Beetle & The Hollowbones, a fun mildly gothy, LGBTQ graphic novel

Beetle & The Hollowbones looks like the slightly spookier sister of Steven Universe or a more linear story than one that you’d find in Adventure Time. Granted, for those Cartoon Network or comic book fans those are big things to measure up to. However, they’re also very appropriate and give upper elementary through middle school readers an instant affiliation as to what kind of reader would dig Beetle & The Hollowbones by Aliza Layne.

As soon as you open the graphic novel your visual senses are engaged by the colors and panels that contain the action. Some pages are full action and story, while others have quadrilaterals of varying size to contain the story elements. And even on those, some are in the foreground while others play off of the main image that they sit on. The result of that are the action elements of the story move in a carefree way that adds to the story.

The other thing that young readers will notice in the book is the mannerisms that Beetle has. She is a typical teen, except she’s a goblin-witch. Other than that she still has to get a ride to the mall with her grandmother, feels socially awkward at times and has a best friend, Blob Ghost, who is cursed to spend eternity in the antiquated shopping area of a bygone era. Aside from their cell phone being broken or having them pay for it, the worst thing possible for teens is happening. The shopping mall is due to be torn down. This might be a great thing for land developers, but it’s horrible for Blob Ghost.

To make things even worse for Beetle the demolition is being led by her best friend’s aunt. Kat Hollowbone hasn’t been in town for a while and Beetle is certainly happy to see her. She’s the prettier, more popular friend that everyone wishes they had. Now that she’s in town she’s also learning all of the cool spells that her aunt knows. Beetle’s grandmother knows a lot also, but doesn’t seem as cool or as willing to teach her.

As the two girls explore their friendship, Beetle is also trying to figure out a way to free Blob Ghost and stay true herself. That final part is especially tricky given that they’re both teen agers. Is it possible that Kat is as evil as her aunt? How will Beetle ever learn to be an effective goblin-witch if her gran won’t teach her? And how will Blob Ghost be able to escape the mall?

Beetle & The Hollowbones uses colors and shadows very well. Ages 9 and up whom are looking for an enjoyable witch tale, with a very mild LGBTQ theme and art along the lines of BOOM! Studios will love the book. It’s not exclusively a Halloween tale, but the fact that it’s being released around that holiday will help its visibility. Author/illustrator Aliza Layne is onto something with this series. Now that the- is she/isn’t she tension about the attraction between the two girls is answered it would be nice to see more big scale action in the next graphic novel.

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