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Coffin Hill (Collected editions) #1
Coffin Hill Vol. 1: Forest of the Night
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. Noted novelist Caitlin Kittredge, author of the Black London series, brings a smart, mesmerizing style to comics. Artist Inaki Miranda (FABLES) brings his dynamic storytelling to COFFIN HILL, following an acclaimed run on FAIREST.
Collects COFFIN HILL #1-7
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. Noted novelist Caitlin Kittredge, author of the Black London series, brings a smart, mesmerizing style to comics. Artist Inaki Miranda (FABLES) brings his dynamic storytelling to COFFIN HILL, following an acclaimed run on FAIREST.
Collects COFFIN HILL #1-7
168 pages, Paperback
First published May 20, 2014
70 people are currently reading
1210 people want to read
About the author
Caitlin Kittredge
171 books1,122 followersCaitlin started writing novels at age 13. Her first was a Star Wars tie-in. Fortunately, she branched out from there and after a few years trying to be a screenwriter, a comic book writer and the author of copious amounts of fanfiction, she tried to write a novel again. Her epic dark fantasy (thankfully) never saw the light of day but while she was struggling with elves and sorcerers she got the idea of writing a story about a werewolf who fought crime.
Two years and many, many drafts later, she pitched Night Life to a bevy of agents and one of them, Rachel Vater, sold the series to St. Martin’s.
Caitlin collects comic books, print books, vintage clothes, and bad habits. She loves tea, loud music, the color black (especially mixed with the color pink) and ghost stories. She can drive a stick shift, play the violin and knows more English curses than American ones.
Caitlin lives in Olympia, WA with two pushy cats.
http://us.macmillan.com/bonegods/Cait...
Two years and many, many drafts later, she pitched Night Life to a bevy of agents and one of them, Rachel Vater, sold the series to St. Martin’s.
Caitlin collects comic books, print books, vintage clothes, and bad habits. She loves tea, loud music, the color black (especially mixed with the color pink) and ghost stories. She can drive a stick shift, play the violin and knows more English curses than American ones.
Caitlin lives in Olympia, WA with two pushy cats.
http://us.macmillan.com/bonegods/Cait...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 221 reviews
October 19, 2021
Just did a re-read of this one, and I liked it a lot more this time around. And since I've also read the 2nd volume, I can also say that the series is progressing nicely and a lot of the gaps in this volume have been filled in to my satisfaction.
Eve is a rookie cop who apparently stumbles upon a serial killer and takes him down.
She gets hurt in the altercation and heads home to face her demons...
*FLASHBACK TIME*
Once upon a time, Eve and her (dysfunctional) gothy friends head into the spooky forest.
They do a little dance, make a little love, and get down that night...
Or.
They call up a bad-ass entity that eats one, drives another crazy, and leaves Eve with a weird blown-out eyeball.
Why is Eve not dead or drooling on herself, you ask?
Well, she apparently comes from a long line of powerful witches.
And whatever they set loose that night was part of her family legacy.
Will Eve embrace the EVIL, or fight against it?!
Not too shabby, right?
The thing is, young Eve isn't the most sympathetic character. She's sort of mean, a bit self-centered, and has a tendency to act a tad skanky.
Now the older Eve has a few more redeeming qualities, and I don't mind characters who are darkish and quasi-evil. As long as they aren't totally rotten, I can eventually get behind them.
So I'm thinking that perhaps this might be one of those characters that grow on me?
I enjoyed the art and the spooky tone to the story, and I'd be willing to continue with the next volume to see if it goes anywhere.
Eve is a rookie cop who apparently stumbles upon a serial killer and takes him down.
She gets hurt in the altercation and heads home to face her demons...
*FLASHBACK TIME*
Once upon a time, Eve and her (dysfunctional) gothy friends head into the spooky forest.
They do a little dance, make a little love, and get down that night...
Or.
They call up a bad-ass entity that eats one, drives another crazy, and leaves Eve with a weird blown-out eyeball.
Why is Eve not dead or drooling on herself, you ask?
Well, she apparently comes from a long line of powerful witches.
And whatever they set loose that night was part of her family legacy.
Will Eve embrace the EVIL, or fight against it?!
Not too shabby, right?
The thing is, young Eve isn't the most sympathetic character. She's sort of mean, a bit self-centered, and has a tendency to act a tad skanky.
Now the older Eve has a few more redeeming qualities, and I don't mind characters who are darkish and quasi-evil. As long as they aren't totally rotten, I can eventually get behind them.
So I'm thinking that perhaps this might be one of those characters that grow on me?
I enjoyed the art and the spooky tone to the story, and I'd be willing to continue with the next volume to see if it goes anywhere.
August 13, 2016
Have you heard of Coffin Hill? No, me either, which is why I’m rewriting my first review which detailed the numerous problems that made the first volume such a failure – this title is on nobody’s radar (for good reason), it’s not a landmark book, nor will it be in hindsight, nor is it even a slightly important one, so it doesn’t deserve that level of scrutiny. No, this pathetic comic will be reviewed in broad strokes and then forgotten like it should be.
Coffin Hill is the comic book version of a cruddy CW show. It stars a personality vacuum amongst a cast of one-dimensional nobodies in a plot that doesn’t make sense. It’s a supernatural story and is filled with clichés you’ve seen it before in a hundred cheap horror movies. Eve Coffin is a witch, there’s an evil spirit on the loose, and it’s up to her to stop it – somehow, it manages to be even more boring than you’d expect yet more confusing too.
Caitlin Kittredge simply doesn’t understand how to write a comic – her scene transitions are awkward and don’t make sense when read in a sequence, her dialogue is corny, and the scenes themselves feel recycled and unoriginal. The story pointlessly jumps from 2003 to 2013 with few of the scenes in 2003 adding to what’s happening in 2013. In a good book, each scene should add to the story rather than stagnate uselessly, which is what most of this book does.
