| Title | : | Harrow County, Vol. 1: Countless Haints |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 161655780X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781616557805 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 144 |
| Publication | : | First published December 15, 2015 |
| Awards | : | Bram Stoker Award Graphic Novel (2015), Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Best New Series (2016) |
A southern gothic fairy tale from the creator of smash hit The Sixth Gun, beautifully and hauntingly realized by B.P.R.D.'s Tyler Crook!
Collecting: Harrow County 1-4
Harrow County, Vol. 1: Countless Haints Reviews
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Cullen Bunn's Harrow County is actually more like what I wanted, but quite didn't get, from Scott Snyder's
Wytches.
You Caint Never Kill Them Spooky Devil Women!
You've got a girl on the cusp of womanhood who may be in danger, townspeople harboring a secret past, and a mystery that gets more frightening the closer it gets to being solved.
Stir it all up, and you've got a quite a scary mystery!
Alright, when I first got this one, I stuffed it on the bottom of my reading pile.
Why?
Well, initially I had the same problem with this cover as I did with
Colder. I mean, this one is nowhere near as disgusting, but it was still very misleading. <--to me
You see that boneless, bloody arm hanging out of a drawer, and what looks like the skin of a face inside it, right? And just like with Colder, my mind goes right to a serial killer who skins his victims and maybe keeps the remnants in a box as a trophy.
I do not (personally) see a box full of skin and think: WITCHES!
But this is about a witch. And, apparently, that pile of dermis is called a Haint.
Yeah, I don't really know what that is, either.
Best guess? It's just the old-timey southern way to pronounce Haunt.
*spits tobacco*
But it runs around helping Emmy, so it can't be all bad, right?
Eventually, they become friends, and she carries it around in her bag.
I know you think I'm kidding, but I'm not...
Anyway. Emmy is about to turn 18, and there's all this foreshadow-y stuff about what might happen when she does.
OMG! What's gonna happen to Emmy?!
But seriously, it's a good story. If you like this kind of thing, read it.
The only thing I was kind of iffy about was the art. I'm not sold on those round faces. Also, it looked like everyone had a perpetual cold, what with all the red noses and cheeks.
Plus, Emmy looks like she's maybe 10 years old. I guess it could have been done on purpose to make her seem even more sympathetic, but...eh. I couldn't quite take her as seriously as I wanted to because (at times) she looked like a clunky, backward child.
Still, iffy art wasn't enough to dampen my enjoyment of this one. I thought it was great, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens in the next volume!
This was another fantastic comic that came out my Halloween goodie basket. Thanks again to my Scary Santa for the gifts!
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The townspeople get together and decide to take out a witch. She has been healing animals and people and cavorting with some boogers in the woods. Can't have that- so up she goes.
That might not be enough though..so they burn her too.
She gets all pissy about all that and promises to come back to make them all paaaaaaaaaaayyyy.
Eighteen years later. Young Emmy is about to turn eighteen, but her papa isn't too worried. Even though she heals that calf that should have died.
That lasts about a minute until he joins back up with the town-folk.
Emmy must run to save herself. She finds a little skin suit boy that might just help her out.
This book should be a hit on Goodreads because there sure is a lot of people who seem to be hunting people out to make skin suits out of.
Booksource: I was gifted a copy of this book from one of the world's bestest book fairies. I don't release her name because I'm afraid that everyone will run and end up sucking all the fairy dust off her.
I'm highlighting my friend
Susan's review because I'm with her on this one. Just kinda middle of the road but looks like there could be so much more to this little story. -
Welcome to the Witchcraze!
Seriously, where do all those comic-book witches come from all of a sudden? Brubaker’s Fatale, Kirkman’s Outcast, Snyder’s Wytches, now Bunn’s Harrow County - is it just that the market demands more horror and can no longer absorb zombies, vampires, and werewolves? Or is there more to the seemingly outdated notion of demonic possession than meets the eye? Is there something about the subgenre that increasingly resonates with us these days?
Come to think of it, I guess the henchmen of the capitalist juggernaut - non-autonomous and alienated people like you and me - should be able to find some kind of relevance in stories about evil forces taking control of people for destructive purposes.
The overall quality of all those demonic-possession comics has been surprisingly good so far: maybe the subgenre naturally lends itself to a more traditional, restrained, thoughtful approach than, say, the zombie or the slasher subgenres? In any case, Harrow County: Countless Haints by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook is a refreshingly unhip, well-conceived, sincere, patient, subtle, character-driven southern gothic fairy tale, one that can be truly creepy and disturbing in its low-key approach.
