Tri Vuong’s The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn is an ongoing graphic novel that is sure to appeal to a wide range of fans: regulars of lovecraft will see a wyrd, eldritch world of unknown horrors to explore, whereas readers normally repelled by this sort of science-fantasy horror will be eased by the life and wit in each character, as well as the original situations and mysteries of the series.

Vuong’s lead, the titular “Oscar Zahn,” is a paranormal investigator, reduced to a floating skull on one of his adventures, each of which is exciting and unique, whether it spans just a few pages, or an entire book. Zahn may remind some readers of such pop culture classics as Doctor Who or the above mentioned Lovecraft mythos, or even Neil Gaiman’s Sandman.

The Strange Tales also picks up some delightful elements of both the victorian era and the modern day, resulting in a pseudo-steampunk atmosphere. Much of the outfitting and settings are very Victorian: wide dresses, suits with bowler hats, and old diving suits dominate the wardrobes of the cast, and several stores take place in such locations as old mansions, and ancient lighthouses. Oscar’s various ghost-hunting devices are victorian in motif, but people drive cars and use computers.  This effect is only added to when it is revealed that Zahn is immortal and has in fact been around since the Victorian era, validating the impression readers get early on. The stories themselves, like the Last Soldier of Somme, where Oscar helps the ghost of a WWI soldier defeat a nightmare entity that feeds on the pain of soldiers, are quite modern.

Tri Vuong tackles real things in the book, or as real as you can get with a skull as a protagonist. War, guilt, and emotion are all explored in The Strange Tales’ first two major storylines, The Last Soldier of Somme and Stardust and Soliloquies. In The Last Soldier of Somme Oscar Zahn investigates a group of spirits trapped in a church in Somme, and ends up assisting the last soldier to die on the first day of the battle to overcome the fear and hurt that hold him and the other soldiers in his platoon back. The second story, Stardust and Soliloquies, features Oscar going on a sailing trip to help a friend with his feelings of guilt over abandoning a sinking cruise liner. Along the way, Oscar runs into an acquaintance from when he was human, and has to reach catharsis with them. Both of these arcs feel very genuine, and have something to say about life, despite the fact that most of the characters are deceased.

Each storyline lasts long enough that you have time to get to know each member of the rotating cast and care for them, since each of these characters serves as a co-protagonist to Oscar, rather than his supporting cast, and are treated like main characters, with motivations and back stories that are appropriate for this role, thus avoiding the pitfall of failing to relate to the one-time-use characters that some other story anthology books have. Oscar simply facilitates the events of the story, and serves as a narrator, though Oscar himself is also a wonderful character. He’s a very compassionate character, who seeks out spirits to help them with their problems, but he’s also a bit of a dork; he does things like making his name an acronym for his inventions, seemingly without noticing, or wandering through no man’s land at Somme, without realizing it might be a problem.

Vuong’s art is beautiful too, full of shadows and gothic shapes, both simplistic and very engaging, and really a perfect fit for the lighthearted eldritch horror of the series. It’s obviously digitally drawn, but it’s still a pleasure to look at, and looks like a mix between a sketch and a painting. While not jaw-dropping most of the time, it certainly isn’t generic and works well to suspend the readers disbelief.

The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn is literary brilliance, as well as artistically intriguing, and on occasion thought provoking. If you have enjoyed the Sandman, or perhaps Amulet, then I recommend The Strange Tales of Oscar Zahn, especially since it’s available for free on both oscarzahn.com, and Line Webtoon. The third multichapter arc in the series, The Ghost of Witch Lake, is currently being released one installment at a time, each Wednesday, making now a great time to jump into the ongoing story.