All of the “characters” are forgettable nothings but the ending really underlines just how poorly Kittredge has written them. She hinges the “cliffhanger/shock twist” ending on a character who I’m not sure was even in the book – either way, rather than gasp, I belched and wondered “Who the hell is that? Why should I care?”. And I was paying attention – I read it in one sitting because I knew if I stopped once, I wouldn’t pick it up again. Anyway it doesn’t really matter because I’m never going to read another Caitlin Kittredge book again, let alone Volume 2 of this tripe.
The Dave Johnson covers make the book look good but don’t expect that level of artistry inside – Inaki Miranda’s art is mostly uninspired, clunky and amateurish. I feel like he’s going for Mike Allred’s style but coming up way short.
Coffin Hill is a boring, badly written mess that fails to engage on every level and leaves zero impression on the reader. I’d say don’t bother but I can’t imagine there were many people lining up to read this anyway. So long, Coffin Hill/Caitlin Kittredge/Inaki Miranda – you were all awful!
*
This is an aside rather than part of the review, it’s just something I’ve noticed in recent years about Vertigo.
I had a lot of time for Vertigo. This is a company that put out such quality comics that for a while a few years ago, Vertigo comics were the only comics I read. Of my favourites they’ve published are: The Sandman, Transmetropolitan, Y: The Last Man, Northlanders, and my favourite comics series of all time, Scalped. Other titles I’ve enjoyed include The Invisibles, Sweet Tooth and iZombie as well as the standalone graphic novels A History of Violence, Pride of Baghdad, The Nobody, Sloth, and Get Jiro!
With Coffin Hill, I’ve realised that over the years I went from reading only Vertigo comics to reading just one – Scott Snyder’s The Wake (which is only ok if I’m being honest). They’re still publishing titles: The Unwritten, Fables, American Vampire, Astro City, FBP, Hinterkind and Dead Boy Detectives, but, in my mind, they’re all pretty terrible. I’ve tried reading all of them – some I’ve made it all the way through a book – but none are of the same standard as the glory years of titles above.
And then I realised I’m reading a lot of Image comics these days – Velvet, Chew, The Walking Dead, Jupiter’s Legacy, Starlight, Sex Criminals, Rat Queens, Luther Strode – and realised that, back in the day, these would have been Vertigo titles. Now? All the would-be Vertigo titles have shifted to Image, helping make them the third largest comics publisher in the world, right behind DC in second.
It’s disappointing to see but Vertigo – once the market leaders for innovative, exciting comics – now publish the also-rans. It seems the rot of bad comics at DC has spread, like a cancer, to its sister publication. I’ll recommend a lot of Vertigo stuff from the 90s and 00s but nowadays? Nowadays you get crap like Coffin Hill and Hinterkind (which is another review), while Jason Aaron’s new non-superhero series, Southern Bastards, is being published over at Image rather than the publisher of his Scalped series.
Goodbye, Vertigo - you were great once!
Coffin Hill is the comic book version of a cruddy CW show. It stars a personality vacuum amongst a cast of one-dimensional nobodies in a plot that doesn’t make sense. It’s a supernatural story and is filled with clichés you’ve seen it before in a hundred cheap horror movies. Eve Coffin is a witch, there’s an evil spirit on the loose, and it’s up to her to stop it – somehow, it manages to be even more boring than you’d expect yet more confusing too.
Caitlin Kittredge simply doesn’t understand how to write a comic – her scene transitions are awkward and don’t make sense when read in a sequence, her dialogue is corny, and the scenes themselves feel recycled and unoriginal. The story pointlessly jumps from 2003 to 2013 with few of the scenes in 2003 adding to what’s happening in 2013. In a good book, each scene should add to the story rather than stagnate uselessly, which is what most of this book does.
All of the “characters” are forgettable nothings but the ending really underlines just how poorly Kittredge has written them. She hinges the “cliffhanger/shock twist” ending on a character who I’m not sure was even in the book – either way, rather than gasp, I belched and wondered “Who the hell is that? Why should I care?”. And I was paying attention – I read it in one sitting because I knew if I stopped once, I wouldn’t pick it up again. Anyway it doesn’t really matter because I’m never going to read another Caitlin Kittredge book again, let alone Volume 2 of this tripe.
The Dave Johnson covers make the book look good but don’t expect that level of artistry inside – Inaki Miranda’s art is mostly uninspired, clunky and amateurish. I feel like he’s going for Mike Allred’s style but coming up way short.
Coffin Hill is a boring, badly written mess that fails to engage on every level and leaves zero impression on the reader. I’d say don’t bother but I can’t imagine there were many people lining up to read this anyway. So long, Coffin Hill/Caitlin Kittredge/Inaki Miranda – you were all awful!
*
This is an aside rather than part of the review, it’s just something I’ve noticed in recent years about Vertigo.
I had a lot of time for Vertigo. This is a company that put out such quality comics that for a while a few years ago, Vertigo comics were the only comics I read. Of my favourites they’ve published are: The Sandman, Transmetropolitan, Y: The Last Man, Northlanders, and my favourite comics series of all time, Scalped. Other titles I’ve enjoyed include The Invisibles, Sweet Tooth and iZombie as well as the standalone graphic novels A History of Violence, Pride of Baghdad, The Nobody, Sloth, and Get Jiro!
With Coffin Hill, I’ve realised that over the years I went from reading only Vertigo comics to reading just one – Scott Snyder’s The Wake (which is only ok if I’m being honest). They’re still publishing titles: The Unwritten, Fables, American Vampire, Astro City, FBP, Hinterkind and Dead Boy Detectives, but, in my mind, they’re all pretty terrible. I’ve tried reading all of them – some I’ve made it all the way through a book – but none are of the same standard as the glory years of titles above.