Harrow County works so well in no small part because Crook’s fully painted artwork beautifully captures both the rural, more traditional setting and even the most subtle of facial expressions, making us care deeply about this strange world and its protagonists. And to top it all off, Bunn and Crook even find a way to reduce to absurdity the sexist implications of the concept of the usually female so-called witch, arguably succeeding where Brubaker and Phillips' Fatale failed.
I highly recommend this graphic novel to fans of the more restrained and thoughtful, truly spooky kind of horror. It works well as a self-contained story, though the series will continue - and I can't wait! -
Reread 7/10/17 I'm still very much into this beautifully drawn horror comic series about Emmy, a teen who may be a reborn witch, with healing properties. Monsters, ghosts, and a strong attractive female lead, a very engaging cast of characters, great art, great story. Re-read.
Original 3/16/17 review:
I liked this a lot. Usually it takes me awhile to warm up to a series, those slow starts, but this has the engine revved right out of the gate. Described as a southern gothic fairy tale, Harrow County: Countless Haints, has "harrowing" all about it. The main character is young Emmy, a teenaged girl whom the town figures is a reborn witch. Hester Beck (yes, the name recalls Hester Prynne, the girl unjustly treated by a Victorian town in The Scarlet Letter), described as a "healing woman" is hung, shot, and burned to death, but vows to come back. Is Emmy Hester? She looks quite a bit like her. There's another woman just introduced named Kammi that also looks like those two, so it could get complicated. Is!
The story also involves a young boy haint who is basically just skin, whom Emmy finds in the woods and can fold up and take along in a satchel! Creepy/cool idea! And a minotaur. Monsters and ghosts in the woods. And what is it about scary stories in the woods? Is this why we are destroying all the forests, because of all the scary secrets in them? The trope of the woods harboring bad things. . . I'm in Chicago, where there are more murders per capita than most places. . . but okay, Emmy KNOWS the woods and is not afraid when she encounters ghosts arising out of graves. It's just part of the world for her and she is going to figure it out.
Emmy's Dad is interesting, and their relationship matters to us. The Skinless Boy will figure in as BFF, somehow. And Bernice and Riah, (black) neighbors and supporters, too. Cross-racial friend/warrior connections. So it's a collection of interesting characters, interestingly rendered, and the story is engaging.
The choice of watercolors by Tyler Crook makes it a bit unusual, lightens things up, but I liked it. It sharpens up some of his Jeff Lemire-ish (Sweet Tooth, Lemire County/Faith Hicks-ish (Demonology 101, The War at Ellesmere) sketchy art, and when I mention those two, it means I am attracted to the art a lot. Both do scary monsters and ghosts and have heart.
If you want deeper discussion of this comic right off the bat, see Sam Quixote's review and the discussion following it, which I only now, having written my review, just read. Let me just say I don't have a long history of reading southern gothic/horror, that I can recall, at least; it did feel like it was part of a tradition, it announces itself on the cover and publisher's description as part of a genre, so I expect the tropes are familiar. I don't know how original it is, but I'm pretty engaged in it. Solid 4 or even better, a good yarn with strong girl power. -
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
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I was already going to half-ass this review, but then I took a gander over at
Shelby’s and she flippin’ beat me to the punch on every dang thing I was going to say. Pretty much just read hers because we obviously share the same brain and it was her turn to use it when it came to writing up something about this story.
The basics are that back in the day some broad was thought to be a witch so the townsfolks did errrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrything in their power (meaning, beat the shit out of, lynched and burned because if you’re gonna kill a witch it better be with the trifecta of torture – no water boarding pansies allowed in Harrow County). Fastforward to the present and a new young girl who is about to turn 18. When the locals discover Emmy can turn cows that look born inside out back right again, they know they need to burn her ass up too. Even her ol’ Pa gets in the mix, the dirty sumbitch!
As Emmy tries to save herself, she comes across some pretty weird crap like deflated boys . . .
As well as this haint that’s on fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar . . .
Like most new graphic novels, this was more of a backstory provider than one that provided a lot of answers regarding the present. Unlike most graphic novels, I want to continue reading past this first volume so YOU GOGLENN COCOCULLEN BUNN!
Since I’m a real art expert, here’s where I tell you my opinion about the art. I didn’t really like the “people panels,” but the images of the setting were pretty . . .
