Graphic Novel Review: School Bus Graveyard Vol. 2

I got the chance to review volume two of School Bus Graveyard from publisher Ink Pop, and after my experience with the first book, I was very excited when I got the offer. Let me tell you, volume two really gets you excited.

After the worst field trip ever, Ashlyn and her friends now spend nights fighting to escape an alternate world where they’re hunted by murderous monsters. It’s been a desparate fight, but they’ve managed to stay alive. Just barely. But how much longer can they keep this up? Until something goes horribly wrong? Ashlyn and the others need to unravel the mystery of the curse fast, but that may not be as easy as they hope. Because there’s more to what’s happening to them than a simple haunting…

The Realization

When we return to the cast, we find them still dealing with their own problems. Namely, with the Phantoms showing up in their own dimension when they go to sleep at midnight. You get stressed out while reading. But this volume shows the changes that actually affect them in real life. At first, as readers, and even the characters themselves, we thought that it was only in that dimension when they're sleeping that they see the phantoms, but the phantoms slowly affect them in real life too. One scene I would like to highlight is when one of the characters, Logan, saw the people that bullied him in the past doing the same thing to a different kid.

Logan wanted to change, and he got so angry when Barron, the bully, tried to stop him from helping the new kid to the point that it felt like he was possessed, with all those emotions going wild. He is usually a shy guy, but in that moment he starts yelling and beating them because he had been holding all of these feelings in. But what really brought it to a head was when the Phantom possessed him, and that was a moment that showed how all this has started connecting to their real lives outside of the alternate dimension. And it's starting to change the other characters gradually as well.

The Connections

Now, not only is this affecting the kids, but this volume shows us that the parents are getting impacted as well. They start to see the same things, but they don't really talk about it until an incident happens where Tyler is impaled on a tree and on the brink of death in the alternate dimension. So the parents and the kids have to work together to fully understand the situation and what they can do to support them.

And this, of course, isn't easy. Ashlyn is afraid to tell her father because the cast are at that age where adults often think the worst, such as that you're taking drugs. Thankfully, her father is supportive, not least because he's starting to see the Phantoms as well.

Throughout the book, you see the family come together as they all can see the Phantoms. They know the kids can't stand alone, and the parents realize they have to support them. School Bus Graveyard conveys the message that no matter what, you should trust in your kids because you'll never know if they're really in deep trouble otherwise. When you're young, you can sometimes feel like your family don't believe you. And of course, that's not always the case, but it's important to have stories that show such supportive relationships all the same.

Closing Thoughts

As the story continued, things were slowly getting better for our cast, and it seemed like the group was finally finding their footing. But towards the end of the volume, things take an extreme turn that leaves me scared and excited to read on with Volume 3 when it releases in June 2027.

Overall, the three main things I took away from this second book are that the pacing was amazing, the importance of the family getting together and starting to understand each other, and then finally the relationship growth. And that was a lot to take in, but that's why I enjoyed the volume so much. And more than the first book! Even though everyone is going through so much trauma in the series, as a reader I can see how much is changing for the better.

School Bus Graveyard Volume 2 is now available to purchase in both paperback and hardback editions by Ink Pop. The original Webtoon is available to read on WEBTOON.

 © 2026 by Red
Anime Atelier received a copy of the book to review.