Skull Cat and the Curious Castle by Norman Shurtliff
This middle-grade adventure graphic novel is really light-hearted and mysterious. It’s made by Norman Shurtliff for all the kids out there who might like a scary story, but one that is neither too gross nor too outright spooky.
It’s Scully the Cat’s first day as garden keeper. He has to attend to his duties at Le Dark Chateau and perform them with haste and a good disposition.
His friends at the tavern make fun of him, telling him that he’ll never be able to experience the type of adventures he likes to read about in his Cat Hero comics.
But adventure, it turns out, does find him—alongside some seedy characters including a goblin, a whipping tortoise, the lady of the castle, the Sorcerer (and owner of the said castle), and a cat ghost. Did I mention the comic vault? He will find a comic vault as well!
Vampires are rumored to live in the castle, and we learn that Scully has gotten this job as a favor for his father, who is injured and in need of financial support.
All in all, it feels a bit like beloved comic series Bone, presents its adventure in a compelling way, and is interesting to read from start to finish.
I am especially looking forward to the second part of the book where we finally find out who the cat ghost really is!
Skull Cat and the Curious Castle is available on February 21, 2023.
Publisher: Top Shelf Productions
Publish Date: February 21, 2023
Pages: 112
Type: Paperback
EAN/UPC: 9781603095198
BISAC Categories: Comics & Graphic Novels – Fantasy
Featured image by Norman Shurtliff, all images belong to Top Shelf Comics