And then I realised I’m reading a lot of Image comics these days – Velvet, Chew, The Walking Dead, Jupiter’s Legacy, Starlight, Sex Criminals, Rat Queens, Luther Strode – and realised that, back in the day, these would have been Vertigo titles. Now? All the would-be Vertigo titles have shifted to Image, helping make them the third largest comics publisher in the world, right behind DC in second.
It’s disappointing to see but Vertigo – once the market leaders for innovative, exciting comics – now publish the also-rans. It seems the rot of bad comics at DC has spread, like a cancer, to its sister publication. I’ll recommend a lot of Vertigo stuff from the 90s and 00s but nowadays? Nowadays you get crap like Coffin Hill and Hinterkind (which is another review), while Jason Aaron’s new non-superhero series, Southern Bastards, is being published over at Image rather than the publisher of his Scalped series.
Goodbye, Vertigo - you were great once!
October 21, 2019
Only slightly creepy, but very cool looking comic with an annoyingly convoluted plot.
Witches, crazy rituals, possible child abduction, murder, a forest that maybe kills people, or at least transforms them (this part oddly reminded me of a movie I watched only yesterday).
Several timelines that do not exactly dovetail nicely. Transition from one scene to another and between the timelines could and probably should have been done better. Several strands of the plot don't go anywhere. They're just left dangling. In short, it's quite hard to follow.
Good artwork, though, and a very cool style. Some of the page layouts are very pretty and inventive at times. And I think the main character is kinda cool.
I hear that the second volume fills in a lot of the gaps. So I think I'll continue with this one before I've forgotten what little I could piece together of the plot.
The ending didn't make much sense to me. But we'll see where this goes.
This was a buddy-read with Cathy, who was a little more annoyed by the plot holes than I was. So I will have to read the second one alone.
Witches, crazy rituals, possible child abduction, murder, a forest that maybe kills people, or at least transforms them (this part oddly reminded me of a movie I watched only yesterday).
Several timelines that do not exactly dovetail nicely. Transition from one scene to another and between the timelines could and probably should have been done better. Several strands of the plot don't go anywhere. They're just left dangling. In short, it's quite hard to follow.
Good artwork, though, and a very cool style. Some of the page layouts are very pretty and inventive at times. And I think the main character is kinda cool.
I hear that the second volume fills in a lot of the gaps. So I think I'll continue with this one before I've forgotten what little I could piece together of the plot.
The ending didn't make much sense to me. But we'll see where this goes.
This was a buddy-read with Cathy, who was a little more annoyed by the plot holes than I was. So I will have to read the second one alone.
April 14, 2025
I like the concept of sexy witches more than the execution, which is probably why I never got into shows like “Sabrina, the Teen Witch” or “Charmed”. Don’t get me wrong, I totally crushed on Alyssa Milano, but I just couldn’t see her as a fearsome purveyor of supernatural trickery. It’s probably the same reason I could never get into Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series, with vampires that look like British pop stars and glow in the sunlight or werewolves that are just big fluffy lovable dogs. It’s degrading and emasculating to these normally loathsome creatures of the night. Give them their dignity.
So it was with some trepidation that I picked up “Coffin Hill”, a graphic novel series written by Caitlin Kittredge. Despite some good buzz on Goodreads, I was still a little hesitant after reading the synopsis: a modern-day witch from a long line of witches joins the police force to track down a serial killer and an evil supernatural entity that is kidnapping kids in the woods near her hometown of Coffin Hill, Massachusetts.
Any trepidation I may have had going in, though, quickly dissipated once I got into it. Eve Coffin, the sexy witch protagonist, was delightfully creepy and simultaneously sympathetic, but there certainly wasn’t any reductive parodying of her witchiness; no “cute-high-school-cheerleader-with-a-witch’s-hat-riding-a-broom” bullshit. Eve is the real deal.
Kittredge’s writing is solid, too. She tells a good suspenseful horror story with some believable police-procedural thrown in, and she’s not squeamish with the blood and guts. The artwork by Inaki Miranda is excellent, although my one complaint is that the characters all tend to look alike, with only their hair-style as a distinguishing factor. This wouldn’t be so bad, except that there are actually a lot of characters.
The book starts with Eve as a cop in Boston in 2013, on the night that she caught and arrested a serial killer known as the Ice Fisher. She’s not in a celebratory mood, however, so she goes home to her apartment only to find a drug dealer threatening her neighbor. She steps in the middle of the fray, only to be shot in the head.
Flashback to when she was in high school, 2003, Halloween. She sneaks out of the house to meet her friends in the woods, where they perform a black magic ritual. It is most likely ironic, but they inadvertently release something. Eve wakes up the next day covered in blood and one of her friends is missing.
What follows is a supernatural thriller that jumps back and forth in time, as events from her past come back to eventually haunt her in the present.
Volume 1, “Forest of the Night” compiles the first seven issues of the comic book series.
So it was with some trepidation that I picked up “Coffin Hill”, a graphic novel series written by Caitlin Kittredge. Despite some good buzz on Goodreads, I was still a little hesitant after reading the synopsis: a modern-day witch from a long line of witches joins the police force to track down a serial killer and an evil supernatural entity that is kidnapping kids in the woods near her hometown of Coffin Hill, Massachusetts.
Any trepidation I may have had going in, though, quickly dissipated once I got into it. Eve Coffin, the sexy witch protagonist, was delightfully creepy and simultaneously sympathetic, but there certainly wasn’t any reductive parodying of her witchiness; no “cute-high-school-cheerleader-with-a-witch’s-hat-riding-a-broom” bullshit. Eve is the real deal.
