Written by: Cullen Bunn
Art by: Tyler Crook
Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $3.99
"The folk of Harrow County put the witch to death, but the witch did not die easily."
Damn. What a great read. I don't know what it is about creepy old towns, but I love the stories that can arise from them. And the TREES! Holy shit, something about the looming branches and gnarled roots just gives me goosebumps. I'm reading Wytches by Scott Snyder and those trees freak me out too. Harrow County definitely shook me up a little.
We're given a brief backdrop of the history of Harrow County right from the first pages. An eerie tale of the town witch, Hester Beck. There was a duality to her. She was known as a healing woman by the townfolk, yet wherever she went, livestock dropped dead. She held sermons and baptisms at Sulfur Creek in the presence of the local children, and the people of Harrow County were disconcerted by this. Eventually, they discovered her in the act of something unforgivable, and did what any old-timey townfolk would do. Hang her from a tree and set her on fire. As her face melted away, the witch whispered a promise...a promise that she will return to judge those who killed her.
It is now present day, and we are introduced to 17 year old Emmy. Haunted by dreams of ghouls and ghosts, she wakes and sees this huge tree outside her window. This tree has caused her a lot of distress and you understand why as soon as you see it. A barn on the farm Emmy lives on gives shelter to a birthing mama cow. The calf comes out bloodied, and another just a few feet away looks like its insides were torn out. This continues with more animals on this farm, and I think she began to see a pattern. I'm afraid of going into this further for fear of giving away too much, so I'll stop there. However, it seems like Emmy's Pa has some kind of idea on what's happening.
In the final scene, we see Emmy wandering through the woods close to her farm. She felt trapped at the farm, and the woods were a way for her to escape that feeling. She comes across a boy on the other side of the creek. She calls out to him, and in good creepy story fashion, he runs away. She chases after him and is lead through a thick gathering of thorns. I'll let you try to guess what she finds...
Sorry about the intermittent reviews these past couple of weeks. Work has been getting crazy and I won't be able to get a review out next week because I'm getting officially initiated into the union I work for. Because of that, I wanted to make sure I got something out for you guys this week. As always, support the art. Buy the book if it interests you. If you don't buy it, they don't make it!
Check out my podcast on iTunes and Stitcher also. Just me and my friends bullshitting, so if you have an hour to kill on a drive, at work, or anything like that, give it a listen! Thanks everyone.
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