Nurk Orphanage sits along the Polish and Russian border in 1917. The building is falling down, and slowly decomposing bodies populate the rooms. It has taken extreme measures, but three of the children have survived. Except one cannot face their harsh reality any longer. That is until he finds some new friends- the beautiful, eyeless dolls seated on the shelves.

Simply put, this is a beautiful story. It uses the graphic format well, conveying the despair of Otto and Ofelia in a poignant manner that left me wishing this was a full-length novel. The soft art style lends a dream-like air to events, reinforcing the fantastical elements in the otherwise realistic historical setting.

This graphic novel surprised me positively!
It was set up during the First World War on the front between Russia and Poland.
Some children living in an orphanage are forced to find food on their own and they do it in a very particular way (I don't want to spoil it).
In my opinion the author has hit the mark, the story is very disturbing and some drawings have remained with me for how raw and violent they are.
The art style is stunning!

Set in 1917 on the freezing far reaches of the Eastern Front between Poland and Russia, winter is indeed coming. The Nurk Orphanage is all but abandoned bar the three surviving children, kept company by decomposing bodies and Victorian dolls with empty eyes.

The artwork has a beautifully painted effect to it and reminded me a little bit of the style used in Klaus, there isn't anything too exciting about the panel design but there doesn't need to be, as the combination of writing and artwork is engaging enough to keep you flicking through the pages.

The early parts of the first act see the young orphans (Otto and Ofelia) in their gas masks patrolling the remnants of the eastern front, setting the creepy tone for what's to come, before being introduced to the only slightly older, self-styled director of the abandoned orphanage - Maurice Nurk.

The story arc progresses with horrific and gruesome detail and some elements of Tim Burton-esque dark humour. As the action steps up into the 2nd act, we find out more about the orphanage, the plan to survive the winter and just what the deal is with the empty-eyed victorian dolls.

I really enjoyed the story and the artwork, it felt a little muddied near the end in terms of storyline but overall it is certainly worth checking out!

I had no preconceptions about this graphic novel going in, and so I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

I primarily read horror GNs and this one certainly has the creep-factor. There is some gore (nothing so awful that a seasoned horror reader would find it disturbing, but if you're squeamish then just be warned, some of the ideas in here are pretty grim).

The art shines through here, with such attention to detail, and just the right amount of whimsy that it juxtaposes the disturbing subject matter in the only way that horror can. Cute yet deadly... yes please!

The plot is genuinely horrific, and yet I felt oddly comforted by this read. It's a good cosy, read-in-one-sitting sort of graphic novel, and I enjoyed my time with it immensely.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Europe Comics for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I didn't know anything about this graphic novel going into it, and boy was that a shock. I'm not normally one for horror/gore but this felt just the appropriate amount.

In Empty Eyes we are following a young pair of siblings who live at an orphanage during WWI. It is revealed that their job is to find "fresh meat" for them to survive on - often found in the form of soldiers.

There was a lot going on in this book, but I never found any of it too hard to follow. Overall I was just really creeped out by what I was reading - so it definitely nailed that.

The art style is beautiful (if that can be said of cannibalistic children) and fills out the story perfectly.

A cute and creative horror graphic novel, set in the time of war and following orphans left to fend for themselves with the orphanage owners son reigning over them in ways worse than being a solider in the war. The artwork is superb, it’s what really sells the story, everything is clear and beautifully portrayed which contrasts with the horrific plot and makes for a great quick read.

This was delightfully creepy and pretty to look at. While that sounds horrible, the artwork in this is just fantastic with muted colors and great details. The story, and orphanage in war torn country is left with three children who did not die during an illness outbreak. These children have been surviving off of eating others, with the leader of the group being a little more sadistic than the other two orphans. There's a lot of violence and it's definitely uncomfortable to read, but it's the right kind of uncomfortable for horror.

Thank you, Europe Comics, for allowing me to read Empty Eyes early!

This graphic-novel was eerie, creepy and weirdly endearing because of Otto's character. I frankly really enjoyed it.

This was chilling ! Slightly disappointed the dolls didn’t play a larger part than they did but man, it was eerie all the same . I think I will be thinking about this one for a long time which to me says a lot since it is a comic. This was gorey without being sickening. Chilling but not downright terrifying . Just the right mix of eww and whoa lol.

“You’ll never be alone, Otto.”

Honestly, this story conflicted me a lot, I can’t tell if I enjoyed it or not. There is was certainly aspects I enjoyed like the art-style which was really realistic and gave the whole story such a unique flare. I also really enjoyed the concept of this I just feel as though it could’ve been executed a lot better.