And prettier . . .
So as it says in my placeholder reminding me that I need to not be such a twat and actually read this at some point since I didn’t even have to buy it, this was gifted to me by the best book fairy you’ll never get to meet. Like past selections, Harrow County originally went to Shelby and then to me. Who wants it next? Since it’s me and I’m an a-hole who supposedly likes to make up a bunch of “rules” everyone has to follow, here’s my requests: (1) Continental US only because I’m poor; (2) if I think you (or a friend of yours) might already want to wear me as a skinsuit you will promptly be passed up ‘cause I ain’t giving nooooooooooooooooooo crazies my address; and (3) If you choose to send this on to another person, please try to not select a dick. It kinda sucks the fun out of the whole thing.
ORIGINAL "REVIEW":
Have I mentioned lately how awesome my friends here are? Another package of pitcherbooks has arrived and this time it includes a scurrrrrrrrry one. Good thing I found some backup in case the poo hits the fan . . .
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A pretty solid start to a new witch tale. They do seem to be the new zombies in the comic book world. The citizens of Harrow County burn a witch at the stake but not before she utters a curse saying she will be back. Years later, Emmy is about to turn 18. People think she is the witch reincarnated and try to kill her. Turns out she is a witch but she just wants to live her life. From there, we have some twists and turns (one of which I thought was pretty creative.) Tyler Crook's art fits the moody dark story very well.
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The people of Harrow County burned the witch, Hester Beck, on the hanging tree. Before she died, she told them she’d come back.
Years later…
Emmy has turned 18 and isn’t sure what she’s going to do with her life. But strange things are happening around her pa’s farm with cattle mysteriously dying. That is, except for the one Emmy laid hands on. To her father’s horror, he realises the witch has returned in the form of his daughter!
Writer Cullen Bunn re-teams with his Sixth Gun fill-in artist Tyler Crook for a new horror series at Dark Horse, Harrow County, annnnnnd… it’s just ok. I’m actually a little surprised at the overwhelmingly positive response this series has had from various writers and critics considering the comic is actually a really average southern gothic story.
The first volume introduces us to the witch’s curse and Emmy’s realisation of who she really is, none of which feels, or is, especially original. The story plays out somewhat predictably and slowly without a real standout character or especially brilliant angle. Fiery ghosts, a Minotaur, witches – yeah, yeah, seen it before…
Which isn’t to say it’s all generic; there’s a character called Tattered Skin who is a new kind of character with his haunted skin and prowling, separate body. Also the idea of Hester creating followers out of mud, dying and the followers continuing on, living rich, full lives is a pretty interesting detail and quite shocking too.
I really liked Tyler Crook’s title pages where “Harrow County” is woven into the backgrounds – very pretty! - and I like his art in general but it doesn’t feel like a great fit for horror. His lines are a little too soft, the characters somewhat cartoonish and the colours a bit too bright – for horror I’d expect harder lines and darker tones to give it a more menacing atmosphere. Half the time with Emmy on the farm it looks like a new illustrated version of Charlotte’s Web, and once we get into the horror aspects, it looks great but never creepy or disturbing. I’m not sure Crook was the best choice as artist for this kind of story.
Also included (if you read the single issues like me) are the one page backups which recount the cursed history of Harrow County. It’s a pleasant surprise to see Manifest Destiny colourist Owen Gieni drawing these and producing brilliant work too with very detailed panels and some eye-catching visuals.
To be fair to Bunn he did take the story in an unexpected direction towards the end – and I’m not even counting the final page – but even so I read Harrow County not especially enthralled by its mediocre story but not disliking it either. If you’re in the mood for a southern gothic horror comic, it’ll pass muster – you might even love it like the majority of readers seem to! – but I found Harrow County to be very ordinary. -
Thanks to
that crazy MahFah Kelly and her better half Mitchell this pregnant chick got just what she needed: a nicenewslightly used comic book!
Harrow County was gifted to me by the lovely Kelly and I will be paying it forward. Stay tuned for more details!
Hester was labeled a witch. The townsfolk decided they needed to destroy her. She was beaten, stabbed, burned and then hung. Now, I don’t work for Manitowoc County but it sounds like Steven Avery might have had something to do with it.
Of course, Hester curses the townsfolk. She warns them that 18 years from the date of her murder she would return to wreak havoc on them and their families.
Flash forward 17.9 years.
