Why is it that some of the best comics are written by writers of horror?
This week, a new book debuted, and it’s pretty scary on many levels, but I’ve come to expect that from Cullen Bunn.
HARROW COUNTY #1
Writer: Cullen Bunn
Artists: Tyler Crook, Owen Gieni
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Previously in Harrow County: This town will make your skin crawl! Emmy always knew that the deep, dark woods surrounding her home crawled with ghosts, goblins, and zombies. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she learns that she is connected to these creatures—and to the land itself—in a way she never imagined. Don’t miss the first issue of this 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!
CULLEN BUNN EXCELS AT HORROR
Suspense is at the center of horror. What will happen next? There are often delays in horror comics, delays that drive us to distraction. NOW what’s going to happen?
When you say that, THAT’S when Mr. Bunn has you by the short and curlies!
Harrow County is a perfect example of this. Bunn has us travel to a contained universe, as it were – someplace that we are confined to, and whatever takes place there, is in fact real because there is nothing else to compare it to.
There’s little in the way of action in this debut issue, but you likely won’t notice once you enter Harrow County. Drama is what will grab you and make you want to hurry through this book, but don’t let it make you get ahead of yourself. You’ll want to enjoy each and every suspenseful second!
Once again, Bunn has fleshed out characters that pop into life in our imaginations. I can’t stop believing in them no matter how often I tell myself, “It’s just a comic! It’s just a comic!”
If you haven’t read Sixth Gun or Magento or Lobo or Sinestro, brace yourself! You’re in for a serious ride here!
What also gets me is that there is a very brief – two pages only – short story at the end that is the nightmare everyone who has ever been baptized in a body of water has endured. Freaky!
STRONG, CLEAR ARTWORK
Tyler Crook does a high-power job on the first story. It has something of a painted feel to it, but that didn’t become apparent to me until after I had finished reading it. I was too strongly pulled into the tale, and I love it when that happens!
The second, much shorter story is drawn by Owen Gieni, and the style strongly resembles the first tale. As I mentioned previously, I felt my worst fear coming to life in this one, and that’s saying something given the Christian setting.
BOTTOM LINE: Horror of the Highest Order
I always have to qualify things when I review a debut issue. It’s tough to know how everything will work together until we get to the end of the first story arc, at least! But I feel confident saying, with this book under my belt, that many bad dreams lay ahead of me in the weeks to come!
And that’s what horror is all about, taking our imaginations places we’ve never even conceived of. It’ll be something else again to keep up with this title, so I highly recommend it, particularly for those who like to be scared or have their worst fears apparently come true.
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