Wraith (NOS4A2 Prequel)

I’m hosting a giant readalong on Instagram with a friend (#manxcarpooltochristmasland!) of N0S4A/R2 this month, and since it’s a reread for me, I had to snag a copy of Wraith to go with it for something new! We’re only about halfway through the book, so I took some time this week to read through Wraith and really loved it. I always enjoy reading more behind-the-scenes stuff about villains, especially “why they’re this way” types (The Killing Joke is one of my fav comics, let’s not argue if it’s canon). I didn’t know that’s what Wraith would be going into it, and was very pleasantly surprised! A whole new cast of characters is introduced in this, and I really enjoyed them all – or, maybe I just enjoyed the bad things that happened to the bad ones? 😛 Christmasland is amazing and terrifying all at once, and I loved the demented quality the art style lent to the story itself. I really enjoy backstories that make me feel a little bad for the antagonist, and WRAITH managed to do that for me with Manx. Some of the other characters had that same quality – Joe Hill knows how to make me feel conflicting emotions! I would note a bit of a trigger warning for those sensitive to strong language, violence, and mentions of sexual abuse. While these things don’t deter me from enjoying a story, I do understand that they would for some people, so I thought I’d include the mention. Overall, 5 stars from me – I loved this little visual journey to Christmasland, and will likely revisit it again in the future!

This book as an expanded comic book with several short stories that explain how Charlie was abused as a child, how it damaged his soul and spirit and eventually made him corrupt. It provides critical details not presented in the book or AMC TV series. This is an extremely high quality and bound comic series, bound in one book The last part contains outstanding art of Charlie's past all the way up to his Christmasland inscape.

I read this without having read N0S4A2 and I enjoyed it. Its kinda like Joe Hill and his father had a contest to see who could describe more demented premises in one story and Hill wasn't about to lose. So, its a bit gross in places but compelling reading overall.

I'm sure you know by now that Joe Hill is the son of the master of terror Stephen King. I think it's great that Joe is not resting on his father's laurels, but chooses to prove himself without dropping names. I've enjoyed all of Hill's work, including his graphic novels. If you have read his excellent horror romp NOS4A2, and you enjoyed it, then stop reading this and order Wraith. Wraith is a fantastic graphic novel that serves as a prequel to the novel. This is one area where Hill has really shown that he is more than just the son of Stephen King. He has chosen to not only publish novels, but to also publish fantastic graphic novels like Wraith and his Locke and Key series. Joe Hill has branched out and created some truly memorable works in horror fiction. With the combination of the artwork in Wraith and the fantastic story, you have a truly delicious book to devour. While it really is a prequel, I do think it's more enjoyable to read the novel NOS4A2 first, then treat yourself to Wraith. If you're not familiar with Hill, just go ahead and order both at the same time and same some on your shipping.

If you have read NOS4R2 then you need to pick up Wraith. It's just the perfect visual companion to the novel. As that is by far my favorite book that he has written, I knew I had to search out this series. Not wanting to spend a small fortune on the comics, this hardbound edition is a great way to capture all of his suspense filled ride to Christmasland. I was only disappointed that it was not shrink wrapped and that Amazon didn't wrap the book in something to protect the corners of the book. My copy arrived with broken and split ends due to the lack of precautions during shipping. Sad, considering what a lovely edition this is.

I had read a very brief description of this work that simply said "an R rated Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas" and I suppose that is basically true, but its much more.The characters are believable and its really closer to a Peter Pan type story because of the association between the real and the dream world. Or perhaps a bridge between the conscious and subconscious that can be travelled physically round trip. I read along of Joe Hill's works just as I did his Dad's and there is a lot of diversity between the different stories. One related point is the language and level of violence probably should keep this one out of the hands of kids, unlike Locke and Key. But for lovers of horror this, to me, is an example Joe Hill Home Run.

The story idea was good but the execution was a little clunky and I was not impressed with the artwork.

THIS. KICKED. BUTT. !! The story, the artwork, it's all top notch. It's a deliciously evil tale which reels you right in, especially if you've already read NOS4A2. If you want to know more about Christmasland, (as I did), or if you want to know more about the Wraith's history, (as I did), grab this graphic novel compilation. It's a visually stunning book and I know I'll be reading this and gazing at the evil Mr. Charles Talent Manx over and over again. My highest recommendation!

