Agnes Quill: An Anthology Of Mystery [Paperback]

Dave Roman (Author), Raina Telgemeier (Illustrator), Jeff Zornow (Illustrator), Jason Ho (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 31, 2006

Agnes Quill is the story of a teenage detective, the haunted city she lives in, the strange cases she solves, and the ghosts who help, hinder, or just plain annoy her. Set in Legerdemain—a congested, fog-filled, cobblestone-paved Victorian city built around a cemetery the size of Central Park—Agnes’ adventures include confrontations with trapped spirits, cursed souls, possessed relatives, disappearing pets, decapitated scientists, ambitious zombies, and a mess of other supernatural oddities. Written by Dave Roman, and featuring stories illustrated by Jason Ho, Jen Wang, Jeff Zornow, and Eisner nominee, Raina Telgemeier.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Agnes Quill is an odd girl. At the age of 16 she inherits not only her grandfather's estate but his unique ability to speak to the dead. Now all the ghosts in the gothic town of Legerdemain are finding their way to her door—some want a favor, some want revenge, some just want company or a little adventure. In this first anthology of Roman's Web comic, Agnes faces grave robbers, zombies, mad scientists and a few even more bizarre denizens of the underworld. Each story is illustrated by a different artist, giving the anthology a disjointed feel. Ho's craggy lines make the first story undeniably horror; Telgemeier's round and cartoony drawings are more YA. Each artist brings something different to Agnes, but through all of them she is an undeniably charming heroine. An appendix at the end of the anthology hints at a deeper mythology that Roman will hopefully have the chance to explore further in future collections. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Agnes Quill is a capable, intelligent, gutsy girl detective with ready access to the spirit world. In this graphic novel, she takes on four weird cases, each one involving something unusual--a severed head, a valuable locket, zombies, and poltergeists. Each story arc is well developed, atmospheric, and rich in plot, and a "field guide" and "Excerpts from the Journals of Agnes Quill" provide narrative discourse on Agnes' powers, ancestry, and familiars. Four different artists contributed the black-and-white images, which vary greatly in style--from Jason Ho's scratchy, angular characters to Raina Telgemeier's gently rounded cartoons, with Dave Roman's dark, cartoony art and Jeff Zornow's detailed, action-packed work falling somewhere in between. Both Agnes and her world become more real for the rich visual variety. Give this to fans of graphic novels as well as to mystery readers. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 130 pages
• Publisher: SLG Publishing (October 31, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593620527
• ISBN-13: 978-1593620523
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #740,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Roman is the creator of Astronaut Academy: Zero Gravity and Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery. He has contributed stories to the Flight series, and is the co-author of two New York Times bestselling graphic novels, X-Men: Misfits and The Last Airbener: Zuko's Story. Roman worked as a comics editor for the groundbreaking Nickelodeon Magazine from 1998 to 2009. He lives in New York City with his wife, Raina. His website is www.yaytime.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A HAUNTING GOOD READ, January 13, 2007

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Agnes Quill: An Anthology Of Mystery (Paperback)

Agnes Quill: An Anthology of Mystery presents four adventures of the teenaged detective who has the ability to see spirits and communicate with the dead. The setting is the marvelously constructed city of Legerdemain, a modern day Victorian city filled with dark secrets. Agnes is kind of a spunkier, more action-oriented version of the hit TV show Ghost Whisperer. She helps spirits find their way into the afterlife, but usually only after avoiding a lot of trouble for herself.

In the opening tale "The Mummified Woman and the Divided Man", Agnes has to help the spirit of an elderly woman locate a precious family heirloom, that happens to be buried within her body and later must help a man locate his missing legs. It's a haunting, but lively story, beautifully illustrated by Jason Ho.

"Zombie Lovetrap and Buried Homes & Gardens" finds Agnes helping a man whose ex-wife has cursed him by causing all of ex-girlfriends to rise from the dead as flesh eating zombies to take their revenge on him. Agnes then meets a society of people who live below the surface of the streets in their own little world. But someone is trying to wipe them out by shutting off their power and Agnes has to solve the mystery before it's too late. This story is illustrated by Jeff Zornow.

In addition to the stories, the book also has several interesting extras including a field guide to Agnes' world and the various supporting characters. There are also several excerpts from Agnes' journal. All the stories are written by Dave Roman. This is one of those books perfectly suited for black & white. The art is great throughout and it's a great diversion to everyday graphic novels. A fun read from SLG Publishing.

Reviewed by Tim Janson