So, for example, Beetle, a green-skinned, pointy-eared goblin with a long tail, gets dropped off at the ‘Allowstown Mall by her witch grandmother, who flies her there on a broom.

This conflict pretty perfectly encapsulate webcomics creator Aliza Layne’s debut graphic novel Beetle & The Hollowbones, which is something like an urban fantasy (or, perhaps, a suburban fantasy), but turned on its head rather than couching certain fantastical elements in a modern day city, Beetle is an entire old-school fantasy world of witches and goblins and dragons organized along the template of a modern, mundane life. No, she spends so much time at the mall because her best friend, Blob Ghost, is forced to haunt the mall by supernatural circumstances they have no memory of, and can’t get past the parking lot without hitting an invisible barrier. However, she doesn’t do so for the standard reasons, like there being nothing more exciting to do in her small town, or that her options are limited by the fact that she can’t yet drive. And hopefully ride a broom without crashing.Like a lot of teenagers used to do, Beetle spends her time hanging out at the local mall. Now, Beetle has less than a week to rescue her best ghost, encourage Kat to stand up for herself, and confront the magic she's been avoiding for far too long. If Blob Ghost doesn't escape the mall soon, their afterlife might be coming to a very sticky end. Beetle's quickly being left in the dust.īut Kat's mentor has set her own vile scheme in motion. Kat is everything Beetle wants to be: beautiful, cool, great at magic, and kind of famous online. And now Beetle's old best friend, Kat, is back in town for a sorcery apprenticeship with her Aunt Hollowbone. is cursed to haunt it, tethered there by some unseen force. She'd rather skip being homeschooled completely and spend time with her best friend, Blob Glost.

Then there's twelve-year-old goblin-witch Beetle, who's caught in between. In the eerie town of 'Allows, some people get to be magical sorceresses, while other people have their spirits trapped in the mall for all ghastly eternity. An enchanting, riotous, and playfully illustrated debut graphic novel following a young goblin trying to save her best friend from the haunted mall'perfect for fans of Steven Universe and Adventure Time.

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