“Mirka Andolfo’s Mercy,” by Mirka Andolfo

The story was confusing because I felt like there were probably way too many things left out. I did like the art and the concept was interesting. The layout of the pages was more superhero comic than I was expecting, with the cover art I was expecting it to fit a little more stylistically a Manga type layout, but it didn’t feel like that too me. That wasn’t a big deal though. I liked the book but if the story had been done better, I think I would’ve loved it more. 3 out of 5 stars.

"Mirka Andolfo's Mercy: The Fair Lady, The Frost, and The Fiend " is a slick and visually lush horror- suspense tale that will keep most readers on the edge of their seats. Set in a frontier town during the late Victorian era this classic Gothic tale balances the horror and mystery elements along with striking illustrations, elegant character designs and truly horrific monsters. Steampunk fans should find this fast paced and engaging tale of terror and intrigue to their liking.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Image Comics for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was drawn to this by the cover. The art inside did not disappoint. It was absolutely stunning. The story felt rushed or just like I was missing vital information? I haven’t totally put my finger on what was lacking, maybe I need to just read more volumes and it will become clear.

Wow! This book was mind-blowing.
A cosmic horror story combined with a tale of love, loss, and humanity, set in a crumbling mining town in late 19th century Washington. It sounds like a real hodge-podge, but it all melds beautifully into a really interesting and poignant story.
The art in this one was absolutely beautiful, with a unique and hauntingly atmospheric color palette. A number of the character designs were effective and well-executed (especially Lady Hellaine and Goodwill).

I would highly recommend this to people who like the idea of Lovecraftian horror, but are intimidated by large tomes and to fans of the Alien film franchise, as well as those who like a little sci-fi/horror in their historical fiction.

My thanks to NetGalley and Image Comics for access to a digital copy of this book to review.

The first thing to be said about Mirka Andolfo's Mercy is that the artwork is just stunning. This graphic novel is simply beautiful to look at.

The story however, felt a bit lacking to me. It was difficult to follow at times, and often felt as if I was missing important information necessary to understand what exactly was happening. I wish I could have loved the story as much as I did the artwork, but unfortunately it was not possible.

As much as I enjoy the comic. There was something missing in the storyline that just made it flop for me.

Overall it has a crimson peak with parasyte vibes to it - which isn't a bad thing but it does need a little more

I did really enjoy the character and the art work for this series. The artwork is beautifully done and I would recommend to read it even just to enjoy the artwork behind it.


Thank you netgalley and publishers for allowing me to read this comic

Interesting idea, but poor execution. So much was left unexplained or didn't make sense. I think it needed a few more chapters to flesh everything out.

I downloaded this one 3 times to my netgalley app, but it never showed up on my shelf, so I’m unable to review it. 🥲

Thank you Netgalley and Image Comics for this advance copy of "Mercy: The Fair Lady, The Frost, and The Fiend" by Mirka Andolfo. This was an interesting horror title, a bit lovecraftian with its mysterious "outsider" creatures. I could pick up some queer subtext, themes of found family, identity, the experience of being closeted, except in this case it's hiding the fact you're a human devouring, interdimensional being living in the body of a dead person. Overall an interesting story, but I found myself getting a bit lost on what was happening at times. It had an interesting setting and characters, science fiction and American western tropes mixed well together. I'd recommend this book to an adult reader who'd like to try out a frontier sci-fi horror story.

This was an engrossing graphic novel that masterfully blended horror, fantasy, and historical elements to create a mesmerizing narrative. The setting is picturesque but sinister in a 19th-century frontier town that added an extra layer of intrigue and atmosphere to the story.

The narrative cleverly weaves together the lives of several characters, each with their own secrets and motivations, culminating in a series of events that are both shocking and poignant. The author excels at building tension and suspense, leading the reader through a series of twists and turns that are both surprising and satisfying.

