Orla! - by John Lees (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

ORLA! is a romcom/creature feature mash-up about a lonely woman struggling to navigate the Seattle singles scene while sometimes turning into a man-eating monster.

Orla Bard is an antique restorer, romance novel enjoyer and keen birder who has a secret. She is afflicted with The Ick, a monstrous entity dwelling inside her, who violently emerges whenever Orla feels too stressed, angry or afraid. She is unable to rid herself of this curse, and The Ick needs to feed, and so Orla has decided to use her powers to help other women by removing the worst men from the dating pool. But when she finally meets a guy she actually likes, and finally has a chance at a love story of her own, will she be able to keep her inner monster under control?

Review Quotes

"Even if you've been lucky in love, I think we all feel the frustration of navigating the emotional storm that we attempt to temper daily. Whether it's self-image issue or loneliness, the world can feel like A LOT. Orla! feels like a perfect distillation of that frustration and is all the more engaging for it."--Jed W. Keith "Freak Sugar"

About the Author

John Lees is an award-winning writer from Glasgow, Scotland. He is best known for his work on hard-boiled Glasgow crime saga SINK, drawn by Alex Cormack, horror anthology HOTELL, featuring artist Dalibor Talajic, and THE NASTY, a coming-of-age horror comedy set in 1990s Scotland against the backdrop of the video nasties moral panic, working with artist Adam Cahoon. John's other credits include AND THEN EMILY WAS GONE, THE STANDARD, OXYMORON: THE LOVELIEST NIGHTMARE, MOUNTAINHEAD, and a story for TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES UNIVERSE. In addition to ORLA!, with artist Sally Cantirino, his recent projects include GRAWLGORE & SHANKS, a detective mystery procedural set in a high fantasy world of dwarves and orcs, with artist Joe Mulvey, and THE CRIMSON CAGE, a retelling of William Shakespeare's MACBETH set against the backdrop of 1980s territory pro wrestling, with artist Alex Cormack. (SINK, HOTELL, THE NASTY)

Sally Cantirino is a comic artist and illustrator from New Jersey, specializing in horror. She has been self-publishing zines and comics since she was a teenager. Her previous comic work has been published by Comixology, Iron Circus, AWBW, Vault, Z2, Ahoy, Boom, and Mad Cave. She has contributed character and monster designs to several tabletop role playing games, as well as illustrations.

Dearbhla Kelly is a freelance comic colorist, designer and illustrator. As well as editorial illustration for The Irish Times and Irish Independent, her work includes interior color for comics such as I Walk With Monsters (Vault), Gatsby (AWA), Sort of Super (Simon & Schuster), Pantomime (Mad Cave Studios), Human Remains (Vault) and 007 (Dynamite). She has also written short comics for Red Sonja, Vampirella and The Irish Times. Their recent work includes colour for Unnatural Order (Vault), which has made waves in the comics world as one of the best-selling new independent comics of 2023. Dearbhla is also a committee member for DCAF - the Dublin Comics Arts Festival - which runs quarterly in Richmond Barracks, showcasing the best of Irish indie comics talent.