Harrow County: Volume 2

Harrow County #3-4

by Cullen Bunn, Tyler Crook (Illustrator)

The next chapter of the highly acclaimed, Eisner nominated horror fantasy in deluxe, digital format.Emmy believed she was one of a kind, that there was no one else in the world quite like her. Then magical strangers arrived in Harrow County and she discovered just how wrong she was. Are these bizarre beings--each possessing strange and ghastly supernatural abilities--her family, or her foes? Collects the volumes three and four of Harrow County with a new cover, sketchbook material, essays, "Tales from Harrow County" bonus stories by guest creators, and more!

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Paranormal, Graphic Novels Comics

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 16, 2019

About the author

Cullen grew up in rural North Carolina, but now lives in the St. Louis area with his wife Cindy and his son Jackson. His noir/horror comic (and first collaboration with Brian Hurtt), The Damned, was published in 2007 by Oni Press. The follow-up, The Damned: Prodigal Sons, was released in 2008. In addition to The Sixth Gun, his current projects include Crooked Hills, a middle reader horror prose series from Evileye Books; The Tooth, an original graphic novel from Oni Press; and various work for Marvel and DC. Somewhere along the way, Cullen founded Undaunted Press and edited the critically acclaimed small press horror magazine, Whispers from the Shattered Forum.

All writers must pay their dues, and Cullen has worked various odd jobs, including Alien Autopsy Specialist, Rodeo Clown, Professional Wrestler Manager, and Sasquatch Wrangler.

And, yes, he has fought for his life against mountain lions and he did perform on stage as the World's Youngest Hypnotist. Buy him a drink sometime, and he'll tell you all about it.

Visit his website at www.cullenbunn.com.

Reviews

[Chad]

Berenice meets someone who will change the course of her life. Emmy meets Hestor's family and by extension her family as well. Her family all have powers of their own and intend to force her to follow along with the family plan whether she likes it or not.

Cullen Bunn has created a fantastic back story and a bunch of new antagonists that I'm sure will have repercussions in future volumes. Tyler Crook's art continues to impress. I love the double page spread water colors. The only knock is that Crook doesn't draw two of the issues and he is sorely missed.

Received a review copy from Dark Horse and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.

[Baba]

Collects #9 - #16 (volume 3 & 4), in which a stranger to Emmy comes to town, we get to see more of Count's African Americans, Emmy gets an ally; and Elly finds family? Reading this second Library volume it's quite evident what is wrong with this series, almost every reveal comes as someone relates a story, as opposed to actual reveals in the plotting. It all feels like exposition overload, interspersed by linear dialogue. Just about a 6 out of 12, for the constructed reality and the promise, the long form, storytelling holds.

[Siona Adams]

This is such a good series. The plot is intriguing, the art is fantastic, and the world feels so fleshed out (even if we only get it in bits and pieces). Would highly recommend this series!

[Richard]

"Some might say Harrow County was founded on some unwholesome earth. It was this understanding that the dirt beneath your feet was tainted that caused folks to step a litte carefully...to glance over their shoulders, certain that someone—or something—was following them...and to watch the shadows with mounting dread. For if the very earth was poisoned by abnormal things, what strange life might take root there?"

While this one was a slower burn and not as tight and exciting as the first volume, I really enjoyed the further expansion of the history of the county, steeped in old town folklore, the horrors that exist below the surface, and how connected Emmy is to all of it. And it was cool to see further character development in Bernice and the Skinless Boy.



While the writing is good, the art by Tyler Crook (presented here in all it's oversized deluxe Library Edition glory) is still the star of the book and when he's replaced briefly you really miss his work in those issues, which also happened to be the weakest ones.

[Artemy]

Revisiting this spooky series just in time for Halloween season, and I’m enjoying it in these gorgeous collected editions even more than I did when I was reading it as an ongoing. Definitely the best thing I’ve read from Cullen Bunn, and Tyler Crook is an absolute revelation with his incredible hand-painted artwork.

[Iva]

Дуже дроблені арки: тут вам і короткі сюжети, і глобалка із великим розширенням лору. Що дивно, не твсі сюжети навіть розвивають поточну сюжетку у глобалці, але і відсилають до попереднього. Дуже дивна штука.

Ну, і сама містика трошки просідає через пояснення місцевої магії. Як на мене, то ліпше б було тому всьому залишатися ірраціональнішим та менш "сімейним", що одразу смердить оккультністю замість природних чар.

Але атмосфера досі на місці. Якщо надалі закладений сюжетний фундамент виведуть у масштабне фінальне протистояння сильніших проти місцевих із Задуп'я, я б на це подивився.

[Quentin Wallace]

4.5 Stars

The story shifted just a little in this volume. If you can imagine Neil Gaiman's SANDMAN as a southern gothic story, then you'd have an idea of what this volume is like. The atmosphere in this comic is just incredible, as you get horror mixed with almost wholesome feeling of 1930s small time living.

If you like horror comics and are looking for something a little different, try this one.

[Maksym Karpovets]

Серія пішла трохи в інше русло, але мені однаково все подобається. Зокрема, в цій бібліотечці можна умовно виокремити дві лінії: Береніс знаходить своє покликання (ця арка чи не найкраща тут), а Еммі знайомиться зі сім'єю, тобто такими ж обдарованими й талановитими як вона. Щодо останнього, то усі члени сім'ї продумані й прописані блискуче, які спокійно можуть отримати окремі спін-оффи за умови розширення світу. Мені найбільш сподобалась зустріч у кукурудзяному полі, яка так добре підкреслює усе, що стосується southern gothic, й водночас створює якусь власну, незвичну ауру. Також цікавою є невеличка історія про хлопчика-без-шкіри, який тепер вже сприймається повноцінним персонажем.

Усе це сповнено атмосферними, містичними елементами, які блискуче виконані Тайлером Круком. Художник не перестає виписувати кожен дрібний елемент місцевості завдяки акуратному використанні лаконічних ліній та акварелі, але найбільш мене вражає те, як він вдало передає потік (flow) історії завдяки візуальному ряду. Це помітно наприкінці цього тому в тонні додаткових матеріалів, де також показано структуру й логіку будування панелей. Щодо інших художників, які намалювали дві частини в цій книзі, то вони непогано впорались із завданням, хоча й нічого феноменального не зробили. Також потішили додаткові історії у кінці, написані самим Тайлором Круком. Виявляється, що він не тільки геніальний художник, але й наратор, тому раджу обов'язково це прочитати. Щодо самого видання, то, як вже я писав, це чи не найкраща бібліотечка у Dark Horse після Гелбоя, тому якщо маєте можливість -- беріть обов'язково. Такі історії мають бути гідно представлені.

[Timothy Shea]

Do yourself a huge favor and check out these library editions of Harrow County. They are wonderful stories beautifully illustrated. I love the watercolor/ gauche paint coloring over the pen and ink sequential art.

It's a great and often disturbing coming of age story about a young witch learning about her place in the world and her own power. Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook are great at keeping the story intriguing. They're also great at creating monsters.

Can not recommend this book enough.

[Amie's Book Reviews]

Once again, HARROW COUNTY has exceeded my expectations.

I love creepy tales and graphic novels are one of the best ways to showcase these stories. However, it is also a very challenging way to present the story to readers because of the need to illustrate every step of the way.

It is precisely that difficult challenge that makes graphic novels, when crafted as flawlessly as Harrow County, so satisfying for its readers.

The illustrations are superb and the worldbuilding is second to none.

HARROW COUNTY deserves every one of its 5 out of 5 Stars ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

[Václav]

(3,8 of 5 for this Tyler Crook's art exhibition with a nice story but somehow underperforming Library edition)
Harrow County is a great, chill, thrill and adventure. Cullen Bunn works really nicely with all that supernatural, haints, creatures, ghosts and magical powers. And it looks so good thanks to Tyler Crook's magnificent art. I can dislike some details on it, but overall it is great and if you see the process behind it in bonuses, you'll understand why. Speaking of the bonuses - this library edition, in comparison with the first, feels little short. The ar is great, the story is nice but shorter and not that rich like the one with the first library edition. And the finale of it is very underperforming. And more than 1/3 of the whole Library edition is the bonus section. And even some of it is very nice, some feel like filler, just to get the library to the same thickness and price tag.
Harrow County is still very good. The art's swell and peachy, the story is very nice and worked trough, but the bit underperforming end and excessive bonus part with sometimes doubtful value leave me bit disappointed and I must reflect that bitterness in the rating.

[Al Capwned]

In this part of Harrow County we get to see the "sense of belonging" trope that is usually a part of coming-of-age stories. I have to admit, though, that I didn't like the style of the guest artists so much and generally this part is a bit "weaker" than the first one.

[Soteralzobooks]

4.2

[Highland G]

Was interesting but not as good as first volume and art was different for a key part of the story and that annoyed me. Still reading on as I want to see where it goes.

[Petr Nakasharal Fabián]

Stejný jako první knížka, jenom ve všech ohledech o něco horší. Dávám tři hvězdy protože určitý kvality tomu musím objektivně nechat. Ale uplně mě to míjí. Tohle mě oproti první knížce nebavilo vůbec. S pokračováním si asi dám trochu pauzu protože nebejt Tales of Harrow County, tak mám pocit naprosto ztracenýho času. :/

[Omnibuster]

A train enters Harrow County and a Killer Bob--from Twin Peaks--doppelgänger hops off, kills a bird, eats the bird, and whistles a tune; strange things are still afoot in Harrow County, and I couldn't be more glad about it!

Vol. 1 felt like a complete story and Vol. 2 takes us further into the history of the county, Emmy's mother, the skinless boy, Hester Beck, and shows us that the supernatural surrounds other characters like Bernice, who made a brief appearance in Vol. 1. Strangers with abilities appear but are they friendly forces or are they invading Harrow County to challenge Emmy and her community?

One thing I REALLY love about this series is how every issue opens with a gorgeous two-page, establishing spread with the series title incorporated in creative ways.The LE for vol. 2 has another sketchbook full of pencils, drafts, commentary, and even some images showing Crook's painting process. We are also treated with a few more awesome "Tales of Harrow County" stories of which "The Butler" is a true standout.

Please check out this series! Onward to volume 3!

[Mary Wyman]

This was an interesting turn of events.
Enjoy :)

[Lizzy Walker]

Review for Monster Librarian forthcoming.

[Barbara McEwen]

I only want to take away stars because I wanted more. Same great graphics and I need to know what's next!

[Rahul Nadella]

This is one of the best horror series I've ever read. It goes beyond the typical horror stereotypes, and brings a deeper, more sophisticated kind of terror to the audience. Despite its flaws, it's still one of the better books out there. I also like the way Bunn solidified the importance of Harrow County itself to the mythology of the series. Besides being a perfectly haunting setting, it also continues to develop into a great character within the series itself. And if the story is going where I think it's going, I think the real answers should be coming in soon. This is definitely a series for all horror fans.

[HowardtheDuck95]

As with the first volume, which I read last fall, it’s a fantastic tome. If you’ve read the first volume, you know what you’re in for: a beautiful collaboration between Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook, telling a dark tale of haints and witches. This is more of that, with the occasional guest artist.

As with the first library volume, there’s a veritable treasure trove of extras here, from backup one-pagers to a full issue script and roughs, as well as walkthrough of Crook’s paining process.

I can’t wait to dig into the rest.

[Whitney Jamimah]

Man, 3.75 stars?

I didn't love this quite as much as the first library edition but it was a bunch of fun and I am feeling like there was a lot of set up for the coming volumes in this one. I am still very intrigued and I am LOVING Emmy and rooting for Harrow. I'll be returning to Harrow County with the Third Library Edition this evening!

[Sohan Surag]

Full five stars yet again for this magnificent tale Cullen Bunn has bestowed upon us. All I want to do more is just read on, the upcoming volumes. Bunn has created one of the best rich world's that might share a very cosy spot near my all time favourite: Mignolaverse.

And if Vol 1 was any indication that this is one of his best works, then this one cements it as an even better one.

[Koen Claeys]

The first half is a bit disappointing, the other half is better. This second library edition is certainly a step down from the previous one.
I hope I won't get to see subpar guest artists like Hannah Christenson again in "Harrow County".

[Jack]

Still really good! It’s funny that there’s a foreword talking about how this series doesn’t fall into spooky fantasy like most ongoing horror series when that’s exactly what happens here. That’s a not a bad thing, though. I dig the world the series sets up and the art is still fantastic.

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza)]

The only problem I have with this is the third arc is weak and unfocused, not to mention the guest artists. But the forth arc roars back to life with a very Twin Peaks vibe and the tale of the Butler is wonderful.

[OmniBen]

(Zero spoiler review)
Postmen deliver the mail.
Domino's deliver pizza. (really shit pizza)
Midwifes deliver babies...
And Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook deliver disappointing comics.
I just wish I was able to sell this set before they announced the slipcase edition. 2/5


OmniBen.

[Andrew Cook]

Absolutely amazing!

[Ronny Trøjborg]

Sløret for den større historie bliver forsigtigt løftet

[Η Cultσα]

Με ξένισε λίγο στην αρχή, αλλά στην πορεία έγινε και πάλι το μαγευτικό Harrow County που ήταν και στον πρώτο τόμο.