Reviews

Theater of Terror: Revenge of the Queers! by Tara Avery, Tana Ford, Brad Rader, Joshua Grannel, Jennifer Camper, William O. Tyler, Geov Chouteau, Ashley R. Guillory, Steve MacIsaac, Fiona Smyth, Alegra Figeroid, Tina Horn, Sean Platter, Terry Blas, Yves Navant, Justin Hall, Ed Luce, Levi Hastings, A.C. Esguerra, Howard Cruse, Jon Cairns, Robyn Adams, Diego Gómez, Emeric L. Kennard, Victor Hodge, Eric Kostiuk Williams, Maia Kobabe, Rye Hickman, Samuel R. Delany, Phil Jimenez, Trinidad Escobar, Max Spragovsky, Dave Davenport, Sina Grace, Mariko Tamaki

raichoreads's review

emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

4.0

mercurial's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

indeedithappens's review

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Biphobia, Cannibalism, Death, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Sexism, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, War, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Gore, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Colonisation, Child death, Classism, Deadnaming, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Body horror, Bullying, Murder, Racism, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Vomit

ericawrites's review

2.0

The problem with trying to be camp is that a lot of humor that attempts camp falls in its face. You cannot fault people attempting it here, but most of it fell flat. The humor and horror are steeped in drag culture. So much so that "Hell Babes" by Diego Gómez is literally RuPaul's Drag Race in hell.

My favorite stories were:

• "Werekat" by Rachel Pollack and Maia Kobabe -- A trans woman finds a horrific and magical way to transition and leads others on the journey. (RIP Pollack, who recently passed away.)
• "Barrier" by Tina Horn, Jen Hickman, and Justin Hall -- A sci-fi horror bent on what it means to choose queerness and the unknown.
• "Closet Monster" by William O. Tyler -- When the monster in the closet wants you to come out of the closet.
• "Asterion" by Jon Cairns and Dani and Lange -- A twist on how the Minotaur was uncovered.

studaslop's review

dark funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Theater of Terror collects stories of an impressive varieties of genres, art & narrative styles, and themes. It’s a fun read with lots of strange and interesting stories, and a few strange but not very interesting stories. It’s exactly the kind of queer horror and debauchery I was hoping for, and I really appreciate it as a way to showcase queer and trans artists, especially in such a queer genre as horror. 

cassiahf's review

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

maiakobabe's review against another edition

3.0

Horror isn't my favorite genre, but there are some real standouts in the campy, horny, queer comic collection. I loved "The Burr Tree" by Geov Chouteau, a mysterious little fairy tale; I loved "Sanguine" by Emeric Kennard, a wordless story of a beautiful bat being driven insane by cursed mask; I was chilled by "The Shepard" by Justin Hall and Alegra Figeroid, an excellent vampire story; and I laughed at Justin Hall's ridiculously silly and delightful "Full Moon", which mixes up werewolves and sailor scouts in an only-in-San-Francisco way. (I also illustrated a short story for this collection, "Werekat", written by Rachel Pollack which I think turned out pretty good!)

gonzalo_urrutia's review

adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

maiakobabe's review

3.0

Horror isn't my favorite genre, but there are some real standouts in the campy, horny, queer comic collection. I loved "The Burr Tree" by Geov Chouteau, a mysterious little fairy tale; I loved "Sanguine" by Emeric Kennard, a wordless story of a beautiful bat being driven insane by cursed mask; I was chilled by "The Shepard" by Justin Hall and Alegra Figeroid, an excellent vampire story; and I laughed at Justin Hall's ridiculously silly and delightful "Full Moon", which mixes up werewolves and sailor scouts in an only-in-San-Francisco way. (I also illustrated a short story for this collection, "Werekat", written by Rachel Pollack which I think turned out pretty good!)