The Crossroads at Midnight

Winner of the 2021 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Collection"Unsettling in the best way." — KIRKUS, Starred Review"Wonderfully terrifying." — PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review"Gets under your skin." — GEEK MOM"Striking drawings and suspenseful storytelling." — io9A masterful collection of tales from the faded border between our day-to-day world and the horrifying unknown on the other side of midnight.An old woman living alone on the edge of a bog gets an unexpected — and unsettling — visitor, throwing her quiet life into a long-buried mystery. An isolated backwoods family stumbles into good fortune for a time with a monstrous discovery in the lake behind their house, but that time is running short. And a misfit little girl, struggling to make friends, meets an understanding soul one day at the beach: but why will he only play with her alone at night? All these lonely souls — and more — have reached out into the darkness, not knowing what they might find.Around the dark edges of reality lurk unknown beings with unknowable intentions — ordinary objects can become cursed possessions, entities who seem like friends can become monstrous, and those who seem monstrous can become the truest companions. In this collection of evocative, unnerving slice-of-life horror, five stories explore what happens when one is desperate enough to seek solace in the unnatural, and what might be waiting for us at the Crossroads at Midnight.

KIRKUS, Starred Review

"The art is stunning, with various shapes and shading used intentionally to amp up the drama. . . . Unsettling in the best way."

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, Starred Review

"Howard’s black-and-white art style, brilliantly lit and textured with hatching, creates chilling atmospheres. . . . Wonderfully terrifying."

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, Best Graphic Novels 2021

"Howard holds readers spellbound with this collection of horror comics."

GEEK MOM

"Strong Neil Gaiman vibes. All five of the tales included here were the type that gets under your skin."

Fangoria

"Abby Howard's stories are told with sharp wit and a pacing that places them in the tradition of M.R. James and Shirley Jackson."

io9

"Striking drawings and suspenseful storytelling."

NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY, 2021 Best Books for Teens

"Desolate fields, missing sisters, ghosts, and swamp creatures? Is this book haunted?"

CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, Best Teen Graphic Novels and Manga of 2021"The black and white illustrations are beautifully drawn and portray inclusive and diverse settings for each story, while also harnessing the horror and the emotion they invoke."

"Read these five terrifying stories only if you’re brave enough to venture in an empty field by yourself, face a creepy kid who tries to lure you into the ocean, and defend yourself against zombie neighbors."

CEMETERY DANCE

"A powerful collection of comic book horror stories."

NO FLYING, NO TIGHTS

"All these tales together offer a glimpse into the unsettling horror that can be awaiting each and everyone of us."

HORROR DNA

"There is not a bad tale in this book. They're all terrifying and will shake you to your core."

CINNAMON MAGAZINE"Through the darkness of its shadows, Howard’s work shines an unflinching light on the anxieties of growing up and growing older in the company of monsters."

"Like any horror auteur worth their salt, Howard doesn’t just portray the terrors that can happen to our bodies. She excises the fears of our minds, too."

MULTIVERSITY (THE LAST HALLOWEEN)

“An enjoyable read and a fitting one for this spooky month of October.”

COMICS ALLIANCE (THE LAST HALLOWEEN)

“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.”

A.V. CLUB (THE LAST HALLOWEEN)

“[Like] Sendak did, [Howard] trusts children perhaps more than most adults to understand that fear is not inherently a bad thing.”

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Starred Review (DINOSAUR EMPIRE!)

“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.”

BOOKLIST (OCEAN RENEGADES!)

“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.”

WOMEN WRITE ABOUT COMICS (JUNIOR SCIENTIST POWER HOUR)

“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.”

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 The Crossroads at Midnight (both from Iron Circus Comics), and the Earth Before Us series from Amulet, a three-book educational series about ancient beasts.

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