Graphic Novel Review - The Fables of Erlking Wood

Name: The Fables of Erlking Wood 

Published by: Goats Flying Press

Writer & Artist: Juni Ba

Letterer: Aditya Bidikar

A rather unorthodox piece of modern-influenced folk tale incorporating a healthy dose of humor, sadness, and charm with beautiful design and artwork. That is how I can describe in one sentence this delightful little graphic novel that came literally out of nowhere to hit me in the feels reminding me a bit about my own lonely childhood.

This one is presented as a collection of fables and tales focused on the Erlking Wood of the title, the small bits then coming together in the overarching story of the main characters while creating an atmosphere of magically charged longing and contentment at the same time.

These characters despite being a mixture of animals, humans, and demigods are all quite emotional and relatable, and the author makes the reader care for their journeys of self-discovery and attempts at redemption. 

The art is just a joy to look at, giving another extra dose of magic into the overall mix. The changes in style are quite a unique experience, creating a different realm for the reader to explore.

A delightful read, gets 4.5 out of 5 stars from me.

New Metal Review - "Outward Streams of Devotional Woe" by Unsouling

Album Name - Outward Streams of Devotional Woe

Band Name - Unsouling 

Genre - Experimental Black /Death Metal

Label - I, Voidhanger Records 

Release Date - October 3, 2025

Line Up -

  A.S. - All Instruments and Vocals

I am always a bit sceptical about one man projects, because while there are quite a few brilliant genre defining stuff like Bathory, Burzum, Leviathan etc there are also countless mediocre and bland stuff. It is really hard to invigorate with real and emotional instrumentations rather than relying on programmed bits and uninspired copycat performances. But despite my reservations, I finally decided to go with it due to the short length of the album.

The album opens with 'Immaterial Entrance', a rather straight forward eerie black metal track, which gives a chilling wintry vibe immediately hitting listeners with an unhealthy dose of anguish and grief. From the get-go the album never transcends the sense of overwhelming icy hopelessness, rather embracing it and trying to mold the musical experiment with other forms of extreme metal.

There is a bit of doom metal depth, some crushing OSDM styled riffs, and even a dose of post metal shenanigans. The feeling often gets angrier with some growls and heavy drumming, but eventually always returns with a sense of foreboding and dreadfully nuanced emotionally charged blackened depth. The melodic bits interspersed between tracks and two minutes long instrumental song do provide a welcome distraction and create a distinguished sense of impending disaster.

The vocals are mostly harsh and often buried beyond the music, but overall create a sense of being part of the background. I rather liked the cleaner bits on offer on 'Your Momentary Passing' and 'To Come Unbound', and would have liked if there were more of such pieces throughout. The drumming seems to be live rather than programmed which is always a bonus point in my book.

My main problem with the album is that it never really delivers on the promise it often eludes. There is not enough experimentation; despite the genre blending, it never reaches the stage of something never done before. The vocals are not distinguished enough, and the overall experience seems too short. Hopefully, the next outing of this project will address these shortcomings.

Overall Score -

                         7.5 out of 10.

For more info check out the bands official Bandcamp page and their metal-archives page -

https://unsouling.bandcamp.com/

https://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Unsouling/3540538398   

Weekend Shorts - Let's Go to the Zoo by Louis Evans review

Name - Let's Go to the Zoo

Written by - Louis Evans 

Ilustrated by - Scott Bakal

Edited by - Mal Frazier

Published by - Tor.com 

It's been a while since I read a short story, so I wanted to get restarted through something short, weird, and thought-provoking. This one fits the bill quite nicely with an added dose of psychological nuance thrown in deepening the atmosphere.

The story is told in first person, detailing a couples visit to the Zoo, without spoiling anything further I can just add that actually they are visiting to see something specific, which on the surface level might seem simple yet through small and thoughtful expositions turn out to be not so ordinary.

The prose is a bit unorthodox and gives the short story an extra edge at times, making me re-read sentences just to glimpse into any hidden bits on offer.

Despite being so minimal, this was quite refreshing, 4 out of 5 stars from me.