Black Sand Beach 3

March 15, 2022
The mystery of the face-stealing monster resumes in the third installment of the Black Sand Beach graphic novel series. Dash, his cousins, Andy and Eleanor, and his best friend, Lily, are all back for another summer vacation at Black Sand Beach, and they're determined to finally figure out what really happened last year. In a convoluted series of scenes that toggle unrelatedly and confusingly between the year 1994 and the here and now, the ghost girls, Mabel and Kasey, introduced in the previous volume, hunt for monsters with their dad in the past while in the present, Dash and his companions try to piece together the nature of the face-stealing monster so that they can figure out how to drive it away. After a wild, whirlwind experience on the beach, the kids are all sucked into the Darkness by the monster, though they eventually escape. Only Andy is left behind until his cousin Dash, also known as Harry, ventures back into the Darkness to save him...but Dash doesn't quite seem like himself. Fairgray has managed to engineer another cliffhanger, setting the stage for a forthcoming fourth book in a series that always creates more questions than it provides satisfying resolutions. The plot of this story is almost as formless as the shape-shifting monster at its center, and the flat, thin-lined, pallid artwork offers little clarification. A mediocre horror tale with a bewildering, inconclusive storyline, though die-hard fans may wish to continue reading. (Graphic novel/horror. 8-12)

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May 1, 2022

Gr 3-7-Dash and his friends use their brains to outsmart face-stealing monsters at Black Sand Beach. His dad, stepmom, and a dedicated monster hunter try to help, too. Humor brings everyone to life, as when Andy launches a cookie into his own mouth with a slingshot. Lighthearted touches make the creepy scenes even darker by contrast, which is especially true during two sequences that take place in an all-black nightmare setting. Fairgray's use of perspective and detail lends power to the monsters, whether they crash through the foreground or slither a tentacle along the background. Body language and small gestures, like flicking a pencil into the ocean, carry a lot of weight. A sci-fi gadget the kids invent is used in creative ways. Stylized chapter pages that are repeated in reverse and negative colors maintain an unnerving atmosphere throughout. VERDICT The horrors become darker and more dangerous, but there are still chuckles to be found. Will work best starting from the first book.

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