The mystery deepens in the second volume of the runaway bestselling series by New York Times bestselling and Eisner Award-winning writer JEFF LEMIRE (DESCENDER) and ANDREA SORRENTINO, the acclaimed creative duo behind Green Arrow and Old Man Logan. As the reclusive and troubled young man NORTON becomes more immersed in his quest for the secret of the legendary Black Barn, washed-up Catholic priest FATHER FRED unravels the secret behind a series of grisly murders. The psychological dread-inducing terror of Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House collides with the unsettling atmosphere of Twin Peaks in this addictive new series. Collects GIDEON FALLS #7-11
Librarian note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
Jeff Lemire is a New York Times bestselling and award winning author, and creator of the acclaimed graphic novels Sweet Tooth, Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Trillium, Plutona, Black Hammer, Descender, Royal City, and Gideon Falls. His upcoming projects include a host of series and original graphic novels, including the fantasy series Ascender with Dustin Nguyen.
Weird story that I don't dislike. If that makes sense?
So the "crazy" guy and his psychiatrist trying to unravel what the guy's collection of what he thinks are chunks of this Black Barn means is one side of the story, and the priest and sheriff trying to determine if the recent murders are connected with the disappearance of her little brother years ago are connected are the other side.
The crazy dude (Nathan) turned out to be exactly who I thought he was, so there was no surprise there. But I honestly don't know if that was even supposed to be a surprise. The actual surprise? It got me right at the end. I only had a few suspicions as to what the Barn was, and it certainly wasn't that. I liked it. The ending gave me some hope that this isn't going to drag on and on without giving the reader any real idea if there's an actual story in there somewhere. I've heard good things about this one and bad things about it, too, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
I very much liked the first volume of Gideon Falls, a horror story with lean and fast storytelling by master storyteller Jeff Lemire, master artist Andrea Sorrentino (Old Man Logan, and others with Lemire), and hall of fame colorist Dave Stewart, but I liked this second volume (of three), which is leaner and faster and ramps up the visual invention.
The story follows Father Fred Wilfred, a very troubled priest, and Norton Sinclair, a mentally ill man. There's been a series of murders in Gideon Falls, and some people think Norton is the culprit. Norton has an obsessive focus on a black barn, which he feels compelled to rebuild (cf. Field of Dreams "if you build it, they will come;" Close Encounters--Roy building Devil's Tower in his living room) from the scraps of wood he finds in the town garbage dump. A psychiatrist has no patience for this nonsense, until she, too, begins to get strange visions, and agrees to help him. Even after he gets locked up in the psych ward in a strait jacket.
A cop and her estranged father have different views about what happened to their brother-son Danny, who went missing years ago. Dad has made it his life work to find out; his daughter thinks he's nuts. Now, much of what I've said so far seems like a conventional mystery story, with a hint (that barn, these visual obsessions) of horror. But the thing that bumps this up toward excellence is the visual representation of the ideas driving the script, illustrated by Sorrentino:
What is goodness? Wholeness? When we look into the mirror, we see what we think we see, and not some paranoid image of a screaming skull? Sorrentino represents this lack through fragmentation, an explosion of small panels, Polaroid images, scattered across the page, Stewart-colored with reds and slightly nauseating greens (not spring green, but green rot). The panel compositions are often elaborate, swirling, consistent with the imaginative space of horror and fantasy, a kind of shattered stained-glass window. Spirals, linked neural pathways, dendroids (go, ahead, look it up!).
The last issue, where much of this visual feast happens, is breath-taking, can't talk about what happens, but visually it is terrific. I am not convinced of all of it yet, this move toward a resolution, the reveal that is already happening in the last pages, but if we know Lemire, these secrets, these crimes, the past, seems to point to some kind of redemption. That's pretty much Lemire's jam.
Lemire doesn't usually do horror. Maybe Sweet Tooth can be seen as dystopian horror, but he's known for his Essex County realistic fiction stories and his science fiction (Descender, Black Hammer) and lots of superhero comics. This has nods to Harrow County and Outcast and other atmospheric horror series. I am at 4.5 now, holding back because of worries about a conventional conclusion to the story.
Lemire usually creates musical playlists to accompany his work. This is Sorrentino's Gideon Falls playlist:
Better than the first volume as we are slowly getting some answers doled out each issue. There's a lot of moving pieces here and it's still not clear how they all fit together. There is a feeling of dread throughout the book, but I definitely wouldn't consider this horror like a lot of other readers do. Sorrentino's art works really well at portraying that sense of dread along with trippy dimension? time? (Who can really besides the creators at this point?) spanning visuals. I still think this will work better as one epic read once it's completed.
Received an advance copy from Image and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino continue to mindfuck us with this 2nd volume and all I can think to say is...thank you.
Personally, this is one of my favorite monthly pulls, every issue gives us a smidgen more of the story, and every issue continues to confuse me all over again. I was actually laughing out loud in glee as I turned the last few pages at the end of this arc. Everything about...the writing, the crazy panel layouts, the entire presentation, really, are 100% on point!
