The residents of a quiet Japanese neighborhood have slowly come to realize that inauspicious, paranormal forces are at play in the most unlikely of places: the local playground. Two friends, a young boy and girl, resolve to exorcise the evil that inhabit it, including a snaggle-toothed monster. In Animus , a beautiful but spooky young adult graphic novel of everyday hauntings, Antoine Revoy delivers an eerie tale inspired by the Japanese and French comics of his childhood. "Revoy’s otherworldly adventure moves quickly, but his succinct storytelling keeps readers on track with essential details. Both the contemporary and historical elements of the story’s setting come to life in the manga-style art." ― Publishers Weekly "The narrative and illustrations work together seamlessly to create mysteries that are baffling yet intriguing. An eerie graphic novel mystery that is bewildering and unnerving in the best way possible."― Kirkus "The child protagonists are captivating, and they will entice young readers eager to unravel the mysteries of the playground’s supernatural tendencies."― Booklist “Antoine Revoy's ANIMUS evokes memories of Otomo's DOMU, with its beautiful drawings, keen sense of place, and air of mystery, filled with both menace and wonder. Depicting the small moments of Hisao and Sayuri's friendship, and the surreal and supernatural with equal adroitness, Revoy brings the reader along on a fantastical yet intimate journey filled with light and darkness.” ―Sonny Liew Eisner award-winning author of The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye “At once a haunting love letter to Japanese comics and a deliciously creepy mystery, ANIMUS is a stunning debut novel.” ―LeUyen Pham Award-winning illustrator of Real Friends , The Princess in Black “Full of haunting turns and lingering images, ANIMUS plumbs the terrors of unfinished business, big and small.” ―Scott Westerfeld New York Times-best selling author of Spill Zone “Unsettling, weird and beautiful as only fairy tales can be.” ―Alex Puvilland New York Times-best selling artist of Spill Zone Antoine Revoy is an award-winning French writer, artist and designer, raised in Tokyo, Japan and Mexico City, Mexico. Revoy has created illustrations for clients such as The New York Times , Der Spiegel and Harvard University, and is the creator of graphic novels ANIMUS (2018) and The Harrowing Game (2025), published by First Second Books. He teaches visual storytelling and comics-making courses at the Rhode Island School of Design and is a thesis mentor at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Revoy lives in Providence, RI, with his wife, author-illustrator Kelly Murphy, and their many animal companions.