The Girl in the Bay

The Girl in the Bay #1-4

by J.M. DeMatteis

Brooklyn, 1969. 17-Year-Old Kathy Sartori is attacked and thrown into Sheepshead Bay. Brooklyn, 2019. She crawls ashore.Kathy discovers an eerie doppelganger has been living out her life. Soon Kathy will confront not only this strange double but the madman who "murdered" her five decades earlier. Will Kathy find the key to her missing years or become a ghost of herself destined to live out her life on the edge of the world she desperately wants to be part of? From Brooklyn natives J.M. DeMatteis (Eisner Award winning author of Spiderman and Justice League) and Karen Berger (The mind behind Vertigo Comics) with rising star artist Corin Howell (Transformers, Ghostbusters) comes a dark paranormal story full of crime, mystery, and time-jumping. This comics series collected for the first time is sure to leave readers guessing until the very end. Join the mystery and find out who is The Girl In The Bay?"With haunting artistry and a narrative which keeps the reader guessing, this book is worth becoming emotionally invested if not to learn what is truly behind Kathy's new path in life but to also learn what happened to her troubled past." - The Fandom Post"Murder, time travel, doppelgangers, it's all here folks!" -- Rogues Portal"The mystery is genuinely enthralling, the character is relatable, and the pacing is spot on. Mystery fans will find a lot to chew on in this debut that shouldn't be missed." -- Sequential Planet

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Mystery, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Graphic Novels Manga

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2019

About the author

Also Credited As:
DeMatteis, John Marc
Ellis, Michael
Lombego, Wally

Bio:
J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician/singer and rock music journalist before entering comics in the late 70's.

Credits include Spider-Man, Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Justice League, Abadazad, Hero Squared, the Life and Times of Savior 28.

Created I, Vampire , Creature Commandos, Moonshadow, Hero Squared (co-creator), Abadazad, Stardust Kid, Savior 28 and more.

Reviews

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Throughout his extensive career in comic books, writer J. M. DeMatteis has made a name for himself in both Marvel and DC, from his iconic storyline “Kraven’s Last Hunt” in his Amazing Spider-Man run, to co-creating Justice League International with Keith Giffen. While he’s tackled many existing superhero properties in comics and television, he hasn’t done as much creator-owned work, although he helped launch DC’s mature-audience Vertigo imprint. Reunited with Vertigo founder Karen Berger, who now oversees Berger Books – an imprint of creator-owned comics being published by Dark Horse – DeMatteis returns with a new original miniseries that explores the harshness of both reality and fantasy.

Please click here for my full review.

[Cisz Geverink - Strasters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh... niet slecht, maar ook zeker niet wat ik er van verwachtte. Wel mooie graphics!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a weird sort of murder mystery but kinda scifi. Worth reading if you enjoy mysteries.

[Guylou (Two Dogs and a Book) · Rating 3 out of 5]

📚 Hello Book Friends! Look at this book cover!!! It is gorgeous and the illustrations are beautiful and vivid. I just finished THE GIRL IN THE BAY by J.M. DeMatteis and Corin Howell. This graphic novel is weird and spooky. I love the creepiness of the plot. The GN can be read as a standalone, but it has an open ending. I checked Goodreads and do not see more books coming in this series. I will keep checking.

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[Jakub Kvíz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my cup of tea. The premise was interesting but I kinda couldn't give a damn about the main character. Plot holes covered with lazy workarounds and the "childish" art haven't really matched the story.

2,5 * because 2* would be too harsh.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oooh... Weird and spooky. I liked it!

[Oneirosophos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Adequate art, incredibly messy story...

[Emma Gear · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Girl in the Bay started off so, so promising. The premise grabs you instantly and makes you want to find out what's going on. In the 60's a young girl is attending a party out on a bay. She meets a cute guy there, they hit it off, and they head out to the water's edge under the pale moonlight. Then he pulls out a knife, stabs her a half-dozen times, and tosses her into the water.

She survives. Climbs out without any cuts on her, but quickly realizes that something is wrong. It turns out that fifty years have passed since she fell into the water. And, making matters worse, she also comes to discover that she kind of sort of didn't die. A version of her has been living her life these past 50 years as if nothing had ever happened that night.

And that setup is cool as hell. I love it, it's amazing, and easily one of the best premises I've ever read. The problem comes in the form of how these mysteries are solved. Naturally it delves into some supernatural elements, y ou get some rules involving ghosts, how they work, that sort of thing. It's all very cool but things just take too long to get moving and yet the finale seems somehow rushed. The main thing this book does well is tension, as the danger Kathy's doppleganger and her family is constantly put in did enough to keep me on edge throughout, but it was pretty weak otherwise.

Not... great. I won't spoil it here, but I will say that it's just an ultimately very unsatisfying ending given how incredibly promising the start was.

[Meghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I was expecting at all. I'm not sure if that's good or bad?

[Matt Graupman · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the world in this weird kind of limbo because of the coronavirus lockdown, now is the perfect time to enjoy some escapist fiction. “The Girl In The Bay” had been sitting on my comics shelf for a few weeks and it seemed appropriate to me to read it this weekend. J.M. DeMatteis’ metaphysical whodunit may be a little too on-the-nose for some anxious quarantined readers but I thought it was actually kind of comforting, in addition to being a thrilling and crisply drawn mystery. As with most things, I guess it’s all about your perspective.