This was a surprising dark story. Which I sort of expected because its set during war time but it got a lot creepier than I originally expected. That isn’t exactly a bad thing though. I feel like anyone who enjoyed books like Goosebumps or Coraline would adore this book too. The spooky/supernatural vibes are very similar to those.

The general plot was interesting but it just felt as though something was lacking. Whether it be how rushed it came across or something to do with the dialogue (that can be put down to the fact it was translated), it just felt incomplete somehow. I also wasnt really attached to these characters, we didn’t know enough about them for me to route for them so there was no opportunity for me to connect with this story.

This wasn’t a bad book by any metric, it just wasn’t for me. I can completely see why other people in the reviews seem to love it though.

A very creepy horror graphic novel covering a story about two orphaned siblings who live with another child during WW1, the abandoned dolls they live with and the missing eyes from the once inhabitant orphans ...

This novel was CREEPY but so well drawn. If you are happy to read dark books with on-page fully drawn depictions of death, mutilation, cannibalism and more, this was incredibly high quality and a full story in short form. The themes covered weren't my favourite but the story felt complete and rounded off in a satisfactory fashion. The art was incredibly HQ and it definitely brought you into the eerie world it created.

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review,which I leave voluntarily.

This was an interesting horror story that I think a lot of our teens interested in horror will enjoy. The art was interesting and it's just the right amount of gory. While the plot of the book brings up more questions than it answers the lack of answers does add to the mysterious atmosphere of the text

Free copy received from Netgalley (thank you!) - review freely given.

Set in world war I, we follow a set of orphans left abandoned to their own devices. Struggling to find food, one savvy orphan has an idea to keep them going - and as the saying goes, life finds a way. Haunting and sad, the story itself never strayed far from these overtones, and added in a dash of horror and supernatural which was blended and was not a juxtaposition at all to the story.

The art style is hauntingly beautiful too. The colour pallette changes with the environments was really well done. I would recommend this to anyone who is a horror, sci fi, historical with a dash of horror or supernatural story fan - or anyone who loves a beautifully done graphic novel that doesn't mind the horror elements.

CW (I consider these spoilers to the story to read at your own risk) - body horror, gore, cannibalism, eyeball horror (if you're squeamish), murder,

Without a doubt, Tumburus conjures up some spectacularly macabre imagery in Empty Eyes. It is almost presented as fairy tale, but it is absolutely not for young children. On the other hand, it is quite a potent anti-war war fable, for mature horror fans. Full review here: http://www.jbspins.com/2022/09/graphic-novel-empty-eyes.html

3.5 Stars ~

What a weirdly morbid graphic novel. I can't say graphic novels are generally my thing, but this piqued my interest.

Sibling orphans Ophelia and Otto will do anything to survive the war, even if that means doing the unthinkable.

The translation from Spanish to English made it a little harder to follow, but it was a quick and enjoyable read.

Thank you, NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC for an honest review.

This book is eerie and reminiscent of that one Dr. Who episode. It made for a really good spooky season pick!

While the art is at times cute and juxtaposed by vicious horror elements, the story is all terror. This is not one to miss.

Empty eyes is a graphic novel set in the time of world war I, where three kids, two of which are siblings, do the unbelievable to survive amidst the war, but actions have always had consequences, and the consequences of these kids' actions, come in the form of dolls without eyes.

The art of this graphic novel was absolutely exquisite, and I read the eversion, I think I would have even loved it more if I'd read the physical version. The storyline is super creative, and I read the whole thing in one sitting, I was very intrigued to know the reason behind the kids actions, but that was not revealed.

The characters did not have a lot of time to evolve or develop, so at some point you feel like things are just happening to lead, but you still enjoy it nevertheless, and you can't put the book down until you know what happens.

And the ending, although may seem normal, was very leading. With that ending, you can write up a million imaginations as to how the story ends, some of which may not be happy endings.

The art style was new to me, but I was a little concerned to let my kids see the drawings, so I would not recommend it to people who are easily scared or disgusted by blood.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This was very creepy. The story was alright but felt rushed. The art is what had me interested. I really liked the style and how it really lended itself to the creepy nature of the story.

This art is amazing and also horrifing, I loved the story it was creepy, fun and I loved it. The creepy feeling I got was amazing and I would totally recommend, this was a cool story of a boy surviving in war in an orphanage and how he prevailed with his sister possessing the body of a doll so it was very creepy with eating humans etc. i would read more from this author in the future and would love to read more of there work.