Kittredge’s writing is solid, too. She tells a good suspenseful horror story with some believable police-procedural thrown in, and she’s not squeamish with the blood and guts. The artwork by Inaki Miranda is excellent, although my one complaint is that the characters all tend to look alike, with only their hair-style as a distinguishing factor. This wouldn’t be so bad, except that there are actually a lot of characters.
The book starts with Eve as a cop in Boston in 2013, on the night that she caught and arrested a serial killer known as the Ice Fisher. She’s not in a celebratory mood, however, so she goes home to her apartment only to find a drug dealer threatening her neighbor. She steps in the middle of the fray, only to be shot in the head.
Flashback to when she was in high school, 2003, Halloween. She sneaks out of the house to meet her friends in the woods, where they perform a black magic ritual. It is most likely ironic, but they inadvertently release something. Eve wakes up the next day covered in blood and one of her friends is missing.
What follows is a supernatural thriller that jumps back and forth in time, as events from her past come back to eventually haunt her in the present.
Volume 1, “Forest of the Night” compiles the first seven issues of the comic book series.
August 17, 2017
Readers looking for a genuinely scary graphic novel should look no further. "Coffin Hill" is the kind of story I would be too afraid to watch the movie if it was made. It's the story that "The Craft" aspired for. A story about a young woman who is a hereditary witch with a dark legacy of familial sorcery and a deal for power they can't escape.
Eve barely survives a night with friends in which they perform a spell that leads to the horrible death of one friend and another ending up in a coma. She's phenomenally changed as well. Eve moves away and gives up witchcraft, becomes a cop. When she's shot and has to resign, she goes back to Coffin Hill. Only to find that the evil they awakened has not left.
That's when things get weirder. The story gave me the shivers because a black magic story always does. The creatures that lurk in the forest are evil and horrific. Also, there is an element of human evil, which is in its way more scary. The mystery is interesting enough to keep me reading and wanting to get to the bottom of things.
The storyline doesn't explain how Eve's powers work or how she taps into them. I think I would have appreciated that explanation. The book just explains that she is very powerful and has the ability to deal with evil. I tend to question how evil can fight evil, so I choose to believe that Eve has conquered her evil demons and is determined to vanquish the evil of Coffin Hill. The gothic aspect comes from the fact that witchcraft runs in Eve's family and there is also a legacy of barely-retained sanity or members of the family coming to a bad ending. Eve doesn't know all of this until she comes back to Coffin Hill as an adult.
I liked it. It was nicely scary and I do like a good wicked witch story. Eve is a complex lead character-a good guy but deeply flawed. I wasn't crazy about most of the secondary characters. The verdict is still out on Nate. He treats Eve like crap. I mean I get why he would have residual issues from when they were younger, but he is more than willing to hit that and then goes back to being a jerk to her.
Looking forward to reading further volumes.
Eve barely survives a night with friends in which they perform a spell that leads to the horrible death of one friend and another ending up in a coma. She's phenomenally changed as well. Eve moves away and gives up witchcraft, becomes a cop. When she's shot and has to resign, she goes back to Coffin Hill. Only to find that the evil they awakened has not left.
That's when things get weirder. The story gave me the shivers because a black magic story always does. The creatures that lurk in the forest are evil and horrific. Also, there is an element of human evil, which is in its way more scary. The mystery is interesting enough to keep me reading and wanting to get to the bottom of things.
The storyline doesn't explain how Eve's powers work or how she taps into them. I think I would have appreciated that explanation. The book just explains that she is very powerful and has the ability to deal with evil. I tend to question how evil can fight evil, so I choose to believe that Eve has conquered her evil demons and is determined to vanquish the evil of Coffin Hill. The gothic aspect comes from the fact that witchcraft runs in Eve's family and there is also a legacy of barely-retained sanity or members of the family coming to a bad ending. Eve doesn't know all of this until she comes back to Coffin Hill as an adult.
I liked it. It was nicely scary and I do like a good wicked witch story. Eve is a complex lead character-a good guy but deeply flawed. I wasn't crazy about most of the secondary characters. The verdict is still out on Nate. He treats Eve like crap. I mean I get why he would have residual issues from when they were younger, but he is more than willing to hit that and then goes back to being a jerk to her.
Looking forward to reading further volumes.
October 12, 2019
This was different but I like different!
What’s it about?
Ya know... a lot of people suggest going into the story blindly and while that sounds a little stupid... this is one of the books where that’s true so yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll tell ya a bunch of reasons you should read this!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is really good. I will say this much: it’s like a mix of occult horror and crime drama. I’m a big fan of both so loved the plot, lots of interesting stuff.
The artwork is really well done. Some fantastic pages in this book!
The characters are interesting. The main character is my favorite, she’s very well written!
This comic is very intense!
This book is pretty damn suspenseful! Quite plot twisty.
The horror stuff is very well done. Creepiness, blood and a perfect atmosphere for it!
The dialogue and narrative are pretty good. Very good storytelling.
That ending! Holy shit, that ending!
Overall:
I see why this was recommended so much. This is an excellent horror comic that has everything I look for in a horror story!
A masterful mix of weird, bloody occult horror and exciting crime drama!
Highly recommended!
5/5
What’s it about?
Ya know... a lot of people suggest going into the story blindly and while that sounds a little stupid... this is one of the books where that’s true so yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll tell ya a bunch of reasons you should read this!
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is really good. I will say this much: it’s like a mix of occult horror and crime drama. I’m a big fan of both so loved the plot, lots of interesting stuff.
The artwork is really well done. Some fantastic pages in this book!
The characters are interesting. The main character is my favorite, she’s very well written!
This comic is very intense!
This book is pretty damn suspenseful! Quite plot twisty.
The horror stuff is very well done. Creepiness, blood and a perfect atmosphere for it!
The dialogue and narrative are pretty good. Very good storytelling.
That ending! Holy shit, that ending!
