Animus

by Antoine Revoy

Overview

The residents of a quiet Japanese neighborhood have slowly come to realize that inauspicious, paranormal forces are at play in the most unlikely of places: the local playground. Two friends, a young boy and girl, resolve to exorcise the evil that inhabit it, including a snaggle-toothed monster.

In Animus, a beautiful but spooky young adult graphic novel of everyday hauntings, Antoine Revoy delivers an eerie tale inspired by the Japanese and French comics of his childhood.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781626721838
Publisher:	First Second
Publication date:	05/08/2018
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	829,424
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

Writer/Illustrator Antoine Revoy has a long-held passion for all forms of comics—graphic novels, manga and bandes dessinées—fostered by his childhood living in Paris, France and Tokyo, Japan. Antoine's clients include Der Spiegel and New York Times, and his work has received acclaim by the Society of Illustrators, American Illustration, and Spectrum. Antoine currently teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design. He lives in Providence, RI, with his wife, illustrator Kelly Murphy.

Editorial Reviews

03/12/2018
Children are disappearing in Kyoto, and the police are confounded about what to do about it. Sayuri and her friend Hisao hang out in a park, where they encounter “Toothless,” a ghost boy who is waiting for someone to find his body. He introduces them to the mystical features of the park, such as swings that allow them to enter people’s dreams and a slide that ages them up or down, depending on which direction they go. Together, they work to find out what has happened to the missing children and to Toothless’s body. Revoy’s otherworldly adventure moves quickly, but his succinct storytelling keeps readers on track with essential details. Both the contemporary and historical elements of the story’s setting come to life in the manga-style art. Revoy makes effective use of thin outlines, cross-hatching, and dramatic, blacked-out backgrounds to create a spooky atmosphere for this mysterious, macabre tale. Ages 14–up. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Revoy’s otherworldly adventure moves quickly, but his succinct storytelling keeps readers on track with essential details. Both the contemporary and historical elements of the story’s setting come to life in the manga-style art." —Publishers Weekly

"The narrative and illustrations work together seamlessly to create mysteries that are baffling yet intriguing. An eerie graphic novel mystery that is bewildering and unnerving in the best way possible."—Kirkus

"The child protagonists are captivating, and they will entice young readers eager to unravel the mysteries of the playground’s supernatural tendencies."—Booklist

“Antoine Revoy's ANIMUS evokes memories of Otomo's DOMU, with its beautiful drawings, keen sense of place, and air of mystery, filled with both menace and wonder. Depicting the small moments of Hisao and Sayuri's friendship, and the surreal and supernatural with equal adroitness, Revoy brings the reader along on a fantastical yet intimate journey filled with light and darkness.” —Sonny Liew Eisner award-winning author of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye

“At once a haunting love letter to Japanese comics and a deliciously creepy mystery, ANIMUS is a stunning debut novel.” —LeUyen Pham Award-winning illustrator of Real Friends, The Princess in Black

“Full of haunting turns and lingering images, ANIMUS plumbs the terrors of unfinished business, big and small.” —Scott Westerfeld New York Times-best selling author of Spill Zone

“Unsettling, weird and beautiful as only fairy tales can be.” —Alex Puvilland New York Times-best selling artist of Spill Zone

From the Publisher

05/01/2018
Gr 7 Up—A number of young students have gone missing in Kyoto, Japan, and police investigators believe a copycat killer is imitating a man currently serving time for a string of child murders. Two kids, Hisao and Sayuri, learn that the truth is quite different. They connect with Toothless, a masked ghost who holds the key. A child himself, Toothless teaches them the secrets of the haunted playground where he resides, where each structure has a power and a purpose. When Hisao and Sayuri's friend goes missing, they want to use the frightening powers of the playground equipment to look for him. In exchange, they agree to solve the mystery of Toothless's murder so his spirit can finally be released from earth. This unnerving tale successfully turns a playground into a realm of horrors, where slides and swings are more than just playthings. The children's world is front and center; adults aren't very helpful, so it's up to the kids to put things right. The manga-style black-and-white artwork serves the narrative well, going from charming to frightening and keeping the chills coming until the very end. VERDICT A wonderfully creepy graphic novel that's just right for fans of Hiroshi Takahashi and Misao Inagaki's The Ring or other scary manga.—Carla Riemer, Claremont Middle School, Oakland

School Library Journal

2018-04-03
A boy and girl must uncover the secrets of a ghost boy cursed to haunt a playground.In a neighborhood in Kyoto, Japan, Hisao and Sayuri meet a boy, Toothless, at a small playground and soon discover that he is a ghost imprisoned there. He shares with them that the playground has magic abilities: The swings allow you to see into someone's dreams, the sandbox brings life to your innermost fears, and the slide makes you young or old, depending on which direction you go on it. When their friend falls victim to the slide's power and ends up in the hospital, so old that he is suffering from dementia, they must uncover who Toothless really is in order to save him. Following clues, the two kids find disturbing evidence of another crime as they unearth the truth. Although this is a ghost story, the spookiness is well-balanced with endearing moments of friendship, and there is beauty in the way the characters help each other change and develop. The Japanese-style black-and-white illustrations have sharp lines and detail, creating an alluring, eerie world. They capture emotions and evoke sounds, making readers feel as if they are in a real ghost story. The narrative and illustrations work together seamlessly to create mysteries that are baffling yet intriguing.An eerie graphic novel mystery that is bewildering and unnerving in the best way possible. (Graphic novel. 12-adult)

Kirkus Reviews