Emmy wakes up after having nightmares about the vagina tree. The vagina tree in Emmy’s dream immediately reminded me of
the movie Teeth. Most self-respecting individuals will most likely not have heard of this movie. Those of you who have or have seen it: HIGH FIVE!
Strange things are happening and Emmy is confused. Her pa and the townsfolk are treating her differently. She goes for a walk and makes a friend; a friend that later saves her life. One could say he has thick skin…but Emmy keeps it locked up in her bag all the time.
Emmy is on the run from her town. But no one will tell the ignorant little turd what is going on! She meets ghosts and haints and demons oh my!
There’s even a creepy old man with some popsicles in the basement.
Overall I wasn’t wowed by the story. The “twist” at the end? Meh. Would I continue it? More than likely. Am I preordering the next one? Most likely not. The artwork was bland and boring. I especially hated how the people all looked like that weird snapchat filter.
Anyway, as I said before: I will be forwarding this book on to a worthy recipient. You must live in the USA because sending things internationally sucks the big one. #SorryNotSorry Let’s keep it going. -
I love this book. Cullen Bunn's southern gothic tale of horror is as scary as any great horror novel and seriously creeps me the fuck out while also making me fall in love with the characters. Tyler Crook's fully painted artwork is beautiful and really is the best work I've seen from him.
This volume collects the first four issues (I wish they'd waited a bit longer and collected the first six but I'm not docking it a star for that; it's just too damned good). I recommend it to anybody who is a fan of the macabre... or just good comicbooks, really! This really is one of the best books I'm currently reading. -
re-read review: nov '22
Just as wonderful as I remembered it. I'm finally continuing the series and decided to re-read the first volume beforehand, and I'm glad I did, because I had forgotten how surprisingly emotional the beginning of this story is!
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original review: nov '19
This was easily one of the best horror graphic novels I've read in a long time! One thing about Cullen Bunn's work is that I always know I can count on it to be detailed and intriguing, and this was no exception. I'd definitely class this as horror, but I could easily see it going under dark fantasy, too, as it's got this lovely sort of fairytale-esque vibe to it with the whole rebirth of a witch, spectral companions, eerie minotaur demons in the forest ordeal it has going on.
On top of the story being fantastic (and Emmy being such a lovable main character with her healing tendencies and love for animals — I always enjoy the "healer witch" trope and this one's executed brilliantly), the artwork is so fascinating. It's all watercolor and alternates between muted tones and bright colors depending on the characters/scenery depicted. My favorite aspect was easily the haints in the forest cemetery, which are this brilliant orange and red layered over a black background that makes them jump right off the page in this unsettling, fiery way. I really just can't say enough good things about this volume and I'm already counting down the days until my library hold for volume 2 comes in!
✨ Representation: Black side characters
✨ Content warnings for:
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so rich and sinister, I loved it. and as heartwarming and sickening and creepy/sweet as only a book about a young reborn witch with a new friend who is basically the skin of a boy that she keeps folded up in a drawer or in her satchel can be; its skinless body skulking around elsewhere, hiding in trees, climbing down chimneys, her protector, and their relationship is just a relatively small and probably not too important part of this bizarre and wonderful book. Countless Haints is a fascinating introduction to Harrow County. I want to understand its rules and its history; right now I can say I loved what I've read but I'm not sure I really understood everything I've read e.g. she literally created all those people? I'm not sure if that question even counts as a spoiler because it's just one of so many ambiguous things that make this book what it is.
Cullen Bunn is a great writer with an awesome imagination. when it comes to his narrative, he believes in show & tell, usually at the same time: a number of scenes explain certain mysteries while serving up visceral, disturbing visuals. the illustrator Tyler Crook is an equal partner in this story. his watercolors are beautiful and disgusting and always compelling. I'm excited to experience more of this world. -
Only now, after I am done, do I recognize that the artwork was done by Tyler Crook, whose outstanding art graced the pages of B.P.R.D. I thought it looked familiar!
This is horror the way I like it: Creepy, but not overly gory. I'm not a splatterpunk kind of guy. In fact, I really hate gore and ultraviolence. But creepy? Give me creepy all day (and all night) long! And Harrow County has it in droves: Burned witches cursing her killers and coming back from the dead, homonculi, a skinned boy with a telepathic connection to his dermis, a girl who discovers that her father isn't who she thought he was and she is not who she thinks she is. This is a gothic dreamstate with nightmare pacing. I'm not one to jump into a new series of anything lightly. I rarely read book series, to be honest. And I am very wary about getting "too involved" with a new comic book series. But here, I'm hooked. I'm living the dream . . . er, nightmare, the tree-clawed forest tunnel ahead of me lit by flaming skeletons. I've got to follow the light! -
The townies burn a witch,she vows to return,now you are up to speed... Young Emmy is introduced,I think you may be getting the picture. I wasn't crazy about this one,but I am planning on reading the next volume. It better have more of a wow factor.
