Book Review: Dead Man: Dark Mansion and SBB Book Tag: Day Two

So here we are for day two and you can visit here for the blogger hosting. I have a double treat. I'm back with reviews and low and behold today is also a review challenge.

Title: Dead Man: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love by Sarah Vaughn

Publication Date: June 6, 2017

Source: NetGalley

Purchase: Amazon

Summary on Goodreads: Romance, mystery, and evil fill the halls of an old gothic mansion in New England. There's only one person in the world that can bring peace to this place: Boston Brand, a.k.a., Deadman! When a ghost cannot rest in the place that holds her, the DCU's authority on all things supernatural must help before all is lost!
In this tale that evokes tension tension of classic romance comics as well as supernatural superhero storytelling, Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love is a new take on the classic DC hero!

Book Review

Superhero and gothic and supernatural romance/mystery mixed together? A nice combination. Deadman himself is not the typical superhero being that he is dead. You heard that right, a dead superhero who can communicate with ghosts, possess the living, among other abilities. He has no idea why he hasn't crossed over but decided to use his time trapped on Earth for good. That little bit of info is helpful because I went into this graphic novel pretty blind. I don't recommend that.

Still, there was an amazing story to read. The start was a bit off for me which included my lack of pre-knowledge. But as I read the graphic novel grew on me and I ended up thoroughly enjoying it. The supernatural elements are different from usual superhero arcs and made this rather fresh. No hot, rich or living superhero to ogle at. He's just trying to help others and funny enough gets himself trapped in a haunted mansion for his troubles. But troubles are not over yet as there's a malevolent force inside with him. Meeting a living person who can see him as well as another ghost trapped like himself. Deadman not only works on unraveling the mystery, he has help in his living new 'friend' Bernice who gets to head this graphic novel most of the way. Along the way, there's mystery, romance, dark arts, love, friendship, and heartache. An intriguing read that I really liked. Plus the art was also pretty good, though for reading I had to zoom in because of poor colour choice of font.

Having a female protagonist, Bernice, star who can see ghost and witness her meeting and interaction with Deadman was compelling. Boyfriend Nathan was trying to complete a book in the mansion they were staying in and it turned out to be haunted. Sam her friend was non-binary and went by they/them pronouns. I'm happy to say they was treated like any other character and their sexuality was not pushed on every second. Sam was Bernice's dear friend, sold antiques and lived their own life. Deadman himself was a different superhero than most and brought both positive and negatives to the story. Sadly as someone not very familiar with him the writer's decision to just rush on with the story made me confused. I get that not every graphic novel can re-introduce you to the characters but as an e-galley on Netgalley, it is usually best not to leave those who choose to download your book in confusion. I wouldn't mind getting this graphic novel one day but not very interested in downloading another single issue until I'm well immersed in the character. There's also a ghost and a twist with both the mansion and a surprise villain. But those are things I think you should find out for yourself.

In the end, I would recommend this graphic novel but only if you are interested in supernatural or gothic stories. It's not a regular superhero book so you might want to prepare yourself for something different. I was given an e-copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars

Thanks for stopping by and see you tomorrow.