Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Coffin Hill, Vol.1 – “Forest of the Night” (Vertigo)

CoffinHill-Vol.01An excellent start to a new series

Following a night of sex, drugs and witchcraft in the woods, Eve Coffin wakes up naked, covered in blood and unable to remember how she got there. One friend is missing, one is in a mental ward-and one knows that Eve is responsible.

Years later, Eve returns to Coffin Hill, only to discover the darkness that she unleashed ten years ago in the woods was never contained. It continues to seep through the town, cursing the soul of this sleepy Massachusetts hollow, spilling secrets and enacting its revenge.

Set against the haunted backdrop of New England, COFFIN HILL explores what people will do for power and retribution.

Collects: Coffin Hill #1-7

In Coffin Hill, novelist Caitlin Kittredge (Black London series) has written an engaging, eerie, and above all superb tale of witchcraft, childhood mistakes and family legacies. Inaki Miranda – perhaps best known for work on Fairest – realises the book beautifully. This book doesn’t really need much of a review. If you are a fan of horror, suspense, witches, and weirdness, then this is a great book for you. I really enjoyed this.

Book starts with Eve Coffin basking in unwanted attention after solving a serial-killer case as a rookie cop. Unfortunately, when she returns home, she stumbles across an altercation between her roommate and a disgruntled, armed boyfriend. Leaving the force, she returns to her childhood home of Coffin Hill, and almost immediately finds herself embroiled in a weird, supernatural case linked to certain events of her childhood.

CoffinHill-01-Interior6

As events in the present get progressively stranger and more dangerous, Eve must overcome local suspicions, and a potentially homicidal old acquaintance. All the while navigating the emotional battlefield of reuniting with an old flame. Who, as it happens, is now sheriff and investigating another strange disappearance in the woods…

Coffin Hill has a superb opening story-arc. It is a brilliant mix of suspense, supernatural, crime-thriller, and the beginnings (potentially) of a family saga. There are, of course, hints to larger and greater things, none of which are resolved here. This is ok – after I turned the final page, I was definitely eager for more. The artwork is stunning, and Inaki Miranda is probably one of my favourite artists working in comics. The images are clean and brilliantly composed, while the colouring makes the book both moody and strikingly vivid.

Very highly recommended. This is a must-read new series.

CoffinHill-01to03-CoverArt

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