Overall:
I see why this was recommended so much. This is an excellent horror comic that has everything I look for in a horror story!
A masterful mix of weird, bloody occult horror and exciting crime drama!
Highly recommended!
5/5
August 26, 2021
Confused and convoluted- the story didn’t really make sense. I was glad when it was over.
October 21, 2019
The plot leaves a lot to be desired. The writing is choppy. A lot of scenes are left hanging or simply don‘t make sense and open up many plot holes. Good scenes started and petered out into thin air.
It took around 40% into the comic for anything resembling a coherent storyline to emerge and my interest perked up. Two thirds into the story I started to loose it again, because the whole thing just didn‘t mature into anything meaningful.
The artwork wasdecent pretty good, actually. Nicely done layouts.
Eve is an unlikable character in the beginning. And she pretty much remains unlikable, together with the rest of the characters. I did not care what happens to any of them.
And what kind of a lame ending is that? And this contrived cliffhanger? Why does Eve lie on the ground in the last panel? Yeah, no, the storytelling does not get many points.
Oh yeah, last issue/epilogue, whatever... Is that her mother? Grandmother? Do I care?
I will have a look at the blurbs of volume 2 and 3, but right now it is unlikely that I will read them.
It took around 40% into the comic for anything resembling a coherent storyline to emerge and my interest perked up. Two thirds into the story I started to loose it again, because the whole thing just didn‘t mature into anything meaningful.
The artwork was
Eve is an unlikable character in the beginning. And she pretty much remains unlikable, together with the rest of the characters. I did not care what happens to any of them.
And what kind of a lame ending is that? And this contrived cliffhanger? Why does Eve lie on the ground in the last panel? Yeah, no, the storytelling does not get many points.
Oh yeah, last issue/epilogue, whatever... Is that her mother? Grandmother? Do I care?
I will have a look at the blurbs of volume 2 and 3, but right now it is unlikely that I will read them.
March 2, 2019
Vol. 1 of 3
Not clear enough yet of a cohesive story for me to give this a higher rating than 3 stars. I wish this could do without the paranormal aspect of it. It seems like a cliché to resort to this. I would much rather it stuck to the crime/detective work. For this being a 1 of 3 volumes, I feel I should have gotten more meat of the story, which I can only imagine means bringing the story together will feel rushed. But I will stop myself there before I start off this series on the wrong foot.
Artwork is very pleasing to the eye.
Not clear enough yet of a cohesive story for me to give this a higher rating than 3 stars. I wish this could do without the paranormal aspect of it. It seems like a cliché to resort to this. I would much rather it stuck to the crime/detective work. For this being a 1 of 3 volumes, I feel I should have gotten more meat of the story, which I can only imagine means bringing the story together will feel rushed. But I will stop myself there before I start off this series on the wrong foot.
Artwork is very pleasing to the eye.
October 24, 2017
paced like a tv show. I think they should have chosen a different artist. Something more sketchy and black AND WHITE. Sometimes the art makes a big difference and I think this was supposed to be a horror story but it is drawn like a super hero comic.
July 25, 2017
Urban fantasy author Caitlin Kittredge pens a sophisticated dark horror worthy of high rank in the blood-chilling echelon of illustrated fiction most recently occupied by Joe Hill’s Locke and Key, Tim Seeley's Revival, and Steven T. Seagle’s House of Secrets.
Eve Coffin is a disgraced ex-cop and last scion of the venerated Coffin clan whose heritage dates back to the Salem Witch Trials. With a legacy so embroiled in secrets and old-world mysticism, Eve flippantly likens her family to “the Kennedys with more madness and murder.” Shortly after surviving a cranial gunshot wound, Eve promptly returns to Coffin Hill, a sleepy New England hamlet and home to the ancestral Coffin mansion where evil lurks in the surrounding foothills—an evil unleashed years earlier by Eve and her friends after a night of debauchery and black magic. Sandwiched between the present-day narrative are flashbacks to Eve as a libidinous and transgressive teenager courting dissension of the paranormal variety, her misbehavior emboldened by a contentious relationship with her (literal) witch of a mother. A decade later, Eve realizes this dark force is still at large after several local teens go missing in the same haunted woodlands in which Eve and her friends performed that fateful incantation. To vanquish this unresolved curse, our reformed bad girl must own up to her mistakes and come to terms with her supernatural ancestry.
Coffin Hill is a devious little read, in the manner that the story rebounds back and forth from the eerie to the truly terrifying before finally settling somewhere in a land that is altogether disturbing. Kittredge makes good use of classic horror tropes—decrepit mansions, insane asylums, creepy forests, and a murder of ominous crows—that somehow feels fresh. Iñaki Miranda’s evocative artwork is superbly suited to Kittredge’s twisted imagination. The impudent characters are exceptionally rendered and easily distinguishable, their facial expressions both subtle and expressive as the story demands. Miranda includes several legitimately terrifying splash pages that give full reign to the horror-blanched phantasmagoria. Dynamic layouts and slick coloring deftly capture the story’s gothic ambiance. Much of the plot unfurls at a disoriented pace, courtesy of the chaotic paneling and illusory visuals that tell Kittredge's story in a way that's innovative and strangely seductive.
Kittredge brings a sure touch to Eve's character, dramatizing her internal monologues with angst and razor-sharp sass. There’s a voluptuous grace to Eve in spite of her pale visage and headstrong demeanor. She’s passionate and unapologetic, and seems dead-set on upending her family’s sordid history. Eve Coffin is a total babe, albeit lonely and directionless, who lives fastidiously through the most recklessly negligent version of herself.
