What do you think?
Rate this book
Gideon Falls
Gideon Falls, Vol. 4: El Pentáculo
Después del viaje a través del tiempo y el espacio del capítulo anterior, Norton y Clara se ven atrapados en el pueblo de Gideon Falls con un psicópata asesino. Mientras tanto, Angie y el padre Fred se ven cara a cara con el obispo en el Gideon Falls de la gran ciudad, donde los secretos de la máquina pentáculo se revelan en todo su delirante esplendor. En medio del caos, ¿qué pasará cuando los Labradores por fin respondan a la llamada del deber?
128 pages, Paperback
First published June 23, 2020
33 people are currently reading
775 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Lemire
1,393 books3,874 followersLibrarian 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 274 reviews
August 29, 2021
As more of the story is revealed, more things pop up to confuse you.
Which is par for the course when it comes to horror comics like this one. The setting is trippy and you're never really sure which end is up.
That also means that the ending could goes either way, as well. If Lemire really sticks the landing this could be an excellent comic. However, if he just sort of ends it with a lot of the story left up to the imagination of the reader I'm not sure if I'll be so thrilled that I read this one. The characters themselves are somewhat interchangeable and throwaway. And by that, I mean that I'm not attached to any of them, so everything is riding on the mystery of this Black Barn. If there's no definitive conclusion, this could be a real clusterfuck.
However, the art is amazing.
And by art, I don't actually mean the way anything is drawn. I could give or take the actual look of the characters or their world. I mean the panel layouts and colors.
Whoa! I love it!
I'm really hoping for an excellent outcome from this one, so fingers crossed!
Which is par for the course when it comes to horror comics like this one. The setting is trippy and you're never really sure which end is up.
That also means that the ending could goes either way, as well. If Lemire really sticks the landing this could be an excellent comic. However, if he just sort of ends it with a lot of the story left up to the imagination of the reader I'm not sure if I'll be so thrilled that I read this one. The characters themselves are somewhat interchangeable and throwaway. And by that, I mean that I'm not attached to any of them, so everything is riding on the mystery of this Black Barn. If there's no definitive conclusion, this could be a real clusterfuck.
However, the art is amazing.
And by art, I don't actually mean the way anything is drawn. I could give or take the actual look of the characters or their world. I mean the panel layouts and colors.
Whoa! I love it!
I'm really hoping for an excellent outcome from this one, so fingers crossed!
June 28, 2020
“Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down and worship me.' Jesus said to him, 'Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him”--Matthew 4:8-11
In volume four we are in (spoiler alert?) two different sites of Gideon Falls (I'll try to explain), and it’s visually stunning to be there. It’s clear from my glance at the reviews that 1) everyone is intrigued enough to keep reading and 2) loves the art, but 3) doesn’t know what the Hell (pun intended) is going on. I find little hints in the text itself that seem to indicate writer Jeff Lemire acknowledges he feels out pain.
At one point Dr. Angela Yu, attempting to figure out what is going on, says,
“My head is spinning!” (we feel ya, Angela!)
We are sympathetic when Danny asserts, “Let’s end this.” (We are ready, Jeff).
In another place, Danny says to the Bishop:
“You said we were close. Close to what?”
“Real answers, son. With you back, we are going to figure this out once and for all.”
Ha! Good one, Jeff! This is what we want, too! Real answers!
So in this volume Norton/Danny and Clara are trapped in one Gideon Falls, pursued by a “smiling man” (he's the Real Deal Evil Guy). For some reason this guy will systematically kill everyone else in the town until he gets Danny. Why does he have to trouble slaughtering everyone else but has trouble killing unarmed Danny?! (This is called suspense, dear reader!).
In another Gideon Falls, (Father) Fred and (doctor) Angie debate with the Bishop about "The Pentoculus Machine" (I will not be able to satisfactorily explain, but will tell you more about later). And in another plot line, we see that a vigilante group called The Ploughman are going after the smiling man, to finally end it all. Do we need this group? Lemire says yes, obviously.
Okay another spoiler, maybe? (But I gotta say here, we would all be grateful for just a leetle bit of help in figuring out what is going on this series!): The Pentoculus we now know is Norton (or, Danny) Sinclair’s machine that has created some kind of dimensional rift in the world (we don't know how or why), in a place located in a small Canadian town named Gideon Falls, and more specifically in a barn that represents evil, or madness (at one point the doctor and the preacher admit they are doing much the same work). The barn is your basic paranormal site, ironic, as a barn is a rural Canadian icon of Goodness.
