Skull Cat and the Curious Castle by Norman Shurtliff
IDW Publishing (February 21, 2023)
112 pages; $14.99 paperback
Reviewed by Joshua Gage
Scully the Cat’s father was injured hunting gold on a mountain, so Scully has to get a job with a local garden crew. His first job is at Le Dark Chateau, a haunted mansion rumored to have a hidden treasure, but it’s protected by unknown evil. When Scully’s new crew goes missing and he catches the lady of the manor drinking red liquid from a mug, surely she has murdered everyone and is drinking their blood! Will he have the same courage as his father? Will he find the treasure of Le Dark Chateau, or will he find a different type of treasure, instead?
This is a fun graphic novel and a solid entry into horror and action-adventure for younger readers. Shurtliff has a style that’s informed by classic inkblot animation, especially with his character Scully, but places them in a world that’s much more stylized. Akin to Jeff Smith’s Bone series or Dave Sim’s Cerebus, this style works well for middle-grade readers. The slapstick humor also works. To make it more fun, Shurtliff adds a bonus Cathero comic, which introduces young readers to an older, but more “mature,” style of graphic storytelling, but with a parallel plot and characters. There are also some fun games and puzzles included in the book.
Overall, this is a fun middle-grade graphic novel. There are some fun horror elements (vampires, heartbroken ghosts, etc.) that are subverted throughout the narrative. Middle-grade readers will enjoy the characters and the action, and will be able to identify with Scully’s feelings of inadequacy in the face of larger and more experienced heroes as well as their faith in the goodness of people, even when it’s occasionally misplaced. Older readers will not be bored by this story, either, and parents and older readers can read along with the younger ones easily, and still find entertainment in the tale. Skull Cat and the Curious Castle is a promising opening book to what looks to be a fun and entertaining middle-grade series, and beginning readers of horror and action-adventure books will really find it fun.
