Writer: Jeff Lemire / Artist: Andrea Sorrentino / Image Comics
The Hypostatic Union
Gideon Falls is a slow burn type of read. It’s the type of story that is very clearly geared up for the long game, but the thing about slow burns is that eventually something catches fire and suddenly you’re surrounded by a series of questions while red floods your eyes. Given that this is Gideon Falls, the red flooding eyes is indeed quite literal and still every bit unnerving. That’s how effective this comic is y’all. This dark urban horror continues to be breathtakingly brilliant in how it ebbs and flow with the twin narratives of Father Fred and Norton.
Lemire’s writing is straight to the point. Exposition happens in quick bursts. Sentences are short and sweet. Lemire lets Sorrentino loose on the page, and they take advantage of this freedom with truly remarkable artwork and layout. The very structure of the panels is aligned with the fragile mental states of the characters as they experience horrific situation after horrific situation. The history and menace of the Black Barn is told with visceral images and matter-of-fact representation that words would fail to adequately describe.
As Father Fred and Norton independently research and reconstruct relics of the past, Gideon Falls #10 further nudges their trajectories into a stunning crash course. The two major storylines have been strong enough to helm equal space in prior issues, the looming unification should get any fan of the series excited.
Every step that Norton and Father Fred take towards the truth puts them and their loved ones in further jeopardy. The Black Barn’s sole envoy, a Smiling Man, looms in the shadows of their nightmares, and the imagery and writing is simple but brutally effective. The mirrored paths the characters have taken in order to discover the secrets behind the eldritch horrors has never been so beautifully realized, but some things are best experienced first-hand.
A standout horror story with an incredibly talented creative, Gideon Falls is still running strong as we enter into 2019. Lemire and Sorrentino’s history of collaboration is on full display with every page that slowly sheds light on the past, present, and inevitable future of the cast of the series.
9.1 “Starts of Darkness” out of 10
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