FBI Agent Cara Cole goes undercover at a university to infiltrate an alleged Internet-based cult called Hot Dog Party, which is led by a teenage influencer who had his fifteen minutes of fame as a meme.
I enjoy bizarre horror, I have always liked a good story about cults, and the phenomenon of parasocial relationships is a subject I’ve been hearing more about lately. I also really do not like the taste of hots dogs. As such, this graphic novel sounded right up my alley.
Alas, this was not to be. Though I enjoyed the muddy, comic noir art style, nothing else really worked for me. While there was a lot of potential in the premise – a FBI agent who was once a cult member herself investigating a strange new cult that may have gotten catastrophically out of the control of the cult leader – the execution left a lot to be desired.
The plot was seriously underbaked and the story escalated way too fast, to the point that I found myself having trouble understanding what was going on. I could not get interested in any of the characters, because none of them ever really came alive, and whatever flashes of interesting backstory that was hinted at were never explored. I felt like I was more reading a basic storyboard than a completed graphic novel.
Do not recommend.
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
