Trumpets of Death coming August 5th, 2025 from Lerner Publishing Group; 232 pages
Content Warning: Animal death/harm
About the Author & Illustrator: “Simon Bournel-Bosson is a graphic designer and comic artist based in France. After earning a higher diploma in Applied Arts at La Martinière in Lyon, began working in graphic design and art. Together with Maxime Gueugneau, he co-wrote two illustrated reports, En Diagonale in 2017 and Azur in 2021, for Kiblind editions. The Trumpets of Death is his first comic book” (Bio from publisher’s website).
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One rainy night, Antoine is driven deep into the countryside—into something darker than just bad weather. His father explains he must leave Antoine with grandparents, who the boy barely knows, so he can search for Antoine’s missing mother. At their remote house in the woods, his grandmother is obsessively fixated on mushrooms, specifically the ominously named trumpets of death. His grandfather, meanwhile, is ever present and barely speaks—and when he does, it’s with anger. Isolated and uneasy in the presence of people he doesn’t know, Antoine tries to pass the time until his father’s return. But when he follows his grandfather into the forest on a mushroom hunt, everything changes. Left behind alone, Antoine picks a mushroom—and something happens. Something strange, maybe even supernatural. As night falls and the woods twist into something unrecognizable, Antoine finds himself looking to escape and confront a secret far older and more dangerous than he ever imagined.
There’s a lot I want to unpack about this graphic novel, but I have to start with the illustrations. The artwork is breathtaking—rich in both detail and atmosphere—and the dark, moody color palette perfectly reinforces the ominous, unsettling tone established from the very first page. The art stole the show for me, and in fact, a majority of the story is told through the illustrations rather than the written text, which I actually preferred. It added to the mystery and tone in such a perfect way. What really shone through was Bournel-Bosson’s use of color theory to shape the story. As the plot unfolds, each scene has its own unique color palette—subtle, often nearly monochrome, but always purposeful in its dark blues and navies or vibrant oranges and yellows. This approach adds an incredible amount of depth to Antoine’s world, and is a stunning manifestation of his loneliness and restlessness while also marking the slow pass of time in a place that feels both suspended in reality and threatening. However, the story itself left a bit more to be desired. Despite its compelling plot and some standout characters, I found myself with more questions than answers by the time the story ended. It almost felt like a setup for a follow-up installment—though that might simply reflect a cultural difference. Originally published in French, the story maintains its ominous, open-to-interpretation tone right through to the final page, leaning more into atmosphere than resolution.
Trumpets of Death releases on August 5th, 2025.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Vanshikha Vij, Pine Reads Review Writer