I'm so creeped out happy to be following along on this crazy story!
This is one of those mind-twist-fucked-up-in-the-head-must-read-type-of-comics.
So where volume 1 had a nice build up and some sudden revelations, this one moves even quicker. Our hero gets caught and thrown in a psych ward, but is it really that? The priest and cop get more answers, and even more questions, when they discover who the individual they are hunting is. Then you get the most insane last issue here as two worlds begin to collide. Past and present meld together to create a truly "Oh shit" moment.
Gideon falls continues to be enthralling every step of the way. The art took a bit to get used to but now I love it. There's one shot in here that blew my mind of how cool and different it was. Dialogue is strong as usual and Jeff Lemire does a amazing job of spinning a complicated tale.
SUPER FAST REVIEW: The story continues and it is very interesting. The art is really cool, especially with some of the things done with the page designs! Very suspenseful, sometimes creepy, the characters are interesting. There’s also one hell of a cliffhanger ending! My only problems are this volume is slower than the first and a bit more confusing. Overall, it’s an interesting story with great art and some creepy bits. With this book’s suspense and cliffhanger ending it is definitely worth reading even if this volume is slower and harder to understand than the first. Highly recommended!
I feel like I have no idea what's going on but I enjoy it anyways.
I suppose it will require a complete re-read to catch all the details I've missed while reading this in single issues. The mystery of the Black Barn is slowly unraveling, Father Fred and Norton finally meet each other and it's really mindblowing.
Great atmosphere and art! Highly recommended if you are looking for some mysterious thriller/horror.
I decided to plow on after enjoying Original Sins, and found this one similarly unsettling with excellent artwork. But at $20 per volume, I am not necessarily so enamored with he story to run out and buy the last few. I like where this horror story is going, but might need a pause before going further into this universe.
(4 of 5 for very nice "omnipotent evil force" horror) The second book proved that some comics just work much better as a whole than as issues. Which looked bit complicated at first is actually quite simple. The first confusing thing about Gideon Falls is that the evil, supernatural force, unlike in other stories from the horror genre, is not known here. There are clues not to it, but to its manifestation in our world. The second book finally puts most of the clues together and started to focus on the force behind it (in a cliffhanger, of course). This is the chilling kind of horror, which gives you creep by compromising our view to the order and leaving the main characters as a pawn in some game. They can try hard, but the ominous force always has the upper hand. As for art, I find the drawing of the characters ugly most of the time. And overall some scenes bit chaotic (as in drawing). But the work with the panels and pages is mesmerizing and unusual, but Sorrentino uses panels not as the storytelling tools, but as an art form. And that could be confusing because after few "classic" pages which are telling what's going on comes few other pages primary to shock and impress. But it works for the story and for the comics, making it something far from mundane. And that's good, not aiming for a vast audience but to make something, something else.
The second volume of Gideon Falls further proves that the series is one of the most creatively constructed graphic novel series I've ever read. This is what sequential art storytelling should be about! The imaginative page layouts and panel construction fit the story so well that it's impossible to imagine it any other way. It really helps to provide an unsettling reading experience, making the tale that much creepier.
And as usual in his independent work, I'm constantly impressed by how Jeff Lemire always resists falling into the trap of 3rd or 1st person narration the way almost every other writer does. Instead of taking the easy way out by having disconnected narration push the story forward, he always relies on images and dialogue. He's a real treasure in the comic book industry. And now, so is the art team, led by Andrea Sorrentino.
What I mentioned about the first volume, about there seeming to be two versions of Gideon Falls, seems to have been on the right track. Whether we’re dealing with different eras or with alternate worlds remains to be seen.
Andrea Sorrentino’s art is perfect for this series, looking like a slightly fuzzy, scratchy, nervous version of reality. The seeming groundedness in real things makes the flights of fancy and grotesque all the more startling when they occur. Ths series revels in the unsettling and off-kilter.
The pacing is pretty near perfect. Jeff Lemire definitely knows what he's doing, and drops hints at just the right places to keep the interest and excitement high. I don't think I’ve read a horror series this good since Locke and Key. Let's hope they can keep this level of quality throughout! Highly recommended!
Problem sa misterijama je što ponekad dobiješ odgovor koji nisi želeo - i to ne na onaj pozitivan "štakojk" način. No, ovo se tek zahuktalo, te i ti "odgovori" nisu potpuno formirani, dorečeni. Ostavljeno im je dovoljno prostora da dišu. Bez obzira na tu omanju sporečkicu izmedju mene i stripa, svakako jeste jezivo uživanje čitati nešto ovako prelepo ilustrovano i valjano napisano.
The mystery deepens says the back cover. Indeed, it does. Like in volume one answers just bring on further questions. Hints everywhere but no clear picture. Deftly distilled I'd say cos' I sure want to get answers.
