The Red Book

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It's just a short horror anthology of stories about a moment in time. We don't get much about the past of anything, this is a series that focuses on the now. It can be simple, effective horror sometimes, and others just funny. It's got a Junji Ito energy to it, you won't get an explanation on anything. You just get glimpses into how these ghosts work, about how they can possess, replace, inhabit, or infiltrate a house and implicate death without us ever seeing one.

4/10, I don't like it that much, only one gave me a little chill. The art is decent, but effective horror ... isn't here at all.

Since all that was involved were ghosts trying to torment people, I didn't think it all that terrifying. In that regard, it is figuratively not new. I can see why the author didn't want to bother giving the demon ghosts backstories, but they might have at least added a hint of intrigue to each character's backstory.

The art was just ok like I wouldn’t really put this in a horror genre manhwa but more like a lighthearted mystery. I probably am the only one who doesn’t get this manhwa at all since I didn’t get anything out of it but just laughs rather than feeling shocked ... with my heart coming out of my chest. Yeah I feel this manhwa was effortless in trying to scare readers but 24 chapters is short enough so it is somewhat easy to fly through it…

This comic is practice at building tension. Plot and characters are exchanged for singular unsettling panels.

The Red Book is essentially an anthology series with some of the ghosts recurring from chapter to chapter. Every chapter is a single scene up to twenty panels long portraying the moment the human and ghost meet. For example, a girl texting on her walk home starts being chased by a ghost in the shadows. That's where the chapter always ends though. The tension is built but leaves you thinking about the outcome of the situation. It works well enough here but there are no deep or engaging stories, ... mostly cheap scares.

Characters are nonexistant. The protagonist of each chapter is impossible to differentiate from the last. The focus is on the particular scenario or ghost. You're not supposed to care about any of the characters or who they are, but anything is better than nothing.

The art is incredibly mediocre 99% of the time. Basic character designs and simple backgrounds are the majority if what you'll be looking at. The other 1% is ghosts who are given extra attention. Dark lines, unsettling faces, contorted bodies, it's all done well. It was basically the entire point of the comic as explained in the epilogue.

The Red Book was OK. It was a short read good for getting me into the October mood. The ghosts were drawn well, but everything else was painfully average. If you're looking for something short to read during October give it a go. Otherwise it's easy to skip.

Plot:4/10
Characters: 3/10
Art: 5/10
Enjoyment: 6/10
Overall: 4.7/10