So here’s the gist of the joke: Five Great Travelers walk into a Rift in the metaphysical universe--a priest named Fred, a doctor Yu, a soldier, a prophet and (because it is Lemire) a father. We (for some reason) are gonna need all five of these people to win this fight between Good and Evil so the rift can be repaired and Gideon Falls can go on being normal, I guess. Or be better, Good-er, not sure yet. But for sure not to all be killed by the smiling man!
For we readers it is still at this point mainly the mystery that creates the sustained Scary that is horror. When we want answers, Lemire protests that we can’t know everything about what is going on, we can’t (yet) have everything explained because then we wouldn’t be scared anymore. And we need to be scared because this comic (like most horror comics) is ultimately about the Biggest, Baddest, Scariest Big Scary, the struggle between Good and Evil (think, i dunno, The Exorcist, that’s what’s at stake, our Mortal Souls, okay?). (And see above, the quote from Revelation).
And the artwork primarily does this scaring-the-reader work, very creepy and inventive, increasingly so. The world is broken, fragmented, shattered, not whole, and Sorrentino is amazing at creating this, goes crazy with it. If things are whole you (presumably) get reflection in a mirror; in this world everything is refracted. But you know, I vote with the majority, I still like it a lot. Two or three cuts above most horror comics for sure in artistic quality and invention.
In volume four we are in (spoiler alert?) two different sites of Gideon Falls (I'll try to explain), and it’s visually stunning to be there. It’s clear from my glance at the reviews that 1) everyone is intrigued enough to keep reading and 2) loves the art, but 3) doesn’t know what the Hell (pun intended) is going on. I find little hints in the text itself that seem to indicate writer Jeff Lemire acknowledges he feels out pain.
At one point Dr. Angela Yu, attempting to figure out what is going on, says,
“My head is spinning!” (we feel ya, Angela!)
We are sympathetic when Danny asserts, “Let’s end this.” (We are ready, Jeff).
In another place, Danny says to the Bishop:
“You said we were close. Close to what?”
“Real answers, son. With you back, we are going to figure this out once and for all.”
Ha! Good one, Jeff! This is what we want, too! Real answers!
So in this volume Norton/Danny and Clara are trapped in one Gideon Falls, pursued by a “smiling man” (he's the Real Deal Evil Guy). For some reason this guy will systematically kill everyone else in the town until he gets Danny. Why does he have to trouble slaughtering everyone else but has trouble killing unarmed Danny?! (This is called suspense, dear reader!).
In another Gideon Falls, (Father) Fred and (doctor) Angie debate with the Bishop about "The Pentoculus Machine" (I will not be able to satisfactorily explain, but will tell you more about later). And in another plot line, we see that a vigilante group called The Ploughman are going after the smiling man, to finally end it all. Do we need this group? Lemire says yes, obviously.
Okay another spoiler, maybe? (But I gotta say here, we would all be grateful for just a leetle bit of help in figuring out what is going on this series!): The Pentoculus we now know is Norton (or, Danny) Sinclair’s machine that has created some kind of dimensional rift in the world (we don't know how or why), in a place located in a small Canadian town named Gideon Falls, and more specifically in a barn that represents evil, or madness (at one point the doctor and the preacher admit they are doing much the same work). The barn is your basic paranormal site, ironic, as a barn is a rural Canadian icon of Goodness.
So here’s the gist of the joke: Five Great Travelers walk into a Rift in the metaphysical universe--a priest named Fred, a doctor Yu, a soldier, a prophet and (because it is Lemire) a father. We (for some reason) are gonna need all five of these people to win this fight between Good and Evil so the rift can be repaired and Gideon Falls can go on being normal, I guess. Or be better, Good-er, not sure yet. But for sure not to all be killed by the smiling man!
For we readers it is still at this point mainly the mystery that creates the sustained Scary that is horror. When we want answers, Lemire protests that we can’t know everything about what is going on, we can’t (yet) have everything explained because then we wouldn’t be scared anymore. And we need to be scared because this comic (like most horror comics) is ultimately about the Biggest, Baddest, Scariest Big Scary, the struggle between Good and Evil (think, i dunno, The Exorcist, that’s what’s at stake, our Mortal Souls, okay?). (And see above, the quote from Revelation).
And the artwork primarily does this scaring-the-reader work, very creepy and inventive, increasingly so. The world is broken, fragmented, shattered, not whole, and Sorrentino is amazing at creating this, goes crazy with it. If things are whole you (presumably) get reflection in a mirror; in this world everything is refracted. But you know, I vote with the majority, I still like it a lot. Two or three cuts above most horror comics for sure in artistic quality and invention.
