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Harrow County
Harrow County 4. Árbol genealógico
Rare book
152 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2017
22 people are currently reading
524 people want to read
About the author
Cullen Bunn
2,106 books1,059 followersCullen 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
December 25, 2020
I quite enjoyed this one.
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
October 24, 2019
A little of the spooky stuff near Halloween never hurt anyone, right?
Family Tree is exactly what it sounds like, and we all get to find out a bit more of Emmy's past and where her bloodline comes from.
And it turns out, she has a family that's just as fucked up as everyone else's.
There's more about who Hester was and what she could do, which in turn gives us an idea of what Emmy can do...or may be able to do in the future?
I think the best part of this series is the way Emmy fights to be good despite everything. She is a good person (<--is she a person?) even though her best friend is afraid of her and her sidekick is a skinless boy, and you just know that she's going to do what's right no matter what.
I love that.
Creepy, dark, mysterious and full of heart.
This is (to me) the best kind of horror comic.
Family Tree is exactly what it sounds like, and we all get to find out a bit more of Emmy's past and where her bloodline comes from.
And it turns out, she has a family that's just as fucked up as everyone else's.
There's more about who Hester was and what she could do, which in turn gives us an idea of what Emmy can do...or may be able to do in the future?
I think the best part of this series is the way Emmy fights to be good despite everything. She is a good person (<--is she a person?) even though her best friend is afraid of her and her sidekick is a skinless boy, and you just know that she's going to do what's right no matter what.
I love that.
Creepy, dark, mysterious and full of heart.
This is (to me) the best kind of horror comic.
April 6, 2019
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.
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.
February 11, 2017
Described as a southern gothic fairy tale, Harrow County: Countless Haints, still has "harrowing" all about it. Or maybe has that harrowing back after a sidetrack in the last volume. In this one, Family Tree, Crooks and Bunn are back together again in full force. And the focus is back story. Who IS Emmy and why does she have the power to repel all these haints in the county? And why might there be so many haints in one southern county, anyway? The answers seem to lie in the fact that Emmy has a family, a creepy collection of a range of supernatural monsters who want to talk her into coming back into the fold.
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. We learn this information in the first volume, but in this volume we return to this speculation, and this issue is not entirely resolved.
The finish of this volume is fairly conventional, but still pretty satisfying, I thought. I like how Berenice emerges in this volume, too.
Tyler Crook’s art is the best thing about the series. Those watercolors! Awesome two-page spreads. Atmospheric, creepy, fun. And Crooks includes a pretty impressive appendix on the making of the volume, too.
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. We learn this information in the first volume, but in this volume we return to this speculation, and this issue is not entirely resolved.
The finish of this volume is fairly conventional, but still pretty satisfying, I thought. I like how Berenice emerges in this volume, too.
Tyler Crook’s art is the best thing about the series. Those watercolors! Awesome two-page spreads. Atmospheric, creepy, fun. And Crooks includes a pretty impressive appendix on the making of the volume, too.
September 15, 2016
Harrow County is back on form with volume four, largely due to the original creative team being back but also because of the fantastic new characters they've introduced.
In this volume, we meet Emmy's extended family, and they are a bunch of seriously creepy buggers! Assembled, they are a pantheon-like crew of all kinds of supernatural folks and they've come to welcome Emmy to the family. The only trouble is, that means she'll have to leave Harrow County behind, whether she likes it or not.
I really enjoyed this book and hope to see it continue in this vein...
In this volume, we meet Emmy's extended family, and they are a bunch of seriously creepy buggers! Assembled, they are a pantheon-like crew of all kinds of supernatural folks and they've come to welcome Emmy to the family. The only trouble is, that means she'll have to leave Harrow County behind, whether she likes it or not.
I really enjoyed this book and hope to see it continue in this vein...
November 19, 2017
Cullen Bunn's excellent Harrow County continues its wonderful story about supernatural events taking place in Harrow County. Emmy is a special girl and can interact with and see "haints". It is a great atmosphere of the deep south mixed with a pervading sense of supernatural horror.