The titular girl in the bay is Kathy Sartori, a rebellious teenage flower child whose chance encounter with a stranger in a seedy bar results in her being brutally murdered and dumped in Brooklyn’s Sheepshead Bay. Except, somehow, she didn’t actually die. Sort of? Instead, when she drags herself out of the water, she finds herself flung fifty years into the future where she discovers a second, older version of herself who has built a life of domestic bliss, a life that becomes threatened by the very evil that Kathy ran afoul of back in 1969. Is it madness? Magic? Something else? “The Girl In The Bay” delves deeply into that mystery, powered by DeMatteis’ brisk writing and artist Corin Howell’s clean-as-hell Becky Cloonan-ish drawing. At just four chapters, the graphic novel is pretty lean and mean, telling a tightly wound story with not a lot of fat, and then getting out in a hurry. There are a few brief meditative moments, spreads where Howell can really let her pen go wild, but for the most part this comic is all about economy of storytelling. Sure, it’s a little bit melodramatic but, in these panicked times, it feels far more restrained than reality.

Exciting, peculiar, lush (with a big assist from James Devlin’s moody coloring), sometimes grotesque, and a little silly, “The Girl In The Bay” is the right kind of fantasy for a lazy, stuck-in-the-house weekend. It’s nice to forget about life for a little while and you can’t go wrong with a well-crafted graphic novel about a twice-murdered heroine. Stay safe, everyone.

[Erica Pehrson · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Girl in the Bay reminded me of something Neil Gaiman might write, but without the fantastical execution that makes me love him so much (fantastical, not fantastic hehe). The script was good, and the art was as well. It reminded me of traditional Marvel comic books rather than more artsy graphic novels like I'm used to. I liked the main character, Kathy. I HATED how she treated her ghost boyfriend, but I get it- was he even real? She had just met him and owed him nothing.... But still, I am taught to be kind to strangers hahaha.

My main problem with the book was that it made NO sense to me and had too many parts that didn't seem to explain themselves at all. If the big slimy thing was the murderer's insanity manifesting, then who is The Green Lady? Are these some sort of deities possessing these mortals? Neil Gaiman would have explained it by making them rival fae or deities that are looking to meddle in human affairs or something like that, but this one just didn't explain ANY lore behind what the heck these two vastly different entities are doing in the story. I would've even been fine if it had been one OR the other, with no explanation. But BOTH? IDK.

[Joe Kucharski · Rating 3 out of 5]

JM DeMatteis knows how to write a story. And he can seamlessly weave tales across and between genres, too. Even what can be deemed as a simple story still has its charm.

The Girl in the Bay is one of DeMatteis' more simple stories. Part murder mystery, part ghost story, DeMatteis tells the tale of a dead girl, Kathy Sartori, who suddenly finds herself alive. He spreads the mystery between the physical and metaphysical - but ultimately the crux of it all comes in too late with too shallow an explanation. A story with murder, monsters, and Hindu deities deserved to be a little more bonkers. The Girl in the Bay is a little too tame.

The story is still entertaining. Corin Howell's artwork jumps between an indie comic art style and full on illustration, which works well here.

Truly, the compilation is charming; it just needed room to swim.

[Simen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A creepy, emotional mystery with a killer hook: what if you were murdered in 1969, then woke up in the present to find someone else lived your life? It’s a short four-issue run, but it packs in haunting art, time-bending weirdness, and a surprisingly heartfelt story about trauma and identity. If you like supernatural thrillers with a personal edge, this one’s a hidden gem.

[Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Mr. DeMatteis work. Moonshadow, Brooklyn Dreams, Seekers Into they Mystery, Mercy...loved that stuff. This story was okay, but really didn't do a whole lot for me, personally. But, not every story touches everyone the same way. This one didn't reach me where I think it wanted to go.

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

Beautiful artwork and a unique and intriguing standalone story. It started off stronger than it finished, which was a bit disappointing. Nevertheless, this was a great way to start off my reading for 2021 😊

[Valerie Romack · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is pretty decent and the story is an intriguing concept but it's not my jam. It was pretty psychedelic with stuff about manifesting realities and weird spiritual beings, so it'd be epic to read with a fancy gummy in your system. But it was just not for me.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A metaphysical mystery tour.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very nicely produced, original story with a strong female protagonist. Well worth a read.

[Erica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Trippy. I kept expecting a logical resolution, but none came. Interesting and compelling, but also very weird.

[The_J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok we get to see the 60s. A life lived. Where is the atttachment? Conflict without caring leaves Jack a dull boy. You will not feel bad after finishing it, but maybe we should.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2 stars

My review of this book can be found on my Youtube Vlog at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gnHz...

Enjoy!

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A enjoyable read. Just enough depth to keep you interested.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice story about death and a kind of reincarnation, with a murder mystery and cool take on the nature of reality.

[Chantale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting concept, refreshing supernatural thriller.

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art, interesting though odd story

[Anya · Rating 1 out of 5]

0 stars

[Aaron Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great 4 part miniseries with twists and turns. It was a read I didn't expect to read but a great series I found on sale, and I'm glad I bought it.

[Aquila · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent art but the story left a lot to be desired.

[Crazy Jedi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5