January 22, 2022
This series is really picking up steam now. Yes, it's still trippy with plenty of unanswered questions. Lemire is showing enough though that there is a plan. We're beginning to see how these many worlds and times are fitting together. Even the way out trippy stuff with the priest and the doctor made sense inthe end. Lemire and Sorrentino kick up the horror too with the Grinning Man in small town Gideon Falls and he's murdering people left and right. Sorrentino's art is just brilliant.
January 15, 2021
This is the most action-packed volume of Gideon Falls so far! The pace is breakneck as we cut back and forth between different parallel stories with our separated characters before they come together in an explosive cliffhanger. And we finally get definitive answers to the question of what the Black Barn is and we also get to see the Ploughmen! And the top-notch artistry is still quite heavily on display. This series is proving to be the most effective horror comic I’ve read!
October 7, 2025
2025 Review: Still really good. Such a fun book to read during october. Some really cool horror visuals I can sit back and seep in this time since I remember the plot pretty long. Also the Priest is so fucking badass in thsi one. A 4 out of 5.
2020 Review: Gideon falls steps into the horror genre harder this volume as the "creature" or "demon" finally makes its move.
This feels like a season 1 finale as all our heroes finally get to meet up. A lot of questions are answered, especially for our young Garbage collector as he confronts the demon trying to meet with him. But the priest and his new sidekick aren't dealing with this demon and his bullshit any longer. And just when shit is really about to go down something major happens to lead on to the next event/arc here.
Overall, Gideon fall is one of the strangest comics I read because it's confusing, hard to recommend what it is about, but it's always entertaining. Love the art, the characters, and the dialogue, even if I'm lost half the time. A 4 out of 5.
2020 Review: Gideon falls steps into the horror genre harder this volume as the "creature" or "demon" finally makes its move.
This feels like a season 1 finale as all our heroes finally get to meet up. A lot of questions are answered, especially for our young Garbage collector as he confronts the demon trying to meet with him. But the priest and his new sidekick aren't dealing with this demon and his bullshit any longer. And just when shit is really about to go down something major happens to lead on to the next event/arc here.
Overall, Gideon fall is one of the strangest comics I read because it's confusing, hard to recommend what it is about, but it's always entertaining. Love the art, the characters, and the dialogue, even if I'm lost half the time. A 4 out of 5.
April 28, 2024
This just gets weirder and better!
April 26, 2020
I've given up trying to make sense of this book for now and just given myself over to the wild ride that it promises each and every time I open the front cover. The story wraps around itself like a time traveling uroboros, and each issue gives you more and more nightmare fuel as the Smiling Man's plan gets grosser and more vile with each page. Lemire and Sorrentino are on fire with this book - I just hope it all makes sense at the end.
March 21, 2021
Devolving into more and more horror clichés. The grinning man becoming more and more a regular old horror monster.
February 11, 2021
Seeing everyone else's reviews/ratings for this makes me wonder if this isn't the best series to read as issues are released because my main thought was always WTF IS HAPPENING.
Maybe I'm dumb, idk.
Some issues were better than others though, so I'm still sticking with this.
Individual issue reviews: #17 | #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 | #22
Total review score: 1.96
Maybe I'm dumb, idk.
Some issues were better than others though, so I'm still sticking with this.
Individual issue reviews: #17 | #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 | #22
Total review score: 1.96
August 23, 2025
In “The Pentoculus”, Volume 4 of Jeff Lemire/Andrea Sorrentino’s graphic novel series Gideon Falls: the Smiling Man is body-hopping, leaving a wake of bloody corpses; Father Fred and Angela meet up with the Bishop; Danny’s dad rounds up the Ploughmen; giant evil cockroaches chase Fred and Angela to the Village at the Center where Angela meets herself; Clara has a showdown at the mall with the Smiling Man; the Ploughmen show up with a shit-ton of C4—-what could go wrong?
