Rockstar Book Tours presents... HUMAN REMAINS by Peter Milligan & Sally Cantirino

Today, I am hosting the final stop on the HUMAN REMAINS by Peter Milligan & Sally Cantirino BLOG TOUR hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. It's another GRAPHIC NOVEL to add to my growing list of "read" titles in this category, but this time around, it's for ADULTS ONLY.  SO, with that said, check out my review post, make sure to enter the giveaway, and then scamper over to the other sites participating in the tour!

 

Title: HUMAN REMAINS

Author: Peter Milligan, Dearbhla Kelly, Sally Cantirino (Illustrations), AndWorld Design, Adrian F. Wassel (Editor)

Pub. Date: September 27, 2022

Publisher: Vault Comics

Formats: Paperback, eBook

Pages: 208

Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Bookshop.org

Alien meets A Quiet Place in this science fiction tale of terror for fans of Josh Malerman’s Bird Box and Tim Lebbon’s The Silence about a post-apocalyptic world in which monsters hunt the things that make us human – where feeling is a dangerous thing.

Live. Laugh. Love. Scream.
DIE.

Dax and Bisa love each other. But in this new and terrifying world, love is dangerous. Feeling anything is dangerous. Love. Hate. Joy. Fear.  Any of these in strong doses will bring a swift death. Earth has a new and terrible invader—monsters that smell the scent of emotion, salivate over the prey, and hunt the very feelings that make us human. A shocking tale of pent-up emotions and forced composure in the face of unspeakable horror…from one of the most celebrated writers in comics, Peter Milligan (X-Force, Enigma, Shade the Changing Man, Hellblazer) and breakout horror artist Sally Cantirino (I Walk With Monsters, The Final Girls).

Collects the entire eight-issue series.

Reviews:

"I read this at a gasp, horrified by the bloody events as much as the too-familiar feel of a society self-destructing--even before the monsters come. A palpitating whirlwind of a start."  -- Daniel Kraus (New York Times bestselling author of The Shape of Water, Trollhunters, The Teddies Saga, and Vault Comics' The Autumnal)

"As brilliant and incisive as ever, Peter Milligan questions what makes us human,and what motivates us to make the terrible decisions we inevitably make.”-- Kieron Gillen (Uncanny X-Men, Eternals; The Wicked + The Divine; Once & Future)

"Human Remains might be the scariest Vault series to date." – Gate Crashers

“a brutal, visceral, soul crushing world where the barest hint of emotion can lead to a violent and bloody death.” -- Multiversity Comics

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was...this was...quite a trip!

As you already know, I'm newer to the Graphic Novel genre, and while I respect the work, time, and effort put into them, it's not my usual choice.  Recently, I've fallen down the rabbit hole of a few tours that came my way that had me branching out.  Do I regret my decision?  No, I can't say that I do, however the adult ones I've run into are far more complex than I would have at first imagined.

When I think of the story format, I envision pictures telling a story with dialogue and descriptions throughout.  These in particular are creative, dark, and fully imagined versions of tomorrow where the world as we know it, truly no longer exists.  Can you imagine going through life WITHOUT emotions?  I mean, it might give us less of a roller coaster sometimes, but it would also dull the actual experience of a roller coaster, literally and figuratively.  So, no more screaming in mock terror at the exhilaration of speeding down a hill.  No more heated arguments of over who gets to control the remote tonight.  NO more stolen moments in the bedroom, heated glances across a crowded room, or intimate moments shared.  No more laughter, crying, cheers, jeers, or otherwise outward emotion signs of interaction. You'd do away with the bad, but also all of the good. CAN YOU IMAGINE?  In this case, breaking any of those emotional barriers isn't just a slap on the wrist offence, but potentially...the end of your life...from a creature that can't be reasoned with, that can't be talked down from their decision, heck...may not even have the mental capacities to actually process an alternative solution...and kills without remorse or exception.