This story delves into Emmy's background, her mother and we get to meet others like her. As we get into the story we learn more about Hester, the original evil witch. Now I have to admit I rather like Hester. She is cruel, evil and ruthless. My kind of girl :) Ok I'm twisted but this is a wonderful tale. It has a curious mix of deep horror with a charming pleasant setting. Emmy has tremendous ability but has a good heart (usually a BAD combination in real life). But her past is catching up to her. Is she the second coming of Hester? These are the questions raised in this issue. You will also learn about the other "gifted" individuals and how their past has deep influence on the current state of affairs in Harrow County. There are also some hints as to what exactly Hester did to gain the opprobium of her fellows. More than that I will not say. I really like this story. I like the setting. I even like Emmy- it's good to see her get tough and begin to grasp the true extent of her powers.
Bunn's story and art style also give that strange mix of pleasant settings and characters in what seems a normal country setting mixed in with jarring revelations of strange supernatural creatures. The "normalcy" of the setting gives more weight to the unnatural creatures that lives in the countryside. Hats off to a great story and setting. While the art isn't really my style-it works VERY well within this story. A wonderful read for any horror fan.
This story delves into Emmy's background, her mother and we get to meet others like her. As we get into the story we learn more about Hester, the original evil witch. Now I have to admit I rather like Hester. She is cruel, evil and ruthless. My kind of girl :) Ok I'm twisted but this is a wonderful tale. It has a curious mix of deep horror with a charming pleasant setting. Emmy has tremendous ability but has a good heart (usually a BAD combination in real life). But her past is catching up to her. Is she the second coming of Hester? These are the questions raised in this issue. You will also learn about the other "gifted" individuals and how their past has deep influence on the current state of affairs in Harrow County. There are also some hints as to what exactly Hester did to gain the opprobium of her fellows. More than that I will not say. I really like this story. I like the setting. I even like Emmy- it's good to see her get tough and begin to grasp the true extent of her powers.
Bunn's story and art style also give that strange mix of pleasant settings and characters in what seems a normal country setting mixed in with jarring revelations of strange supernatural creatures. The "normalcy" of the setting gives more weight to the unnatural creatures that lives in the countryside. Hats off to a great story and setting. While the art isn't really my style-it works VERY well within this story. A wonderful read for any horror fan.
December 11, 2022
Oh, this was my favorite volume yet. WOW. First, can we talk about that panel of what Emmy's mother saw when she looked at her baby? Damn, that's going to stick in my memory for a while. Second, the lore in this volume was absolutely incredible! I feel like we learned so much about the world-building in this one, plus there were all of these fascinating characters... and then that ending? My heart. ♥ I love Emmy so much.
✨ Representation: Black side characters
✨ Content warnings for:
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✨ Representation: Black side characters
✨ Content warnings for:
———
twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog
September 15, 2016
Harrow county is back on track with Family Tree! Emmy meets her "true family", other people with the supernatural abilities. Of course, they didn't come to Harrow County just to drink tea and be friendly with her. It is a slower book than usual, but the story is good, especially the ending. Tyler Crook draws every issue in this volume, and do I even have to say it at this point? His art is gorgeous and one of the highlights of the whole series. I really enjoyed Tales of Harrow County, too, which this time around told one story in four parts, as opposed to different stories in every issue. It was an imaginative story, even if the ending was a bit underwhelming.
Overall, a much stronger volume than the previous one. Can't wait to see what's next for this series!
Overall, a much stronger volume than the previous one. Can't wait to see what's next for this series!
March 14, 2017
The stranger from issue #9 (or volume 3) is revealed, as is the back story of Hester Beck and Emmy's "mother". Emmy learns about the family of witches she never knew and must decide: does she chose this family, or the family and home she's always known?
Hester reminds me so much of that girl from "The Ring." You never see her face, and she's always smiling creepily and covered in blood. I love how dark this series is, but Emmy is so good, setting her up against all the evil things. And the haints aren't the most evil things out there.
Hester reminds me so much of that girl from "The Ring." You never see her face, and she's always smiling creepily and covered in blood. I love how dark this series is, but Emmy is so good, setting her up against all the evil things. And the haints aren't the most evil things out there.
March 28, 2017
This series has really improved over the last two volumes. If it keeps getting better, might give The Sixth Gun a run for its money. Still, seems to be moving at a bit of a snail's pace--Crook's art looks like it's very time-intensive.
January 28, 2017
4.5 stars.
Great title and hands down the strongest arc of the series so far.
Great title and hands down the strongest arc of the series so far.
December 16, 2020
3.5 stars
December 30, 2018
A very slowburn that EXPLODES by the end.
