Horror comics are rare. Good horror comics are an even rarer find. With lurid illustration and coloring, and a contemporary Gothic sensibility, Coffin Hill fulfilled this for me. I read the first volume in one sitting, about two hours, turning each page with a salacious excitement to see what happened next.

The story isn't the most original. Aside from 'girl returns to small town home to confront ancient evil awoken in childhood,' there's also a very strong Witches of Mayfair vibe here, with the Witch of the Woods revealed to be a Lasher-like spirit. But Kittredge puts a stamp on it with engaging, frankly fucked up characters.

If I had one complaint, it's that the pacing goes way too fast sometimes. Nate doesn't believe, doesn't want to face what he knew in his youth, and literally a panel away, he changes his mind, saying he can't run from it forever. And then he and Eve go home and have sex out of nowhere. He's also a bit quick to immediately accept back into his life the girlfriend he had when he was fifteen, after ten years of her being comatose. Maybe it's just Nate I have the problem with...

A fun read, practically dripping gore and secrets under autumn leaves. Can't wait to get my hands on the next volume!

I can't help but give this five stars. I love this series very much. It's funny. I can be stingy when it comes for Fairest or Cinderella, but I have trouble doing that with Fables, except Fables, Vol. 13: The Great Fables Crossover lost me because it was too smug I think and also because Jack gets on my ever-loving nerves and he was in that book too much for my tastes. However, we are back on our five star streak with Fables here.

Rose Red finally gets her head together after the very painful and personal loss she and the Fables community suffers. In other to do that, she has to revisit the willful mistakes of her past. We go back to Rose Red and Snow White's childhood as the innocent children of a forest-dwelling mother who meet a friendly bear seeking a place by the fire, and what ensues from that point. I recently reread this fairy tale, and so it was fun to see Willingham retell it here, but add some nuances that point to why Rose Red was such an all-fired brat and the origins of her vendetta against her sister Snow White. She's been in the process of growing up, and it's nice to see that she's matured so much. It comes at a painful cost.

I have to say I'm sick of the Dark Man story arc. I know they needed a big bad after dealing with the Adversary, and the Dark Man is definitely quite an adversary. The battle scenes were pretty epic, and it was fun to see Frau Totenkinder in a different light. I'm just tired of evil bullies getting away with murder, literally. Plus, I am holding my breath because I accidentally got spoiled and I'm afraid that I will encounter an event that I know will break my heart. I love this series too darn much, and there is always a battle inside me as to whether I should keep taking a big break on this series or keep reading. We shall see. This series is awful good to walk away from for very long without getting withdrawal pains.

This graphic novel didn't make much sense to me, perhaps it would have been better if I had read the first volume? Anyway, there where a lot of jumps between now and then, very confusing, a lot of characters showing up in the story with no explanation to why...

I managed to finish Coffin Hill 2 but I can't say I'm any wiser...hell I wonder if I would have been much wiser even if I had read the first volume...

1 star

Thank you Random House and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Amazing artwork. This was a really cool graphic novel. Some parts were a little confusing to me, but I loved the back and forth between the present story and flashbacks. A lot going on, which is slightly overwhelming, but most of it is tied up by the end. Definitely looking forward to the second volume to learn more about adult Eve's backstory. If you like witches and lots of blood, check this one out. Pretty graphic images, but well-done so they do not come off as gory.