The panels here tell this story in living color, and yet there are still many moments that are left up to the reader to fill.  This collection of eight installments into one omnibus edition allow readers the chance to follow each person's story from start to finish without the pins and needles waiting in-between.  You get to find out if the newly weds survive, and how they can keep their love alive through the terrors that await.  You get to see how far a mother will go to avenge her son, while fighting for the human race.  You see behind the eyes of a man so in control of himself that it ends up being his ultimate downfall.  You see how desperate times may call for desperate measures, but also that there will always be those willing to take advantage of people in times of need.  You see the highs of humanity and the lows, while you try to figure out exactly who the monsters really are...

A great addition to your must reads for graphic novel fans that love an "end of the world" type story where it may not seem probable, but it's not impossible, and there's no guarantees that anyone makes it out in the end.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

About Peter Milligan:

Peter Milligan is a legendary British writer of comics, film, and television. One of Entertainment Weekly’s “it” writers of the early 2000s, Peter Milligan was at the forefront of the revolution in comics which were created for a more sophisticated, adult audience. 

Shade the Changing Man for Vertigo offered a skewered look at American culture, while Enigma, Face, The Extremist, and Rogan Gosh pushed the boundaries of what comic books could do. Milligan was the longest-running writer of the cult horror comic Hellblazer, and his take on Human Target inspired the TV series. For Marvel, the hugely-popular X-Statix was a radical reworking of the X-Man paradigm, described by Kevin Smith (CLERKS etc) as “the most well-observed scholarly analysis of media-manipulation filtered through a pop-culture lens ever committed to the page”.

Milligan is the screenwriter of  Pilgrim AKA Inferno (2000) and An Angel For May (2002) and currently is the co-creator and writer of Human Remains for Vault Comics

 

Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon  

 

About Sally Cantirino:

Sally Cantirino is a comic artist and illustrator currently based in New Jersey. She has been self-publishing comics and zines since she was a teenager. Her recent comics work includes I Walk With Monsters and Human Remains for Vault Comics,  “The Final Girls”, “Last Song”, and “We Have To Go Back”. She has also done artwork for World Champ Game Co and bands like La Dispute and Murder By Death.

 

Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~   GIVEAWAY   ~~~

2 winners will receive a finished copy of HUMAN REMAINS, US Only.

Ends October 18th, midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Special thanks to the Rockstar Book Tours team for the chance to bring this tour to you and to the publisher for the copy for review. (THANKS!) For more information on this title, the author, the publisher, this tour, or those on the horizon, feel free to click through the links provided above. This title is available now, so click on over to your favorite online retailer or visit your local brick and mortar to grab your copy today! Catch the rest of the tour for more!

Tour Schedule:

Week One:

9/19/2022	#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog	Guest Post
9/20/2022	Brandi Danielle Davis	IG Spotlight
9/21/2022	Book Sniffers Anonymous	Guest Post/IG Post
9/22/2022	Jazzy Book Reviews	Guest Post/IG Post
9/23/2022	hauntedbybooks	Review/IG Post
9/24/2022	Review Thick And Thin	Review/IG Post

Week Two:

9/25/2022	fairrryprose	Review
9/26/2022	Sadie's Spotlight	Guest Post /IG Post
9/27/2022	A Bookworms Garden	IG Review/TikTok Post
9/28/2022	Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf	Review/IG Post
9/29/2022	Bookdreamr	Review/IG Post
9/30/2022	Jeff_of_allmedia	IGReview
10/1/2022	Books with Brandie Shanae	YouTube Review/IG Post

Week Three:

10/2/2022	Forthenovellovers	Review
10/3/2022	The Real World According to Sam	Review/IG Post
10/4/2022	See Sadie Read	Review/IG Post
10/5/2022	Wanderingwitchreads	TikTok Review/IG Post
10/6/2022	@lexijava	Review/IG Post
10/7/2022	The Momma Spot	Review/IG Post
10/8/2022	Celia's Reads	Review/IG Post

Week Four:

10/9/2022	Laurenreads._	Review/IG Post
10/10/2022	Nerdophiles	Review/IG Post
10/11/2022	GryffindorBookishNerd	Review/IG Post
10/12/2022	A Dream Within A Dream	Guest Post/IG Post
10/13/2022	onemused	Review/IG Post
10/14/2022	Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers	Review/IG Post

Until next time, remember...if it looks good, READ IT!