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The first volume of Harrow County was a treat. I admit that it took some time for me to warm up to how the characters were drawn, but after a while and together with the beautiful watercolor backgrounds did I quite start to like how the characters looked.
The story was good, Emmy a young girl is turning 18 and suddenly everyone she knows is out to kill her including her father and she don't at first understand why, that is until she learns the truth...
It was never really terrifying to read, not to me at least, a younger person may find it a bit gruesome. I think what I really liked when I read was that I wasn't really sure if Emmy was good or bad. And, frankly I have a feeling she has the potential to be either in the future. It will be interesting to read more to find out what's next for her.
Of course, it ended with a cliffhanger and I'm looking forward to reading more!
Thanks to Dark Horse Books and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! -
Woohoo I found a Cullen Bunn book I enjoy! Finally!
So this is Gothic southern horror. What's that you ask? Lots of accents, woods, and creepy shit happening all at once. Emmy is about to turn 18. For a lot of people that just means going into adulthood (in US. I know UK it's like 16. And Japan like 14 or something like that) but what's happening to her isn't the same as usual. 18 years ago the people around the area murdered a young girl who was said to be a witch. She said she would return. Is Emmy that witch? Well...
Good: I enjoyed the art a lot. It's simple, clean, and works well to show off the emotions of characters. I really love the character of the skinless boy, Emmy is a strong main hero, and even the village people are interesting enough. I thought the 2nd half of this was really interesting and the twist (before the final twist which I also like) and turn the story is going are making it a intriguing one.
Bad: I didn't love the first half. Felt very cliche, been done, witch hunt type story. Also, some of the dialog at the start was like "trying" to be south verses natural (see Southern Bastards/Redneck) but once it started to get into groove it fixed itself.
I actually had a lot of fun reading this. I read it all in one go. I'd give it a 3.5 but I'ma go with a 4 because of how impressed I was to enjoy a Bunn comic finally haha. -
I'm happy to report that this was exactly what I was hoping for: dark fantasy with the feel of folklore. This is the sort of story that would have been well at home in
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, and that's fine company to be in, in my opinion. Yes, the story unfolds a little slowly, and this volume seems to be largely concerned with world building. I do expect that from the first few issues in a brand new IP, after all. And I do find the world building to be largely interesting. The idea of the witch's mud people is especially cool, and something that's at least a step or two past any established lore that I know of. This just hit me exactly right from the very first page, and I'm so pleased to see that there's another volume coming soon. -
4.5 Sometimes when there's horror in graphic novels, I find that they can be too wordy and often too confusing when they try to add complicated plot lines or hidden messages. Harrow County did not do this. The art and the dialogue match perfectly, while the storyline was straight to the point and easy to follow. The creativity of this graphic was hard to miss and did not disappoint. I'm wondering if other illustrators will make a cameo in future volumes.
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Poor Emmy. Birthed by a vengeful spirit, tormented by nightmares, hunted for death on her eighteenth birthday, kidnapped by loyal followers, this girl isn't having the life she'd imagined for herself just days ago.
But she's got friends - granted, one comes in two pieces - and she's willing to fight her past in order to make her own future so maybe she'll be ok.
Maybe.
I enjoyed this. It felt like a mix of
A Path Begins, story-wise, and
Wytches, Vol. 1, in tone. The art doesn't rely solely on darkness, there's a balance with bright colors and light, no doubt to show Emmy can go either way, having been born to one but raised in the other. It's creepy, yes, but also pastoral. The forest is full of haints - they're not all bad, though some are awful - but the cleared land is relatively untainted...for now.
I look forward to seeing where this story goes. -
This graphic novel tells a story about witchcraft in a small rural southern town. It's light on scares, but it is creepy thanks to it's watercolor art done in macabre color combinations.
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Having just read volume 2 I noticed I didn’t review volume 1 and kinda want to so here it is.
What’s it about?
