Goosebumps: Monsters at Midnight #2by Sheena McNeilReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 8 Mia and Ginny get a tour of Horrorland before being sent down the Coffin Cruise. Ginny gets pulled under the water by monsters, but Irk saves her. This gets Irk shamed by Slappy, so she drinks monster blood to prove to them how scary she is!Horrorland is really a perfect way to bring in so many of the Goosebumps' monsters while making for a generally fun / exciting / scary read. The monster parade / tour takes a moment to point out some of these details like Fever Swamp and monster blood. We see other unfortunate souls experiencing Horrorland as well, which always makes me curious about their stories, especially since the focus is on these characters. Mia gets forced into the House of Mirrors, where the scares come from the voices and reflections of her mom and grandma voicing their disappointment with her ... with mouths full of razor-sharp teeth! It's a perfect scare for the older, responsible sibling. Mia does seem to be able to run and generally move about with ease considering she's injured and reliant upon one crutch, but it's a minor complaint. I do love how she uses the crutch as a weapon in one scene. The Coffin Cruise is classic, though it's been modified a bit since the book (and TV episode). Irk gets pulled along on the Coffin Cruise by Ginny, resulting in the other monsters laughing at her. Irk is genuinely scared of things on this ride, which makes me wonder if the other monsters would be scared as well. The comic starts down a path of friendship solving problems, especially with Irk choosing to rescue Ginny despite her own fear. However, I like that Irk is more focused on proving herself, as we see in the cliffhanger ending. I love the perspectives and green coloring for the underwater scenes! It's quite different from anything else we've seen, and the color and perspective work together for something quite creepy. The fact that Ginny can't swim and Mia is busy trying to prevent the creatures from dragging her under makes this the scariest scene in the issue! The writer, colorist, and editor get their names incorporated onto tombstones, which is funny (especially with the pun on the writer's name), though I'm surprised the artist didn't put his own name in there. This is a solid second issue that starts to send the sisters into fear-inducing danger where nothing is safe or sacred. Written: January 12, 2018
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