So this is the volume we really get to know about the history of everything. How Harrow County was created, where Emmy's mom disappeared to, what happen to Hester to make her the way she was, and much more. These other "witches" or "gods" whatever you want to call them tell their tales and try to push Emmy to their side. This results in one big ass mistake.
Good: Loved the hell out of the last issue. It's slow build up to this moment is wonderful. Emmy's major character growth, both through mental and psychical, is awesome. I also thought the return of one artist help flow this volume a lot better. Learning how truly evil Hester was is both fascinating and a bit scary.
Bad: The start is a bit slow, and the exposition dumb can be a bit much at times.
Overall, a nice return to a 4 star rating for me. Harrow County continues to prove Cullen Bunn can do great things when not writing Marvel.
So this is the volume we really get to know about the history of everything. How Harrow County was created, where Emmy's mom disappeared to, what happen to Hester to make her the way she was, and much more. These other "witches" or "gods" whatever you want to call them tell their tales and try to push Emmy to their side. This results in one big ass mistake.
Good: Loved the hell out of the last issue. It's slow build up to this moment is wonderful. Emmy's major character growth, both through mental and psychical, is awesome. I also thought the return of one artist help flow this volume a lot better. Learning how truly evil Hester was is both fascinating and a bit scary.
Bad: The start is a bit slow, and the exposition dumb can be a bit much at times.
Overall, a nice return to a 4 star rating for me. Harrow County continues to prove Cullen Bunn can do great things when not writing Marvel.
April 9, 2019
Re-Read April 2019
“Some might say Harrow County was founded on unwholesome Earth… that the soul itself had spoiled long ago… long before any natural creature had ever set foot thereabouts."
*****************
Yessss so goood!
1 – Emmy and Bernice look for Clinton, who is lost in a corn field
2 – Emmy meets Levi and the rest of her kin. Learns about what happened to her Ma
3 – Background about her kin and Hester Beck
4 – Harrow County is to be cleansed, as it is an abomination
“Some might say Harrow County was founded on unwholesome Earth… that the soul itself had spoiled long ago… long before any natural creature had ever set foot thereabouts."
*****************
Yessss so goood!
1 – Emmy and Bernice look for Clinton, who is lost in a corn field
2 – Emmy meets Levi and the rest of her kin. Learns about what happened to her Ma
3 – Background about her kin and Hester Beck
4 – Harrow County is to be cleansed, as it is an abomination
May 26, 2019
I'm tearing through the series and the quality has remained consistently excellent --- so this review will be repeated till a stumble requires alteration.
October 9, 2019
Vol 4 is the best of the series so far! Here's the character development we've been waiting for. We get more insight into who Emmy's mother was. How she saw the dormant power beneath Emmy's infant exterior and was terrified of it.
We also get an interesting introduction to a powerful secret society of witches and other magicks that want Emmy to join their fold. The final issue of the volume proves Emmy to continue on her path of good witch as she doesn't bend over to the rules of this society. She's a strong willed lass who understands her values and doesn't give in blindly to authority. A marvelous role model she's turning out to be! Definitely glad I'm sticking with this series!
for more reviews and content please visit my new blog amanjareads.com
We also get an interesting introduction to a powerful secret society of witches and other magicks that want Emmy to join their fold. The final issue of the volume proves Emmy to continue on her path of good witch as she doesn't bend over to the rules of this society. She's a strong willed lass who understands her values and doesn't give in blindly to authority. A marvelous role model she's turning out to be! Definitely glad I'm sticking with this series!
for more reviews and content please visit my new blog amanjareads.com
February 6, 2017
Snake Doctor left me feeling uncertain about the future of Harrow County. The continuing story of the series, and the slow reveal of all the characters, was what drew me to the story, so when I came across a collection that was made up of one-shots and a tangential two-part story, I felt like the series was veering off track. Luckily, I wasn't ready to give up on the series (I'm still reading Stephen King after The Tommyknockers, after all), and Family Tree brings the series back on the road.
In this volume, Emmy discovers the rest of her family. Yes, she learns more about her mother, but she also meets the rest of her supernatural family, when they arrive in Harrow County for a reunion of sorts. They reveal more of her origins and answer some of their questions about Hester, but of course they're there for more than just a Q&A session, and it's then that Emmy has to decide who her family really is.