There’s this witch who was hung in a tree but said she would be back. Years later this girl named Emmy becomes 18 and has some things in common with the dead witch.
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is interesting.
The characters are well written and worth caring about. I actually have a theory in my head that Emmy is meant to be like Jesus (sorta like how Superman’s meant to be like Moses) in some ways (though I don’t want to get to into that since I have other things to talk about in this review and that theory is very spoilery).
Some people for some reason don’t like the art but I think it’s great and really works well for this story.
The horror in this book is great. Though it doesn’t scare me (then again that rarely happens) it has a great creepy tone to it and doesn’t rely on gore too much. Not that I care how gory a story is, in fact I enjoy some horror blood and guts now and then (as long as it’s not the main focus of the story) but almost every horror book nowadays is a pile of ‘hey, look at what f***ed up thing happened to this character!’ and though I don’t mind (hell, as an aspiring writer who loves horror I will probably have some gory stories and brutal death scenes) it’s good to be able to enjoy a good horror story that takes a break from that.
It’s pretty intense at times.
Despite being a horror book it has a kinda fun tone which I like.
Aside from some things about Emmy and the witch (I already had some things there figured out) it isn’t too predictable.
Overall:
An excellent horror comic that I definitely recommend, especially for folks who may like creepiness but not gore. The story is interesting, the art work is fantastic and it’s fun but still a horror story which I really like.
5/5 -
I like creepy, scary reads and this qualifies. It's the kind of story that I can't describe too well without spoiling future readers. I'll keep things general and say that this is about a girl who is far more special than she could ever imagine, and how she comes to terms with that. This story was made for the graphic novel format. The imagery is very powerful and instills dread and the shudder factor in me. It's beautifully drawn and inked, but icky. It definitely has an American Gothic kind of feel, which is defined
here. American Gothic is so distinct to America that those of us who are American can understand it without really having it defined. However, I love looking at literature and the theory behind it, so it was nice to refresh myself. I was looking at the writeup on American Gothic and not surprised many of my favorite classic American writers wrote in this genre: Hawthorne, Poe, Irving. So yeah, I went off on a tangent in not trying to spoil readers.
There are elements in this storyline that harken to the darker aspects of America, that fear of other that is so damn strong that it shuts down human rationality and leads to horrible acts. I could cite many examples. This book also taps into that claustrophic aspect of small town living that makes a person want to escape to the big city and happily deal with the negatives of that lifestyle. It also delves into the dark aspects of religion that cause people to harm others, but also that evil can hide behind the facade of religion. A lot of content in this book, now that I think about it.
Suffice it to say this is one that I enjoyed, but I wouldn't read before bed because I am a very visual person and I would have this stuff in my head all night, which doesn't make for sleeping well. I will continue reading this series. -
18/5/2020
This was really good!!
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Pretty good horror comic with witches, monsters, skeletons, people that can take their skin off and, scariest of all, hillbillies.
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it was fun enough, but i do have some complaints. now, i don't have much experience with comic books like that in general, so maybe that's just how they all are, but the fast-paced progression of the plot didn't seem natural to me. so much was packed into this one volume. because of that, the emotional development felt rushed, too. i couldn't exactly connect with the main character since she seemed so abrupt and changed so quickly. in the end
also, i was left wondering about one thing that's either a plot hole or just wasn't explained at all.
but the ride was still rather enjoyable and i totally loved the art. it was just gorgeous, ominous, very atmospheric. i could recommend it because of the visual side alone.
i'm interested in continuing this, since the story seems promising. -
New England witchcraft folklore has been trending lately. Not that I'm complaining - I prefer the old school witches to the touchy-feely wiccan kind pop culture has been trying to sell us for the last couple of decades. Harrow County, unfortunately, tries to live on both sides of that fence, and the result is a bit deflating after a promising start.
Emmy is a lonely teenage girl living on a farm with her pa, who soon discovers she is the reincarnation of a witch named Hester (yep, Hester) that the town lynched and burned years before. Apparently, Hester the witch totally had it coming, but Emmy wants to be her own woman and not copulate with monsters or eat your babies. The townsfolk, understandably wary of monster sex and baby snacking, break out the torches and pitchforks and Emmy has to make a run for it.
Without spoiling the ho-hum conclusion, let me say I can see where this series is going from here and I'm not terribly excited about it. I like the art, and the first chapter has some genuinely eerie touches, but overall I can't recommend it. -
Cullen Bunn is the author of this graphic novel series about a town that burned (and shot, and hung) a witch 18 years ago. They are now seeing the signs of her foreboding curse in a young girl just turned 18. Is she the reincarnation of this evil power?
