Bright World - Stan Stanley - ★★★★.½

AUTHOR & ILLUSTRATOR: Stan Stanley

Series: The Hazards of Love, #1

GENRE: Graphic Novel, Urban Fantasy.

PUBLICATION DATE: March 30, 2021.

RATING: 4.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: An urban fantasy-horror in graphic novel format. Complex storyline, amazing characters, intelligent writing, great inclusivity. Much recommended, as long as you don’t mind a cliffhanger ending.

Plot Preview:

Amparo, a nonbinary Latinx teen from Queens, grabs the opportunity of making a deal with a talking cat: a drop of blood in exchange for being a better person. They hope to make their mother happy and also to be deserving of a date with their clever classmate Iolanthe. Unfortunately for Amparo, not every magical deal is as seen in the movies. The cat ends up stealing their name as well as their physical body, and Amparo’s spirit ends up imprisoned in a terrifying land filled with cannibalistic monsters. “Bright World” is not at all like its name, at least for the humans who end up there. Can Amparo use their presence of mind and creative thinking to escape back to the human world?

The story comes to us from both the human world and Bright World (more of the latter) as we see both the Amparos navigate their new lives.

This book collects the first twelve issues (Issues 0 to 11) of the webcomic ‘The Hazards of Love’. The online comic is in B&W, but the print book is in full colour. 

I had read this book for the first time way back in November 2020. It was one of my first graphic novel ARCs, and I remember loving the plot as well as regretting the cliffhanger ending. I had been waiting for news of the sequel all these years. Now that I finally have my hands on Book Two: ‘As Above, So Below’, the long interim duration necessitated a reread of the first book.

My original rating was an enthusiastic 4.75 stars. (I was not so stingy with my feedback back then. 🤭) This time around, with much more reviewing experience, I had assumed that my rating would dip strongly. I was wrong. The book proved that quality stays the same even after the passage of time.

I am still blown away by the imaginativeness of the storyline, the complexity narrative spanning multiple worlds, the inclusivity, the characters (human and otherwise), and the overall plot development that is so dark and yet so full of hope. The dialogues are smart, with plenty of wit and emotions. The story is dark, so this book isn't an easy read. But the plot is so compelling and complicated that it is tough to stop midway.

The illustrations are also mostly mindblowing. The art makes excellent use of colour to add a deeper meaning to the characters and their lines. The vividness of Bright World comes out excellently on every page, as does its omnipresent danger. The contrast between the human world and Bright World is also clear in appearance. I did struggle a bit in figuring out the gender identity of a few of the characters who appeared to be male but weren’t. But this probably was a ME (and my tired middle-aged brain) problem because my daughter, who is finally old enough for this book and joined me for this reread, didn’t face any issues decoding the character genders.

Overall, this reread was still as intriguing, Amparo and Juliana were still as fascinating, the storyline still felt as twisty and horrifying, and the cliffhanger was still as irritating as the first time around. Since I have the sequel at hand, I shall be jumping to it immediately.

Definitely recommended to all dark fantasy and urban fantasy fans. 

My thanks to Oni Press for providing the DRC of “The Hazards of Love Vol.1: Bright World” via NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

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Original, unedited, even gushier review below – Posted on 22nd November 2020.

I opted for this ARC just because it was a graphic novel and I was in the mood to read one. But DAYYUM! One of the best and most creative graphic books I've read since The Sandman!

Ampara is a queer teen from Queens who makes a really bad deal with a talking cat. They soon find themselves dragged into fantastical world called Bright World while the cat takes their place (and shape) in the human world. The adventures of Amprao in Bright World amid all the weird creatures and captured humans forms the rest of the story. Mind you, the story doesn't end at the end of this volume, so if you are looking for closure, you still have a long wait ahead of you.

I loved the wacky creativity of the story. The characters are so interesting and, in some cases, absolutely spooky. I also loved the queer content in the book; having a queer writer for a queer story makes a huge difference. The illustrations, the panel structuring, the narrative flow all are fantastic.

Eagerly awaiting Volume 2 of this fabulous book!

I received an advance review copy of the book for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.