In the grand tradition of Go the Fuck to Sleep, allow me to introduce you to another book that appears to be for children but is, in fact, most certainly not: The Legend of Halloween.

When I was offered the opportunity to take an advanced look at a “graphic novel retelling” of the 1978 classic Halloween, this book is not what I was expecting. At all.

It is so, so much more amazing.

Here is why:

1. Technically, yes, it is a graphic novel in that it has both words and pictures. It is not, however, what one traditionally refers to as a comic because it does not have panels. It has full page drawings, which means it is, in fact, a picture book.
2. The drawings are adorable. They are characters from a children’s book in Halloween situations. I don’t want to say any more than that because I don’t want to ruin the experience for you. Just… trust me that these are two great tastes that don’t sound like they’d go great together but are, in fact, utter perfection. Better that chocolate and peanut better. I laughed so hard I was crying.
3. It rhymes. Anne stripping down in the laundry room? Stabby knitting needles? Horny teenagers? It. All. Rhymes. It should be cringe, but it is not. It is masterful. It is fantastic. It is hilarious. I wish the book were longer so I had more pages to enjoy.
4. They threw in a Samhain reference which… listen, if you, like us, have a soft spot in your heart for Halloween III: Season of the Witch, you know why that’s hilarious. Hilarious with extra lasers and cyborg grandmas.
5. It pokes fun at its own genre conventions. I appreciate authors who do this, even when they’re aware that their work helped establish those conventions. Having seen it done here, I can assure you the flex is even more humorous when it rhymes.

There isn’t much more to say other than The Legend of Halloween by David Gordon Green and Onur Tukel (based on John Carpenter and Debra Hill’s original screenplay) makes an absolutely perfect gift for any horror aficionados on your holiday list. Click the link for preorder information.