Very unsettling and dark, full of monsters and otherworldly. The art was beautiful and remained consistent throughout the whole story. This was super refreshing I haven’t come across something like this before so it was something new for me reading-wise!

Mirka Andolfo's Mercy is unsettling yet captivating. It's dark and twisted and full of monsters - human or otherworldly. The cover initially drew me in, and the art quality was consistent throughout the book, and the plot was interesting - even if I was lost at times. The author could have worked on the pacing, but I enjoyed it and I look forward to reading more by this author!

Content warnings: Child Death, Child Abuse, Body Horror, Blood, Violence, Mutilation, Murder

Fantastic art and I enjoyed the twisted story. I was immediately attached to Rory. Oh my goodness what a crazy turn of events for everyone in the mining town. I'll definitely be looking up more work by the author and artist.

I loved the story. It is my first time reading a graphic novel. It was gory and good. I can’t wait to read more graphic novels or manga.

Mirka Andolfo's Mercy is the type of dark, twisted tale I've come to expect from Image Comics. The mystery of the Strangers and the Devil of Woodsburgh unfolds in gruesome vignettes of abject violence in an alternate Gold Rush Washington state. Andolfo artfully weaves together the lives of a poor orphan, a pair of working-class siblings, and an elite family. In the wake of an unfortunate mining incident, their disparate histories overlap in the presence of the new lady in town, Nolwenn Hellaine. But Nolwenn and her butler are far from what they seem. A rash of frighteningly fungal murders takes over the town as dark secrets about a local mine, and Nolwenn's intentions, are uncovered.

Fans of Monstress will enjoy this well contained series, with its similarly tentacular beings. The art is stunning, the color palette of blues and purples providing the entire tale an otherworldly, haunted feeling. There is strong imagery of gore and body horror, as well as themes of sex work and child abuse, so content warnings for sensitive readers. But frequent Image readers will recognize a similar blunt confrontation of dark themes, including class divides and abuse of power in addition to those in the previous warnings. The high-speed storytelling does not provide for as much depth as some longer series, which occasionally feels like the reader has missed a step. Although there is not deep exploration of motives or background, the story comes to a satisfying conclusion. There is lots of room for further exploration of the world, should Andolfo choose to do so.

I think I am not the right audience for this. The very comic book style was not for me and I had a hard time getting into the story. I think it would be a good story for someone more suited for this type of reading. The graphics were good.

The book was on track to be perfect when suddenly it started info-dumping, monologuing, and throwing difficult-to-parse close-up action. I don't know if there were story gaps in all those paragraphs or I was missing things because suddenly it was SO MUCH. Completely changed the tone and took me out of it. But I really did enjoy most of it.

I've recently read Andolfo's "UNNATURAL" series and absolutely adored the art style, so I was very interested in reading this graphic novel! I've read "Sweet Paprika" as well, but ended up dropping it, in spite of liking it well enough This novel features the same gorgeous art style as the one in "UNNATURAL". When it comes to the plot, the pacing is honestly all over the place, and there are way too many plot threads trying to be woven together. It ends up making the plot feel messy in certain sections and confusing in others. I understand WHY all of those threads are within the story, but you don't get any explanation until the very end of the book. If the story had one or two of those plot threads trimmed off or characters from certain threads combined, I feel like the pacing would be more steady. I did enjoy the overall concept! It managed to mix gothic horror and cosmic horror in an interesting way! However, be aware that this graphic novel is EXTREMELY gory. Yes, it's a horror, and gore is expected, but holy moly is it a gore-fest.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

I feel like this is one of those graphic novels that I didn't completely understand I guess. I was left a bit confused and wanting more of an explanation and just.. more. The art style was nice although not my favorite. Its very comic book style which isnt typically the art style I tend to enjoy but thats my own personal preference. I liked the gothic vibe and I liked the idea of the plot but unfortunately overall it just didnt work for me.

Super fun comic with wonderful art and dialogue. Very easy to get into and relax. The story is very interesting and captivating. Definitely want to read more by this author