Kittredge's plotting is perhaps too ambitious for the title’s meager page count. In attempting to illuminate Eve’s current dilemma with regards to her ancestors' long-standing involvement in witchcraft, the execution comes off a bit muddled at times, but the loose-wheeled timeline ultimately succeeds in building intrigue. As Volume 1 draws to a close, readers get the sense that there are many as-of-yet unseen elements, but Kittredge appears to know where the story is headed. Coffin Hill is refreshingly original and peopled with unconventional heroes brilliantly flawed and even more unsettling for that.
Well-concerned parents, take heed: Coffin Hill contains mature content that may not be suited to immature and developing minds. There’s some brutal violence, strong language, and a little bit with the nudity. Only “young-at-heart” readers need apply.
Eve Coffin is a disgraced ex-cop and last scion of the venerated Coffin clan whose heritage dates back to the Salem Witch Trials. With a legacy so embroiled in secrets and old-world mysticism, Eve flippantly likens her family to “the Kennedys with more madness and murder.” Shortly after surviving a cranial gunshot wound, Eve promptly returns to Coffin Hill, a sleepy New England hamlet and home to the ancestral Coffin mansion where evil lurks in the surrounding foothills—an evil unleashed years earlier by Eve and her friends after a night of debauchery and black magic. Sandwiched between the present-day narrative are flashbacks to Eve as a libidinous and transgressive teenager courting dissension of the paranormal variety, her misbehavior emboldened by a contentious relationship with her (literal) witch of a mother. A decade later, Eve realizes this dark force is still at large after several local teens go missing in the same haunted woodlands in which Eve and her friends performed that fateful incantation. To vanquish this unresolved curse, our reformed bad girl must own up to her mistakes and come to terms with her supernatural ancestry.
Coffin Hill is a devious little read, in the manner that the story rebounds back and forth from the eerie to the truly terrifying before finally settling somewhere in a land that is altogether disturbing. Kittredge makes good use of classic horror tropes—decrepit mansions, insane asylums, creepy forests, and a murder of ominous crows—that somehow feels fresh. Iñaki Miranda’s evocative artwork is superbly suited to Kittredge’s twisted imagination. The impudent characters are exceptionally rendered and easily distinguishable, their facial expressions both subtle and expressive as the story demands. Miranda includes several legitimately terrifying splash pages that give full reign to the horror-blanched phantasmagoria. Dynamic layouts and slick coloring deftly capture the story’s gothic ambiance. Much of the plot unfurls at a disoriented pace, courtesy of the chaotic paneling and illusory visuals that tell Kittredge's story in a way that's innovative and strangely seductive.
Kittredge brings a sure touch to Eve's character, dramatizing her internal monologues with angst and razor-sharp sass. There’s a voluptuous grace to Eve in spite of her pale visage and headstrong demeanor. She’s passionate and unapologetic, and seems dead-set on upending her family’s sordid history. Eve Coffin is a total babe, albeit lonely and directionless, who lives fastidiously through the most recklessly negligent version of herself.
Kittredge's plotting is perhaps too ambitious for the title’s meager page count. In attempting to illuminate Eve’s current dilemma with regards to her ancestors' long-standing involvement in witchcraft, the execution comes off a bit muddled at times, but the loose-wheeled timeline ultimately succeeds in building intrigue. As Volume 1 draws to a close, readers get the sense that there are many as-of-yet unseen elements, but Kittredge appears to know where the story is headed. Coffin Hill is refreshingly original and peopled with unconventional heroes brilliantly flawed and even more unsettling for that.
Well-concerned parents, take heed: Coffin Hill contains mature content that may not be suited to immature and developing minds. There’s some brutal violence, strong language, and a little bit with the nudity. Only “young-at-heart” readers need apply.
September 2, 2016
Eve and friends did some magic out in the forest of Coffin Hill and things went awry.
Years later Eve returns and whatever magic she awakened back then is now thriving.
"Wicked witch of Coffin Hill, buried in the woods and waits there still. Hide your face and close your eyes. For if you see her you will die. Only the crows to hear you cry."
It was really hard for me to get into this story. The writing was choppy and didn't flow very well at all. I have to say it was all quite confusing.
The characters and their chatter were stiff and I had to push myself to finish this comic.
The second half was a little better, if only because the story picked up its pace or it could be that I found it more interesting. My favorite parts were when Eve and Mel duked it out.
The artwork was well-done. If only the writing had matched it.
Not for me~
*I was given a copy in exchange for an honest review*
www.HorrorAfterDark.com
August 24, 2022
Not the best, and a little messy but fun enough.
March 18, 2019
So far this is pretty much your typical 'New England witches + really tiny town + edgy teenage magic + dark family secrets' schtick, but the art and designs are really good and being typical isn't necessarily always a bad thing as long as it's something that you enjoy. I'm hoping a few things get expanded on in the next volume, but so far it's an interesting enough story.
October 2, 2014
Not that I read a lot of horror stories, but Coffin Hill is an excellent read for horror and magic fans.
Life as a hot-shot Boston cop is going pretty well for Eve Coffin until she is shot and has to retreat home to Coffin Hill in Massachusetts. Ten years after unleashing something into the woods during a foolish, teenage rite, Eve finds that the monster has spent the last decade in her absence feeding the evil in people's hearts. Now she must face old judgments, familiar and hostile faces, and horrific evil in order to make amends for her younger, brasher self.
Eve Coffin is like Willow Rosenberg meets Lisbeth Salinger: smart, sarcastic, and magical. She doesn't take insults from anyone, and despite some serious familial issues, still tries to make her own way. Kittredge's storytelling is excellent: easy-to-follow, deep, and very dark. Inaki Miranda perfectly complements the rich story with horrific monsters, luscious details, and plenty of dark ink to go around.
I'm not sure whether I burned through this book because I was scared or enthralled, maybe both, but I couldn't put down this graphic novel full of unforgettable monsters and sassy characters.