I'm still impressed with how Bunn and Crook pull off such a disturbing, atmospheric story. The art is certainly a large part of it (and if you're a behind-the-scenes person, you'll love the section at the end where Crook talks about how he creates the art for the covers and the issues), but the writing itself also adds to the creep factor of the story. Bunn knows how to elicit shivers without being graphic, and excels at using details that are just out of ordinary enough to make you feel uncomfortable. Together, the two create a perfect horror story, which is part of the reason I was so disappointed with the guest artists who featured in Snake Doctor.
Another aspect of this arc I liked is how Bernice begins to come into her own as a character. Part of her story began in Snake Doctor, and it continues here, though only briefly. Given how she featured in the previous arc, and how her story is touched on here in this one, it seems evident that she'll be featured in a future story. She's beginning to be a formidable character of her own, and I look forward to seeing where the team will take her.
If you were put off by Snake Doctor, rest assured that Family Tree brings the story back where it ought to be. I'd recommend this series to anyone who has a taste for horror, or just good stories (so long as they don't mind a lot of creep on the side). Harrow County delivers.
In this volume, Emmy discovers the rest of her family. Yes, she learns more about her mother, but she also meets the rest of her supernatural family, when they arrive in Harrow County for a reunion of sorts. They reveal more of her origins and answer some of their questions about Hester, but of course they're there for more than just a Q&A session, and it's then that Emmy has to decide who her family really is.
I'm still impressed with how Bunn and Crook pull off such a disturbing, atmospheric story. The art is certainly a large part of it (and if you're a behind-the-scenes person, you'll love the section at the end where Crook talks about how he creates the art for the covers and the issues), but the writing itself also adds to the creep factor of the story. Bunn knows how to elicit shivers without being graphic, and excels at using details that are just out of ordinary enough to make you feel uncomfortable. Together, the two create a perfect horror story, which is part of the reason I was so disappointed with the guest artists who featured in Snake Doctor.
Another aspect of this arc I liked is how Bernice begins to come into her own as a character. Part of her story began in Snake Doctor, and it continues here, though only briefly. Given how she featured in the previous arc, and how her story is touched on here in this one, it seems evident that she'll be featured in a future story. She's beginning to be a formidable character of her own, and I look forward to seeing where the team will take her.
If you were put off by Snake Doctor, rest assured that Family Tree brings the story back where it ought to be. I'd recommend this series to anyone who has a taste for horror, or just good stories (so long as they don't mind a lot of creep on the side). Harrow County delivers.
November 8, 2017
Oh ho ho!
We're getting into a whole 'nuther story now!
Turns out, Emmy is part of a tribe of magical types. There used to be a bunch of them but now there are only a handful left and they have a magical house that shows up when everyone needs to get together for a meeting.
Interesting stuff.
We're getting into a whole 'nuther story now!
Turns out, Emmy is part of a tribe of magical types. There used to be a bunch of them but now there are only a handful left and they have a magical house that shows up when everyone needs to get together for a meeting.
Interesting stuff.
November 12, 2019
Oh my goodness, but things never to go quite as planned when extended family come to visit do they? While our girl Emmy is trying to figure out who she is and the extent of her powers, here comes the family with their own ideas and agendas. What's a girl to do?
This continues to be wonderfully illustrated, and delightfully creepy. The watercolors are fantastic, and while that ending was a tad too predictable, I was happy with where we left things. Now I'm impatiently waiting for the last four volumes to show up. Should have planed better, I know.
This continues to be wonderfully illustrated, and delightfully creepy. The watercolors are fantastic, and while that ending was a tad too predictable, I was happy with where we left things. Now I'm impatiently waiting for the last four volumes to show up. Should have planed better, I know.
January 27, 2019
The scope has just gotten a lot lot bigger! So many unique and powerful characters and so much vivid colour, this is really a good step forward. Also, got to know a bit about comics making. Felt quite nice.
July 3, 2019
Bullet Review:
How did I miss reading this? Who knows, but this answered SO many questions about the ending!
Emmy learns about her “family” and her powers. Simple when written like that, but key for future volumes.
How did I miss reading this? Who knows, but this answered SO many questions about the ending!
Emmy learns about her “family” and her powers. Simple when written like that, but key for future volumes.
April 14, 2017
This might be my favorite volume yet, this series is really coming together into something special.
