Graphic Novel Review: School Bus Graveyard Vol. 1

#review #graphic-novel #webtoon June 17, 2026

by Andrea Tran

School Bus Graveyard, Volume 1 by Red is a webtoon that brings a fresh and unsettling twist to the thriller genre. I got to review the beautiful print edition that's being released by Ink Pop.

Ashlyn has always been a loner, and she likes it that way. However, she’s forced to make allies fast when after a high school field trip goes horribly wrong. She and a few others now see a monstrous phantom invisible to everyone else. Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be able to hurt them. Until midnight that is, when the skies turn red, and Ashlyn finds herself in a world of murderous ghosts. To survive, she’ll need to trust her classmates and uncover the secret of the curse, but can she survive long enough to do it?

First Impressions

Ashlyn and five of her classmates are trapped in a nightmare world where phantom monsters hunt them each night. Stuck between two realities and forced to trust strangers, they have to learn to work together to survive. In this review, I’ll talk about the story’s character dynamics and the small but powerful worldbuilding details.

I usually read romance, as you might know from my past reviews, but when I got an email about reviewing School Bus Graveyard, Volume 1 by Red, it immediately caught my attention. It's not often you see a female main character in thriller and action stories. The series shows perspectives from various members of the group but mostly focuses on Ashlyn. When I saw the email, I thought, 'This is interesting,' since it's not something I come across often. The art is exciting and really matches the thriller vibe of the webtoon. I decided to give it a try, and I'm glad I did. I hope fans get to see the physical print release for themselves because it's very cool. I love the cover and how the hidden text shines when light hits the dust jacket.

Story Impressions

I thought the first volume was a lot of fun. You get to see the backstory and how the group comes together. Each of the six characters are different in their own way. I especially like Ashlyn's parents because they're supportive and similar to her. For example, her mom is pretty antisocial and understands what it's like to feel lonely and not want to put yourself out there, but both parents still encourage Ashlyn to be social and make friends. They're also really cool since they're retired military veterans. They teach the kids self-defense, which I love, and they're always willing to help Ashlyn and her friends. They make sure to get permission from each child's guardian before teaching them self-defense, which shows they care about doing things the right way. I really respect parents like that. Even though the story is fictional, it does a good job of realistically portraying the importance of getting permission.

I found the concept of the story really interesting because all the monsters appear in their shared alternate-universe dream world. The monsters that they fight and try to survive from are called Phantoms. They are pretty scary-looking, and I even get a bit scared myself despite knowing it's just fiction. The story does a really good job of showing the details of the fear of the characters, so I know exactly how I'd feel in their shoes. I love how detailed it is in the story.

The characters basically live in two different worlds, even though both are based on where they're from. One detail I liked was that when Ashlyn cut her hair in the dream, you could see the shadow of her new haircut in the real world. These small details and the little things we get to notice left a lasting impression on me!

There was a lot of fighting and uncomfortable situations among the characters at the beginning, but by the end of the volume, you see them start to understand each other, especially in the last two episodes. It develops pretty well in terms of both how they view each other and how they view themselves. I like how that turned out. Usually, when there is a team of people that have different personalities, they will keep fighting for a very long time in these types of stories recently, but here it didn't take long for them to accept each other and realize that they are not alone. A lot of times, stories like to drag out this type of situation where they're like, 'No, I should do this. No, I should do that' situation.

This story really emphasizes trust and character development surrounding finding yourself. Because when you are in a tough situation, you might not know much about yourself before, and that's the beauty of it. It sucks that you have to go through a certain situation to know more about yourself and how you could push through it. The story effectively presents that perspective, since Ashlyn is known as a loner who is always stuck in her own bubble. She only comes to understand herself more because of the pressure that the story puts her under. The one big thing that helps someone to get out of their bubble is pressure.

The story is such an interesting one about teenagers who endure exhausting and traumatic events. They all have different types of problems, and this is just another layer that adds to their life, causing a lot of pain for these teenagers. The story shows the cast going through a great deal of realization about themselves.

In closing

If you’re like me and usually read romance but want something new, this story is gripping and surprisingly heartfelt. I still enjoy a good love story, but a female-led action thriller that explores trust, trauma, and survival is tough to resist.

School Bus Graveyard Volume 1 will be available to purchase on June 30. It is being released in a paperback and hardback edition by Ink Pop and has a second volume scheduled for release in September. The original Webtoon is available to read on WEBTOON.