Amazingly the main characters don't really get much likeable; neither the priest nor the crazy attract much sympathy and both aren't very much developed. As for the support cast it oscillates between the most extreme cliché (the hard ass female cop) and the virtually non-existent (the psychiatrist). And yet I feel compelled to follow their fate through the door of that goddamn barn! Ain't that a tour de force?
Cherry on top this book is kinda scary. Not "jump out of your pants" scary but there's this permanent and pervasive feeling of discomfort and uneasiness that spreads through the book. Of something vicious and rotten lying in wait behind the closed- but for how long?- door of a black barn.
Of course Sorrentino's cold art and troubling narration enhanced by Steward's sickly color chart aren't for nothing in the final oppressing rendering of the plot.
I like this series, but I thought the finale of this (second) arc is underwhelming, and I kind of hope it goes a completely different direction than it now seems to be heading.
Still great, but got a little difficult to follow. At this point, we are clearly dealing with something fantastic and unique in the world of comic horror, but some of the connections established here are a bit tenuous without further world building. Great imagery and concepts, but you're likely to get lost a time or two before the volume is done. Still on board still excited even, but I'm hoping there's no way this just falls flat before its finish.
داستان این کمیک در جلد دوم پیچیده تر میشه و با وجود پاسخ به برخی از سوالات مهم، سوالات جدیدی مطرح میشه. این کمیک تا به اینجای کار شباهت هایی به مجموعه برج تاریک و کتاب ایت استیون کینگ داره اما با داستان پیچیده تری روبرو هستیم. طراحی ها حتی از جلد یک هم بهتر شدن و اثری به یادموندنی رو خلق کردن. واقعا یک اقتباس خوب احتیاج داره چرا که میتونه یک سریال قوی و درجه یک ازش اقتباس بشه
Great second entry in the series! Very ominous encounters between characters and the Black Barn, and a lot of the puzzle pieces seem to be coming together.
Дуже сподіваюся, що буде фільм або серіал. Дуже заворожує. Наразі почав третю книгу, але із двої перших виростає цікава атмосфера на межі тривоги, передчуття та когнітивного дисонансу. І звісно моральні моменти у персонажів, коли внутрішні конфлікти та минуле підсилюють впетеність читача у сюжет.
Quando sairam as primeiras histórias de Gideon Falls tanto no Brasil como nos Estados Unidos foi feito um estardalhaço de primeira, mas muito aquém do que realmente as edições ofereciam. Jeff Lemire é um escritor bom e competente, mas como produz muita coisa nem sempre ele acerta em cheio. Gideon Falls não é assim arrebatante como vendem. É bom, mas é uma narrativa mais lenta e não algo hypado desse jeito que vai agradar aos massavéio e a massa dos véio. A narrativa de Andrea Sorrentino, claro, é especial e tem a sua própria maneira de contar a história, o que dá um ponto a mais para a HQ, mas nada fora do comum do trabalho dele já visto em O Velho Logam, Arqueiro Verde e Eu, vampiro, a não ser que você esteja por fora do mainstream e do que Lemire e Sorretino estejam aprontando por lá. No fim das cointas, Gideon Falls é isso: uma série bem mainstream de horror, longe dos trabalhos mais autorais e independentes de Lemire. É um quadrinho bom, mas não é a última bolachinha do pacote Calypso, que é bolacha de rico. É um quadrinho que poderia muito bem sair em capa cartão que tava de boas!
Writer Jeff Lemire builds up a fascinating and intriguing story around the mysteriously eerie Black Barn as he continues to develop on both Norton and Father Fred's characters, both inching their way towards unraveling mysteries that will force them to question their own sanity.
Artist Andrea Sorrentino also brings into play his terrifying artwork to play, stylistically playing with the reading direction, the panel placements, and extremely creative splash pages.
Gideon Falls is now progressively growing into an excellent series that is worth checking out for fans of psychological thrillers and horror.
The mystery deepens promises the back cover, and I have to agree. It deepens almost enough to be incomprehensible. Perhaps more will be explained in volume three . . .
Wired Magazine calls these books a delicious nightmare and they are not wrong. There is something distinctly delicious about the nightmares these books spin. Nd terribly addictive. I loved book one and was eagerly awaiting the next installment and it didn’t disappoint. The adventures of the mysterious black barn and people obsessed with it and affected by it continues, this time revealing more about the barn’s origins, but the answers to questions ratio is still tantalizingly off. It’s the sort of story that revels a few of its secrets to you and then asks you to stay put promising more. A tease, but a gorgeous one. Literally. Well drawn out and well drawn. There are still revolutionary things being done with panel arrangements. I love it. And yes, objectively, the wow factor is somewhat reduced the second time around, which is just pure psychology (the freshness of that first itada moment just isn't the same), but it's still so very good. Now it’s back to waiting, since the library only got the first two volumes so far for some reason. Waiting and hoping and wishing and dreaming…of delicious nightmares. Excellent and terrifying, read if you dare. Recommended.