Life as a hot-shot Boston cop is going pretty well for Eve Coffin until she is shot and has to retreat home to Coffin Hill in Massachusetts. Ten years after unleashing something into the woods during a foolish, teenage rite, Eve finds that the monster has spent the last decade in her absence feeding the evil in people's hearts. Now she must face old judgments, familiar and hostile faces, and horrific evil in order to make amends for her younger, brasher self.
Eve Coffin is like Willow Rosenberg meets Lisbeth Salinger: smart, sarcastic, and magical. She doesn't take insults from anyone, and despite some serious familial issues, still tries to make her own way. Kittredge's storytelling is excellent: easy-to-follow, deep, and very dark. Inaki Miranda perfectly complements the rich story with horrific monsters, luscious details, and plenty of dark ink to go around.
I'm not sure whether I burned through this book because I was scared or enthralled, maybe both, but I couldn't put down this graphic novel full of unforgettable monsters and sassy characters.
April 5, 2016
This volume collects issues #1-7.
I've been in a bit of a reading slump after finishing Middlemarch. Not a surprise really. I've picked up and put down various books, and when I get this way, my go to books are graphic novels. They are usually fun quick reads. This was the first book I got through after Middlemarch, so hooray for that.
The premise reminds me of teen horror flicks; roll out the booze, sex, drugs, and blood. Our main character Eve Coffin is a witch with Salem ancestry. The story has two major plot lines. In the earlier one we encounter a teen, goth, angry Eve, who is not only unlikable, but wakes up after a raucous night in the woods to find herself covered with blood, one friend missing, and the other mentally broken. In the current timeline, Eve is a rookie cop who solves a major case, but is still unlikable and having issues. When teens start disappearing in the woods around her old home, Eve know what is responsible, and this time she is determined to put an end to the horror. Will she succeed without tapping into the darkest magic?
I really liked the New England setting, and the art is quite good. I liked the story enough that I'll continue with this series.
I've been in a bit of a reading slump after finishing Middlemarch. Not a surprise really. I've picked up and put down various books, and when I get this way, my go to books are graphic novels. They are usually fun quick reads. This was the first book I got through after Middlemarch, so hooray for that.
The premise reminds me of teen horror flicks; roll out the booze, sex, drugs, and blood. Our main character Eve Coffin is a witch with Salem ancestry. The story has two major plot lines. In the earlier one we encounter a teen, goth, angry Eve, who is not only unlikable, but wakes up after a raucous night in the woods to find herself covered with blood, one friend missing, and the other mentally broken. In the current timeline, Eve is a rookie cop who solves a major case, but is still unlikable and having issues. When teens start disappearing in the woods around her old home, Eve know what is responsible, and this time she is determined to put an end to the horror. Will she succeed without tapping into the darkest magic?
I really liked the New England setting, and the art is quite good. I liked the story enough that I'll continue with this series.
May 22, 2014
COFFIN HILL ist eine eigentlich erstaunlich klassische Hexengeschichte, die aufgepeppt wird durch den Kontrast zwischen Kleinstadt und altem Südstaatenflair einerseits und andererseits der rebellischen jungen Generation, die sich mit Drogen, Alkohol und schwarzen Messen die Langeweile vertreibt. Verbunden werden die Elemente durch die Hexenkräfte, die als Fluch auf den Coffins liegen. Verschwundene Mädchen und ein altes Familiengeheimnis kommen als Mystery-Element hinzu.
Eve Coffin ist sympathisch taff und unangepaßt, aber wie die anderen Figuren in der Story auch könnte sie mehr Tiefgang vertragen. Überhaupt hatte ich den Eindruck, dass durch eine unnötig verschachtelte Erzählweise über die Klischees hingeweggetäuscht werden soll, aus denen sich die Handlung nicht befreien kann.
Trotzdem gibt es einen vierten Stern, denn die Zeichnungen von Inaki Miranda machen aus der gewöhnlichen Geschichte doch noch ein erfreuliches Leseabenteuer und holen für Kittredge die Kohlen aus dem Feuer.
Eve Coffin ist sympathisch taff und unangepaßt, aber wie die anderen Figuren in der Story auch könnte sie mehr Tiefgang vertragen. Überhaupt hatte ich den Eindruck, dass durch eine unnötig verschachtelte Erzählweise über die Klischees hingeweggetäuscht werden soll, aus denen sich die Handlung nicht befreien kann.
Trotzdem gibt es einen vierten Stern, denn die Zeichnungen von Inaki Miranda machen aus der gewöhnlichen Geschichte doch noch ein erfreuliches Leseabenteuer und holen für Kittredge die Kohlen aus dem Feuer.
June 6, 2017
I really liked this one but it could have had a better structure.
Was quite confusing to start but once I got into it I started liking the characters and the story was quite cool.
The drastic change of Mel and Eve's appearances was mega-confusing to me because there wasn't ever a massive amount of emphasis placed on what their names are but I guess it's easy enough to go back and check.
I also just wish that Eve's history with Witchcraft and the discovery of her skills was emphasized a bit more. There's only really a small amount of history to back all this supernatural stuff up. The whole ritual in the forest and how it affected Nate even though he decided to leave was weird as well.
Otherwise a fun, dark read with potential.
Will be looking into the the next installment.
Was quite confusing to start but once I got into it I started liking the characters and the story was quite cool.
The drastic change of Mel and Eve's appearances was mega-confusing to me because there wasn't ever a massive amount of emphasis placed on what their names are but I guess it's easy enough to go back and check.
I also just wish that Eve's history with Witchcraft and the discovery of her skills was emphasized a bit more. There's only really a small amount of history to back all this supernatural stuff up. The whole ritual in the forest and how it affected Nate even though he decided to leave was weird as well.
Otherwise a fun, dark read with potential.
Will be looking into the the next installment.