This is definitely one of the best, most intense, and weirdest graphic novel series I have ever read. There’s a few more volumes until the conclusion, and I can’t wait to read them all…
This is definitely one of the best, most intense, and weirdest graphic novel series I have ever read. There’s a few more volumes until the conclusion, and I can’t wait to read them all…
April 19, 2021
2. reading
Zhodnotím volume 1-4 hromadne, nakoľko som ich dala na jeden záťah. Gideon Falls považujem za asi najlepšie dielo od Lemire v mojich očiach. Mám rada tie jeho rodinné drámy, ale všetky sú na jedno kopyto a nebaví ma to isté stále čítať dokola. Namiesto toho toto ma naozaj baví. Bavia ma postavy, baví ma dej a kam sa to celé uberá, bavia ma všetky hororové prvky a scény, ktoré to ponúka. A čo mi naozaj lahodí, je kresba. To čo predvádza Sorrentino je totálne božské, niektoré stránky mi ešte od prvého čítania do detailu utkväli v pamäti. A niektoré tie panely sú totálna láska. Teším sa na koniec tejto série a som zvedavá, čo s tým toto duo spravilo. Stále platí 5/5
Zhodnotím volume 1-4 hromadne, nakoľko som ich dala na jeden záťah. Gideon Falls považujem za asi najlepšie dielo od Lemire v mojich očiach. Mám rada tie jeho rodinné drámy, ale všetky sú na jedno kopyto a nebaví ma to isté stále čítať dokola. Namiesto toho toto ma naozaj baví. Bavia ma postavy, baví ma dej a kam sa to celé uberá, bavia ma všetky hororové prvky a scény, ktoré to ponúka. A čo mi naozaj lahodí, je kresba. To čo predvádza Sorrentino je totálne božské, niektoré stránky mi ešte od prvého čítania do detailu utkväli v pamäti. A niektoré tie panely sú totálna láska. Teším sa na koniec tejto série a som zvedavá, čo s tým toto duo spravilo. Stále platí 5/5
June 4, 2020
A series that just keeps getting better. Typical Jeff Lemire.
April 9, 2024
A pesar de estar resolviéndose la historia y generarme un gran interés por leer el desenlace, la historia está perdiendo cierta chispa. Está cayendo en varios tópicos de las historias de terror, lo cual tampoco ayuda a mantener esa aura única que sí encontré en los primeros tomos de la colección. El apartado gráfico sigue siendo tremendo. Tengo ganas de ver cómo culminan los sucesos en Gideon Falls, pero no tengo grandes esperanzas en lo que respecta al desenlace.
April 11, 2021
REVELATIONS! SO MANY! We finally get the answer or sort of it as to whats going on, like we learn about the OG Norton Sinclair from the 19th century and how he built the black barn and the machine- the pentacle that allowed him to see parallel realities but then this demon of the black barn came in and kinda possessed him. In the modern day Daniel Sutton who thinks he is Norton learns thr truth and together with the ploughmen he goes to fight this smiling man/demon and in order to rescue his sister, meanwhile in another reality Angie and Father Fred meet different monsters and old Angie and more revelations by the bishop to them and they have one of the most twisted adventures and the art is just horrendous-ly hauntingly beautiful. The sense of horror is high reading it but then by the end when it all seems down, the five gather to fight this demon and its epic! We learn a lot of things here and it answers some mysteries while still retaining some mysteries and the art is so good and its all coming really well!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2021
5
Finally gearing up to finish Gideon Falls. It's been a little while as I've been watching and building up my physical media collection. I love this series and I had caught up when COVID first hit, so there was a delay to the conclusion, but that's not the case now.
Why the 5?
The world expanded in the last book, and here they lay down the foundation for the finale. This book rocks, and I'm eager to finish it either today or tomorrow. I'm a little frustrated that the big moment was kind of announced last book but like Lemire will care about my opinion. I'm a huge fan of Gideon Falls and I hope that there's more coming after it concludes. Great series. This book is strong and really has some unique artwork.
Finally gearing up to finish Gideon Falls. It's been a little while as I've been watching and building up my physical media collection. I love this series and I had caught up when COVID first hit, so there was a delay to the conclusion, but that's not the case now.
Why the 5?
The world expanded in the last book, and here they lay down the foundation for the finale. This book rocks, and I'm eager to finish it either today or tomorrow. I'm a little frustrated that the big moment was kind of announced last book but like Lemire will care about my opinion. I'm a huge fan of Gideon Falls and I hope that there's more coming after it concludes. Great series. This book is strong and really has some unique artwork.
June 21, 2020
This has become really good..love the artwork. More questions and some are answered
May 4, 2021
Book 4 ... slowly we’re beginning to get some answers...
May 6, 2023
4.5*
November 3, 2021
In this fourth volume of Gideon Falls the action and the bodies pile up! We see how the “smile man” gets around and the damage he wreaks. Really icky. In a good way. This is a horror story after all.
The artwork in this series has been nothing but phenomenal, it truly conveys the story well even when there is no dialogue.
