The Last Halloween - by Abby Howard (Paperback)

About the Book

In a grisly gothic adventure at the end of the world, ten-year-old Mona and her motley crew of good-hearted ghouls must stop an invading horde of monsters, or this will be The Last Halloween!

Book Synopsis

A comic horror tour de force. -- KIRKUS, Starred Review

Tailor-made for fans of postmodern horror comedy. -- BOOKLIST, Starred Review

An endearingly emotional journey. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

Howard's writing is so razor-sharp, it might have blood dripping from it. -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review

The monster apocalypse is nigh, but never fear! Humanity is under the protection of . . . this crew?

It's a lonely Halloween night for ten-year-old Mona. While everyone else is out having a ghoulishly good time, she's stuck inside without so much as a scary movie to watch. Just when she figures this evening can't get much worse, a giant monster appears in her living room, proving her very, very wrong. Running for her life, Mona quickly sees that she's not alone; trick-or-treating's been canceled due to monster invasion! A barrier keeping billions of monsters at bay has broken and the horrific hordes have descended upon humanity, wreaking bloody havoc everywhere they stomp, slither, or squish. She may not be equipped for it, but it's up to Mona to save the world with a team of fellow weirdos by her side. Perhaps they will succeed. Or perhaps this will be . . . The Last Halloween.

Review Quotes

Howard's illustrations are unquestionably striking, utilizing a perfect mood-setting black-and-white pen-and-ink scheme and grabbing its reader with both the scope of its imagination and its clever use of perspective. . . . A comic horror tour de force. -- KIRKUS, Starred Review

Tailor-made for fans of postmodern horror comedy. -- BOOKLIST, Starred Review

Howard's writing is so razor-sharp, it might have blood dripping from it. -- SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Starred Review

Underneath the nonstop gags in this series starter exists an endearingly emotional journey about a child reconciling herself to the weight of the world thrust upon her. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

"[Like] Sendak did, [Howard] trusts children perhaps more than most adults to understand that fear is not inherently a bad thing." -- A.V. CLUB

A strange book that mixes grotesque gore and terrifying monsters with sarcastic laugh-out-loud humor and surprisingly sweet side-plots. -- GEEK MOM

"An enjoyable read and a fitting one for this spooky month of October." -- MULTIVERSITY

"Howard is able to convey silliness as powerfully as she can convey real horror, and the result is a singular piece of work that resonates in genuinely unnerving ways." -- COMICS ALLIANCE

"A fast-moving exploration of how scientists have come to understand life in that period (dinosaurs, as well as mammals, insects, and sea life), clearly and amusingly explained through the duo's dialogue." -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review (DINOSAUR EMPIRE!)

"Stylish, informative, and funny, this inviting work of graphic nonfiction is ideal for visual learners as well as those who can't get enough of prehistoric creatures." -- BOOKLIST (OCEAN RENEGADES!)

"If you're like me and think Abby Howard is hilarious but haven't yet actually taken the time to dig into her work, this is very good." -- WOMEN WRITE ABOUT COMICS (JUNIOR SCIENTIST POWER HOUR)

About the Author

Abby Howard is a cartoonist whose interests include dinosaurs, horror, and Spoons, her beautiful cat. She's been drawing comics since first discovering there was such a thing, eventually putting them online and gaining a following that led to a full-time cartooning career. She's the creator of the self-published humor comic, Junior Scientist Power Hour, the gothic adventure The Last Halloween, the horror collection Crossroads at Midnight (both from Iron Circus Comics), and the Earth Before Us series from Amulet, a three-book educational series about ancient beasts.