This was a good start to a series and I’m interested to see where it goes from here. The premise is simple, a town afraid of powerful women. I mean, a town afraid of witch evil. And the young protagonist is a good balance of naive and adaptable. The art has some seriously creepy moments, like when she finds her sidekick, a bodiless skin.
It’s got all of the pieces to make a good horror series, it just needs to find its stride. I’ve had a very mediocre run of horror comics so far this October and I’m hoping this one gets better and not worse as it progresses.
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4.0 Stars
This was an immersive southern gothic graphic novel with an incredibly eerie atmosphere. The story felt reminiscent of reading a dark folklore tale. The artwork had a water-colour style with muted warm tones. Striking the right the balance between creepy and emotional. I highly recommend this one to any fans of graphic novels or the horror genre. -
Una historia con tintes oscuros que atrapa desde su primera página. Escogí leer esta novela gráfica por puro impulso, pero me ha sorprendido gratamente.
Harrow County guarda un secreto. Aunque sus habitantes simulan que nunca ocurrió nada, lo que le hicieron a Hester Beck está grabado a fuego en su memoria. Hester no era normal, todos creían que era una bruja y decidieron actuar. Ahora, 18 años después, puede que noten las consecuencias de lo que hicieron. Emmy, una joven a punto de cumplir los 18 años, será la que despierte sus temores. Emmy no sabe nada del pasado, pero se verá forzada a descubrirlo y a aprender a sobrevivir...
Las primeras ilustraciones son brutales y realmente saben captar la atención. En apenas un par de páginas se asientan bien las bases de la historia y es inevitable querer saber más sobre lo sucedido en el pasado y sobre el presunto vínculo que tiene Emmy con eso. Al ser Emmy la protagonista principal, vamos descubriendo datos y nuevas revelaciones al mismo tiempo que ella, lo cual es un acierto porque así vamos evaluando también su modo de reaccionar.
Lo mejor es embarcarse en esta lectura sabiendo lo mínimo posible de la trama, por eso no quiero contar demasiado. Hay brujería, seres sobrenaturales, secretos turbios, gente que no es lo que parece, traiciones, pequeños giros inesperados... vamos, que la trama es muy completita. Si no le doy la máxima puntuación, es solo porque, a pesar de que lo de Emmy está bien desarrollado, lo de Hester sí que solo se ve de refilón. Desde mi punto de vista, explorar mejor todo lo relacionado con ella hubiera ayudado a aumentar la sensación de terror y a sacarle más partido al lado más tenebroso de la novela.
El desenlace me dejó satisfecha y, al mismo tiempo, me descolocó. Por cómo fueron los últimos acontecimientos, era imposible que no quedara cierta incertidumbre respecto al futuro de algunos personajes, pero en las últimas dos páginas hay una entrada en escena que no entendí del todo. Supongo que es para que nos centremos en eso en la siguiente entrega, la cual no tardaré en leer.
Respecto al tema artístico, el ilustrador explica en un anexo que decidió colorear el libro usando acuarelas, y la verdad es que el resultado es inmejorable. Se usan adecuadamente las sombras, los personajes están bien definidos y las viñetas más sangrientas logran ser inquietantes sin necesidad de recrearse en una violencia que no aporte nada. Además, las expresiones faciles de los personajes también estaban bien trabajadas, era interesante cómo un simple cambio de expresión o de mirada ya permitía percibir que algo siniestro iba a pasar. En resumen, no tengo nada que objetar respecto al trabajo artístico.
Pequeña información a tener en cuenta
La edición que leí incluye al final 9 capítulos en formato de texto. Dichos capítulos abarcan apróximadamente la primera mitad de lo mostrado en la novela gráfica. Al parecer, el autor pretendía ir colgando por entregas el libro en su web, pero finalmente decidió contar con un ilustrador y publicar su historia como una novela gráfica. Aún así, y él mismo lo advierte, lo que sucede en esos capítulos no es exactamente igual a lo que se ve en las ilustraciones, así que os animo a que no os los saltéis porque hay cambios que modifican de manera importante algunos aspectos de la trama. -
Laskomina. Kulen Bun to skvele napsal a
Tejler Kruke uzasne nakreslil. Preklad hatmatilky nocniho montsra je uz jenom orisek na tresnicce.