November 10, 2019
After two average volumes, we are finally getting somewhere. Story is brisking up and Emmy's supposed family shows up. Bernice is also staring to explore her's powers. Although we get of promise of confrontation between Emmy and Bernice, and ending is kind of hasted deus ex machina, still better than waste potential in last two books. 3,5*
December 27, 2023
In the fourth volume, we finally get some back story on Hester’s powers and meet some magical “family members". Odessa, who had been referred to in the previous volume, is shown, and while she seems to be a sort of mentor to Emmy, she and the others want to destroy Harrow County and all its inhabitants so Emmy will stay with them. Well, Emmy won’t accept that, and it turns out her so-called family underestimated her powers. This was a typical origins story- some answers are given while raising many more.
Cullen Bunn’s story remains strong, as did Crook’s art. My reviews of the remaining four volumes won’t be far behind, as I am *dying* to find out the rest of Emmy’s story!
This review (plus V2 & V3) can be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2019/02/2...
Cullen Bunn’s story remains strong, as did Crook’s art. My reviews of the remaining four volumes won’t be far behind, as I am *dying* to find out the rest of Emmy’s story!
This review (plus V2 & V3) can be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2019/02/2...
September 12, 2017
Some interesting revelations in this one...
June 7, 2018
Me ha gustado muchísimo. Poco a poco vamos sabiendo más del universo en que se integra la historia sin abandonar el misterio. Muy bien.
November 29, 2018
After the collected shorter stories of the previous volume,
Snake Doctor
, a full four-issue arc by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook is a very welcome thing, but all the more so since they actually build on those collected stories (the psychopomp reappears as Levi, and Odessa was, of course, mentioned as the one who prompted Old Lovey's gifts for magic) by expanding not only the storyworld itself but its core mythology as well. Hester Beck, it turns out, belonged a family of special beings (not gods, they are rather particular about that) and now Emmy meets Levi, Odessa, Mildred, Kaine, and Corbin, who claim to be her kin and want bring her into the fold.
This arc only cements my love for this series. I adore the eerie mythology it weaves, and I am, as always left craving more.
The bonus features in this volume include the full script for an issue along with sketches for the page layouts for the script. It is really interesting to see these behind-the-process/making-of features, and quite educational too.
This arc only cements my love for this series. I adore the eerie mythology it weaves, and I am, as always left craving more.
The bonus features in this volume include the full script for an issue along with sketches for the page layouts for the script. It is really interesting to see these behind-the-process/making-of features, and quite educational too.
April 21, 2018
A group of gods witch-naps Emmy and explains that they are her siblings and want to tutor her in the ways of immortal magical beings. But first they just have to murder every living thing in Harrow County. You know, for her own good.
The series is better in that Bunn ended his badly written "voiceover" text, but for the second volume in a row there is a disappointing lack of "haints". Besides, Emmy was more interesting when she was just a witch with mysterious origins and not one of the world's discrete half-dozen godlike immortals.
My library for some reason has v6 but not v5. I'm not invested enough to work for the missing volume so it looks like I'm done reading Harrow County. Meh, I've read worse, I've read better.
The series is better in that Bunn ended his badly written "voiceover" text, but for the second volume in a row there is a disappointing lack of "haints". Besides, Emmy was more interesting when she was just a witch with mysterious origins and not one of the world's discrete half-dozen godlike immortals.
My library for some reason has v6 but not v5. I'm not invested enough to work for the missing volume so it looks like I'm done reading Harrow County. Meh, I've read worse, I've read better.
June 6, 2017
Four volumes in, I'm still really enjoying this series. The story is unfolding at a good pace, and this volume is delving into the larger universe of Emmy's world in ways that have exciting implications for future volumes. The writing and art maintain their excellent quality. The only thing to really complain about is that, like with all volumes of Harrow County, it's only made up of four issues, whereas the typical trade paperback seems to consist of five or six. However, there is a good amount of bonus material that fills out the back of the comic. I particularly liked seeing the storyboard art alongside the script. I can't wait to read the next volume!
July 20, 2017
Harrow County continues to impress by being weird and fun while still being a little creepy. This book was less about being unsettling and more about some decent worldbuilding with some interesting adversaries, and I definitely enjoyed it but I also hope the next volume gets back to what makes this series truly great. Still absolutely worth your time.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews