their own good (echoes of institutionalization, anyone?) - despite having survived the first round.
Sacred Lamb by Tim Seeley centers around an influencer, Kellyn West after she survived an attack by a slasher killer. She is taken to a place, Sacred Lamb, where other survivors of slasher killers are held and more weird, dangerous events take place there. I am a sucker for gore and horror stories, and I appreciated where the author was going with this story. There were touches on slasher stereotypes, how slashers originate and also a bit about survivor's guilt. I felt a bit bored at some points because the action seemed not as impressive as I would have liked. My favorite part was seeing the different stories of the women being told and the art that accompanied them. I will read the next one when it comes out because I'd like to see how the author develops these characters.
This is an adult horror graphic novel centring murder survivors and a government conspiracy with a revenge sub plot.
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
Loved the opening scene, it immediately pulled me into the story and intrigued me. It made me think about where the story could go next. I didn’t like the way the security guards sexualised the MC but I get that was to show they were shitty men. I thought the group meeting was a good way to introduce all of the characters and I enjoyed learning about each of their backgrounds.
I liked how quickly the women formed relationships with eachother and the community they built and the whole “girl power” thing they had going on. I liked that the women finally got payback for being victimised by their killers. I also really liked the surprise revenge subplot towards the end of the book, I was really not expecting that and I thought that was fun and it tied in well. The ending kind of confused me though.
But, let’s get down to the issues I have with this book. I didn’t like that in Victoria’s backstory, the killer was made out to be a deformed child that had been abandoned by its mother because of its disability. I thought it was a very ableist plot line that just didn’t need to be there. Considering she was a nun, the author could have written the killer as a demon rather than writing them as a deformed child.
The language that Gennaro used when he was talking to the male security guards about the women was super uncomfortable. Using the phrase “imprinting on” instead of “touching/having sex with” was just…. weird. Also, when Gennaro was confessing to Ethan that he was in love with Diana, the use of the word “spooky” in his description of her really should not have been included. When you think about the connotations of that word, it definitely should not have been used as a descriptive word for a black character.
All of the issues I mentioned could have definitely been avoided and I would’ve rated this book a lot higher if they weren’t included.
TWs/CWs - Ableism; Acid attack; Blood; Body Horror; Cussing; Death of a loved one; Drug use (weed); Fire/Fire Injury; Gore; Misogyny; Murder; Nudity; Self harm; Stalking; Suicide ideation
This is the first Graphic Novel I have read by Tim Seeley. It was an awesome graphic novel. I really enjoy the theme. The artwork was good. I enjoy the story the most. I need to read more by Tim Seeley.
*I was given this by NetGalley for an honest review.*
For fans of Riley Sager's The Final Girls and Grady Hendrix's Final Girl Support Group, Sacred Lamb is a gory thriller that I think many readers are going to love. The premise of this story is one that we have started to see pop up more often. Surviving "Final Girls" gather together to build community and hopefully heal from the trauma of their ordeals living through different massacres through the years. When one of their own turns up dead and in a very public way, they know that they aren't being given the whole truth.
There are a lot of moving pieces to this story, but they culminate in a fast-paced horror showdown.. The characters in this collection (although have their own backstory) felt reminiscent of some of my favorite final girls. Sacred Lamb takes the prize as one of my favorite graphic novels this year (and this book doesn't even come out until 2023). Check this graphic novel out as soon as you can, because its worth it!
I enjoyed this graphic novel and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys "final girls" style stories. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC.
vI did not know what I was getting myself into when I first started reading Sacred Lamb, and I certainly enjoyed the journey! This is a fresh take on the Final Girl trope. It also brings to mind many questions about how we interact with survivors and victims of horrible crimes.
The art style is not a favorite of mine; it took me a bit to get into the story due to that. The art does effectively create tension and fear in the story though. There's certainly some memorable imagery.
Overall, Sacred Lamb was an enjoyable read that kept some of my mind's focus even after I had reached the final page.
A fun meta horror story that has a couple of my favourite horror tropes in it.
The art style in this wasn’t what I normally like, which is why it is only a 3 star, but I did enjoy the story and would recommend it to others. The art style can appeal to many others though.
Sacred Lamb is the "final girl" book I've been looking for during the past year where I have been reading every "Final Girls" book that exists. First, I need to give a little backstory: Sacred Lamb is a witness protection guarded town created by the government to keep "Final Girls" and others safe from potential copycats and immortal slashers (think Michael Myers and Jason). It centers around an "Influencer," who survived a crazed fan who kept "unboxing" her friends' and followers' organs. She arrives right before the Final Girls (and Guy) start being killed by what appear to be their original slashers who have somehow breached the town.
It has almost everything I look for in my ideal Final Girls story. You have initially overly-stereotyped women (and a man), who have survived horrific mass murder/slasher events, had their trauma mocked and glorified by society while they try to heal in silence, and just as they begin to feel safe again and begin to find a bond with one another, the rug is ripped out from under them and they have to fight for their lives yet again. I really enjoyed the feminist undertones and how the Final Girls fought back, and I also really like how they immediately jumped into action rather than 2-3 people dying before they took it seriously, because they had been through it before. It had all the 80s slasher camp vibes I was looking for and didn't wait until the final third of the book to get wild (My Heart is a Chainsaw), didn't kill half the characters off page before the book even started (Final Girls), and although Final Girl Support Group was my favorite of the "final girl" books I've read so far, Sacred Lamb didn't leave the majority of the group completely untouched with no real threat to their safety.
I was not a huge fan of the art, but I loved the story. There were just a few minor things I would have changed to help the story flow better, but it was mostly perfect. I would love if this were made into a movie and Pete Davidson played Shane, it was almost like they drew Pete Davidson and Bella Thorne anyway.
Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.
A cool idea with poor presentation. It's about a secret town in the middle of nowhere for survivors of slashers. The victims are called Eve's and live the rest of their lives in this small walled town, away from their serial killers. Then the latest "Eve" arrives and people start dying. The storytelling is very uneven and slow. I expected a lot better from Seeley, who typically writes several comics at a time. The art was very old-fashioned looking and kind of fugly.
I wanted to like this graphic novel but it just didn't work for me.
I thought the idea and intent behind the story was interesting but ultimately failed to be realised.
On one hand, it felt like the story was trying to rewrite the old female clichés in horror but on the other hand, it felt as though it was playing right into them as well.
The social narrative elements often felt forced and poorly incorporated. Underneath everything there was the bones of a good narration on how victims are often blamed for being victims instead of the people and society responsible for it. But it failed to be adequately addressed in any meaningful way.
The characters lacked depth and complexity and I didn't relate or engage with any of them.
I wasn't surprised to find out afterwards that the author is male. I think the authentic and genuine tone that the characters lacked may be due to there being no shared or relatable experience between the author and the characters situations (ie women being blamed and/or punished for the actions of their abusers).
I liked the art style and thought it suited the story well and I'm not sure why so many other reviewers have issues with it.
Overall, it wasn't a satisfying read which is unfortunate.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for giving me a free digital copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review.
I was really excited for this graphic novel but I didn’t love it. The main issue was the art style for me, it was just odd and not my favorite. The story had a lot of potential but it was slow at times and some the supernatural explanations weren’t done very well in my opinion.