Publisher's Weekly Review
The final collection from Sala (Phantoms in the Attic), published posthumously after his 2020 death, is a fitting capstone to the prolific, idiosyncratic artist's career: a collection of graphic novellas and illustrated stories showcasing his passion for feverish pulp fiction, self-aware dark humor, and cryptic visual symbolism. In the longest piece, "The Bloody Cardinal 2: House of the Blue Dwarf," plucky psychic Phillipa Nicely faces off against a rogues' gallery of schemers and a bird-headed arch-criminal. "Cave Girls of the Lost World" plays out a cheesecake adventure fantasy in "a land forgotten not only by time, but by science and sanity as well!" and gives Sala the chance to draw topless women fighting dinosaurs (as observers in a frame story comment salaciously and sardonically). "Fantomella" features an archetypical Sala antiheroine, a sultry thief in a domino mask, but her caper plot turns self-referential as her nemesis questions her character development. Sala's instantly recognizable watercolor art is equal parts charming and ominous, mixing influences from Edward Gorey to Famous Monsters of Filmland to old paperback covers. His comics take place in a campy alternate world of Nancy Drew intrigue and midnight-movie twists, oneiric symbols and psychic powers, mysterious temples and creaky old mansions. Readers won't want to miss this last visit to Sala's peculiar world. (May)
Library Journal Review
Garishly clad villains, B-movie monsters, and femme fatales abound in this collection of four graphic novellas from Sala (Phantoms in the Attic), completed shortly before his death in March 2020. In "House of the Blue Dwarf" a psychic is lured to a vast mansion as part of a plot to capture The Bloody Cardinal, a former superhero turned master criminal despised by cops and crooks alike. A creepy bookseller urges a customer to skim a bestiary filled with creatures like The Werebat of Lover's Lane and The Unfriendly Ebonites as prelude to revealing his own gruesome proclivities in "Monsters Illustrated." In "Cave Girls of The Lost World" an aging inspector and his associate disagree on the veracity of a document detailing the adventures of a group of women stranded on a plateau inhabited by a variety of deadly threats. The final novella, "The Amazing Adventures of Fantomina Fantomella," includes both thrilling action and a profound reflection on creativity, as the titular heroine's battle against a horde of villains is interrupted by a mysterious figure who questions her backstory and characterization. VERDICT A genuinely fun, energetic collection, as well as a lasting testament to Sala's distinct talent.
