Advance Review: ‘A Haunted Girl’ #1 Helps Its Writers To Exorcise Their Demons
by Tom Smithyman
Overview
For many teens and their parents, A Haunted Girl tells an all-too-familiar story about anxiety and depression. But a supernatural element as well as the story behind this limited series adds to the tale’s layers.
Overall
8/10For writers, the art of writing goes far beyond mere communications. It’s a way of coping with an often cruel world – of trying to make sense of the madness around them. In the case of A Haunted Girl, it’s quite literally about exorcising demons.
On the surface, the story in the limited series is about a 16-year-old adopted girl, Cleo Newman, who is battling severe depression and anxiety. She has overdosed on pills in the past, which has led to multiple hospitalizations. As this story opens, she’s released and heading back to school. But her hallucinations – everything from a dead woman to a massive spider – continue.
But they are not likely hallucinations at all, at least not in the typical way they present themselves. Cleo is being called to be part of something bigger, though exactly what that might be is not yet clear.
The reality is, though, that A Haunted Girl is about real life. It’s about a dad who would do anything for his daughter. It’s about a dad who suffers almost as much as he sees his little girl suffering. When co-writer Ethan Sacks saw his daughter, Naomi, in the hospital four years ago, he came up with the idea for this story. It’s about a girl who’s battling depression and finds out she’s the sole hope to save the world. And now Naomi is his co-writer on the project.
Of course, understanding the genesis of the story doesn’t mean that the miniseries is going to be a good one. But you can’t help but approach the tale in a different way and appreciate what the team is trying to accomplish.
So is A Haunted Girl good? Yes it is. It has a story that pulls you in and one that teens and their parents can relate to all too well. The artwork by Marco Lorenzana is serviceable. Most human characters are recognizable, though none really stand out that much. But he shines with his monsters as well as in a flashback to Japan, which Cleo is from. Not surprisingly, the cover from Joe Quesada is top notch.
The next question is: will A Haunted Girl be great? It’s soon to tell. Only a quarter of the story has been told so far. The beginning is strong. Now the creative team needs to build off of its momentum – and life experiences – and deliver even more to readers.
A Haunted Girl #1 will be available for purchase on October 11, 2023.