Great book and art work.

A prequel to his novel, NOS4A2, Joe Hill has created another fantastic book worthy of any fan of horror or the comic book genre. What is cool about this story is how we, the readers, get to learn more of Charlie Manx's past. Hill is able to build further into this world he has created with all his other books and that is just awesome in my opinion. A person could read this book by its self and enjoy it I think, but l think you should read NOS 4A2 as well. The book itself is a very nice glossed hardcover, with nice glossed pages as well. Mr. Hill and Mr. Wilson were very compatible with one another and helped build upon Hill's previous work. I liked C.P. Wilson III artwork a lot but I will admit I will always be curious what it would have looked like if Gabriel Rodriguez had handled the artwork (he worked with Hill on the Locke and Key series). Overall...great story, great art, great book, great buy

“NOS4A2” bzw. “Christmasland” hat uns den unheimlichen Charles Manx und seinen Rolls Royce Wraith bereits in deutlichster Art und Weise vorgestellt und diese Kooperation von Stephen King und seinem Sohn hat deutlich gezeigt, dass die beiden sehr gut miteinander zusammenarbeiten können und dabei wohl immer etwas schaffen werden, was die Leserschaft begeistern dürfte. Mit „Wraith“ legt Joe Hill gleich mehrere Geschichten um „Chuck“ Manx vor, die von Charles Paul Wilson III illustriert in Hills Comic-Hausverlag IDW veröffentlicht worden sind. Die erste Geschichte ‚Fantoms‘ gibt uns die Lebensgeschichte Manx‘, die in sich selbst bereits eine Art Horrorgeschichte darstellt und die diese Figur in sehr erschreckender Art und Weise viel plastischer auftreten lässt, als sie dies bisher getan hat. Außerdem wird hier deutlich, woher er seine Idee für das Nummernschild des Wraith gehabt hat. Die längere Hauptgeschichte „Welcome to Christmasland“ erzählt die Geschichte von einer Gefan-genenüberführung – ein Psychopath, ein Kinderschänder und eine schwere Körperverletzung als Reaktion auf den Tod eines Kindes -, die fürchterlich schief geht und die dazu führt, dass alle Insassen des Wagens des DFC (Department for Correction) schließlich in „Chucks“ Wraith landen. Allerdings nicht alle auf den Passagiersitzen. Was wird wohl geschehen, wenn diese ausgewählten Exemplare der Gattung Mensch auf die regulären Bewohnerinnen und Bewohner des Weihnachtslands treffen? Besonders, da einige dieser Langzeitresidenten durch einen von ihnen dahin geschickt worden sind? Neben der Haupterzählung gibt es zu einigen der Charaktere auch noch durch Zeitsprünge ausgiebige Hintergrundgeschichten, was der ganze Sache eine sehr hohe erzählerische Dichte gibt, was zusammen mit den überaus verstörenden Bilder ein gar grusliges und handwerklich befriedigendes Gesamterzählwerk ergibt. Am Ende – im Stil alter amerikanischer Kinderbücher geschrieben und illustriert, gibt es noch als Epilog die Geschichte „Phantoms“, die am Ende sehr überraschend einige offene Fäden des Vorhergehenden wieder aufgreift. Alles in Allem wieder eine sehr befriedigende Gruselleseerfahrung mit sehr verstörenden, sehr graphischen Darstellungen.

excelente portada, material, en fin totalmente sorprendido, esta novela gráfica y el libro nos4a2 son mi primer contacto con joe hill y quede enganchado, excelente para saber la historia de origen que no es tan bien explicada en la novela, en definitiva leer este tomo después de haber completado la novela

If you are reading this you know about Locke and Key. How great it is. Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez are absolutly fantastic in that series of books. As I like to follow writers I bought this one. The art is fine, but I feel that Hill is best when he plays a longer game. This book is an off shoot of another one of his novels and thus I feel that it lacks the impact that some of his other work has. Perhaps if I read the novel that this is based off of I would be more of a fan, but I haven't and there are so many great writers in the comic medium and in the horror novel medium that I will pass on exploring these characters.