Some surprises here but I won’t get into details.
A very satisfying volume from a series that I highly recommend.
The artwork in this series has been nothing but phenomenal, it truly conveys the story well even when there is no dialogue.
Some surprises here but I won’t get into details.
A very satisfying volume from a series that I highly recommend.
August 13, 2021
Aha. At last. Some answers. This universe is getting set up quite nicely, in all timelines. Plus we finally get to learn all about the mysterious Pentoculus. Literally can’t rave about this series enough. It’s so clever, so eerie and so strikingly gorgeous. Some of the best comic art out there is within these pages, definitely the best, most creative panel use out there. The way this panels are cut up and arranged is an art in and of itself. Love, love, love these books. Can’t wait to read book five. Please hurry up library. Recommended.
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/
December 24, 2020
A história dá uma aceleradinha e fica mais interessante com algumas revelações sobre o universo da narrativa, mas o mistério persiste. Além disso, eu fico me perguntando, será que o Lemire e o Sorrentino estavam prevendo o futuro pandêmico em Gideon Falls por causa das máscaras que os personagens usam na narrativa do futuro distópico? Sim, eu sei que eles usam por outros motivos, mas não estaria presente algum meme nas suas mentes que fizesse com que usassem esse visual no quadrinho? Sei que estava bastante desempolgado com Gideon Falls e agora esse volume deu mais fôlego à série.
February 6, 2020
If you are still under the impression that comics are all superheroes galavanting around, don't pick up this book. It will horrify your eyeballs. If you love a keep-you-up-at- night monster thriller, read on, friend- you'll love the ride.
February 9, 2020
Every new issue of this story is amazing. Horrifying story with a bit of a scifi twist. I absolutely love the way the pages are laid out and the art work.
May 27, 2020
Some questions are answered but a lot more are raised, I love this series I've yet to read a bad issue!
April 19, 2022
Esta serie es mi debilidad, me encanta. El volumen 4 sigue avanzando a buen ritmo y se lee con mucha agilidad porque el mundo que nos presenta Lemire es tan interesante y está tan lleno de referencias reconocibles del terror y de la ciencia ficción que entra con gusto. La trama es potente, la ambientación sugerente y el ritmo es trepidante. Yo no le pido más a un cómic así.
September 5, 2022
At this point this series is just too weird for me lmao I feel like I might like it more a second time around but this one just really took me out of it 😂
August 9, 2020
Nothing can compare to the panel layout in this series. It's so unique & lends itself incredibly well to the horror genre. This series just gets better and better with each volume!
November 4, 2021
El cúmulo de tópicos se hace tan evidente en el avance de la historia (¡familias de elegidos!, ¡¡posesiones para cometer crímenes!!, ¡¡¡curas!!!) que menos mal que Sorrentino da rienda suelta a sus composiciones de página en esa realidad entre realidades. Hay cinco o seis páginas deslumbrantes.
July 17, 2020
Sorrentino’s art remains conceptually clever and unique in execution, but trying to care about the story again is a lot more difficult four months after I binge read the first three books in a short span. Its convoluted labyrinth of blooming dread is much more comprehensible and enjoyable when read all at once than trying to piece it back together much later on; the absence of compelling characters is especially glaring as I try to find my way back into the plot.
I’d also feel a lot better about the story’s future if it were already explicitly limited to 30 issues or less, but this is seemingly an ongoing series with no communicated end point yet, and I’m increasingly getting scary Lost vibes of relying on and stretching mystery and mythos too thin at the expense of clear character moments. So Vol 4 is a major let down from the first three books for me, but I’m still interested enough I’ll likely give the next book a chance.
I’d also feel a lot better about the story’s future if it were already explicitly limited to 30 issues or less, but this is seemingly an ongoing series with no communicated end point yet, and I’m increasingly getting scary Lost vibes of relying on and stretching mystery and mythos too thin at the expense of clear character moments. So Vol 4 is a major let down from the first three books for me, but I’m still interested enough I’ll likely give the next book a chance.
May 31, 2021
Gideon Falls continues to be an amazing series. The artwork and panel layouts are incredible. Lemire continues to show his prowess as one of today's best comic writers. Pieces are beginning to fall into place with The Pentoculus, bringing various elements together more and more. As I start to see the overall structure of this world, it is blowing my mind. My only complaint is that each volume needs to have a recap. It is hard to remember the intricacies of what has happened between the many months of each volume, especially if you read other things in between. The best method of reading this series, is to re-read everything available as new stuff comes out.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 274 reviews