August 5, 2014
A very interesting read! This book takes place with a rookie cop, Eve Coffin, who has just caught a high profile serial killer, she than goes to her home town Salem, to get away from the media but ends up getting involved in recent disappearances similar to when she was a teen. This book provides flash backs to when she was a rebellious teen which are nice to learn more about the character. The basic outline of this story is every woman in Eve's family are witches, and that's the cool part, In the book she has this awesome summon crows power which reminds me a lot of Bioshock Infinite. Overall this a great read and i highly recommend it, especially for fans of witchcraft!
April 3, 2016
Didn't love it and I didn't hate it, but it left me curious like George.
Reads just like a bad 80s teen horror flick with dark woods, drinking, hooking up and lets not forget Witches.
Coffin Hill is known for the Coffin family. The Coffins have a strong lifeline of Witches. Once lead into the woods, the Harvest will begin....
Reads just like a bad 80s teen horror flick with dark woods, drinking, hooking up and lets not forget Witches.
Coffin Hill is known for the Coffin family. The Coffins have a strong lifeline of Witches. Once lead into the woods, the Harvest will begin....
June 5, 2015
thrilling and engaging mystery/dark urban horror story with an interesting color style. The characters are a bit stereotypical but not to cheesy or one dimensional.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW5_X...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW5_X...
June 5, 2014
Slightly disjointed tale, but the story is there. 4 stars for the potential and slick art.
June 20, 2014
This is the first in a new graphic novel series and I think this may be a series to watch. The art is great and I really enjoyed the story line.
September 1, 2017
Meh.
A coven of witches in the modern day, human sacrifice, accidental conjuring of something in the woods... Same old same old.
A coven of witches in the modern day, human sacrifice, accidental conjuring of something in the woods... Same old same old.
November 2, 2018
Really liked this, re-read so I can read the next couple from the local library.
September 28, 2021
Coffin Hill Vol. 1 Forest of the Night collects issues 1-7 of the Vertigo Comics series written by Caitlin Kitteridge with art by Inaki Miranda.
Eve is a cop who is taking a break after a brutal case. She returns to her hometown where two teenagers have disappeared into woods. The same woods that she summoned a powerful being as a teenager.
The story is laughable at times as it is filled with goth and emo police officers who dabbled in the occult as teenagers. Someone said it felt like something that would be on the CW but it is so incredibly cheesey I don't think even the CW would pick it up. If I didn't know any better, I would think it's parodying CW shows but there is no way it is that self aware. The pacing is bad and flips between time periods with little warning or reason. It gets two stars for the art. I'm a completionist so I will continue reading it. It can't get much worse, can it?
Eve is a cop who is taking a break after a brutal case. She returns to her hometown where two teenagers have disappeared into woods. The same woods that she summoned a powerful being as a teenager.
The story is laughable at times as it is filled with goth and emo police officers who dabbled in the occult as teenagers. Someone said it felt like something that would be on the CW but it is so incredibly cheesey I don't think even the CW would pick it up. If I didn't know any better, I would think it's parodying CW shows but there is no way it is that self aware. The pacing is bad and flips between time periods with little warning or reason. It gets two stars for the art. I'm a completionist so I will continue reading it. It can't get much worse, can it?
August 5, 2021
I'm right in the middle with this one. It's a creepy story of witches and haunted woods with goth overtones. It reminds me a bit of Anne Rice's Mayfair Witch stories even though they're only vaguely similar.
Basically there's a family of witches and we meet one of the modern day witches who had a traumatic experience in the haunted woods as a teen. She's now a police officer, and the spookiness just won't leave her alone.
The art fits the story well, and overall the atmosphere on the book is well done.
It's almost like an old school Vertigo horror book from the 90s in a way, but it is more coherent as some of that 90s Vertigo stuff totally lost me.
As I've been known to say in reviews, if you think you'll like this you probably will. I did enjoy it enough to continue the series.
Basically there's a family of witches and we meet one of the modern day witches who had a traumatic experience in the haunted woods as a teen. She's now a police officer, and the spookiness just won't leave her alone.
The art fits the story well, and overall the atmosphere on the book is well done.
It's almost like an old school Vertigo horror book from the 90s in a way, but it is more coherent as some of that 90s Vertigo stuff totally lost me.
As I've been known to say in reviews, if you think you'll like this you probably will. I did enjoy it enough to continue the series.
March 8, 2023
It feels like a lot of style-over-substance. As the story went on I was getting vibes of ‘Wednesday’, ‘Butterfly Effect’, and’The Craft’, which should be good.
The bratty, rich kid gets a friend killed and becomes a cop to atone, but doesn’t stick with it. A family curse; something in the woods; a narcissistic protag.
The approach of flicking back and forth between the past and present worked for me, as it made uncovering the mysteries of the past a bit compelling, without which I doubt I’d have finished the book.
The bratty, rich kid gets a friend killed and becomes a cop to atone, but doesn’t stick with it. A family curse; something in the woods; a narcissistic protag.
The approach of flicking back and forth between the past and present worked for me, as it made uncovering the mysteries of the past a bit compelling, without which I doubt I’d have finished the book.
December 22, 2023
Kapağına aldanarak okuduğum ve çok pişman olduğum bir kitaptı. Çizgi Düşler çok güzel bir baskı ortaya koymuş olsa da kaynakların bu kitap için harcanmış olması üzücü. Vertigo adını görünce insanda oluşan illüzyonun ne kadar tehlikeli olabileceğinin kanıtıdır bu kitap. Şımarık, zengin, ergen kafalı bir kızın cadılık icra etmesini ve dünyayı karşısına almasını okuyoruz. Birkaç amatör girişimi saymazsam okuduğum en kötü çizgi roman olabilir. Bu kadar beceriksizce yazılmış bir hikaye okumamıştım. Sanki hikayeye dair önemli kısımları atlamışım da kalan posasını okuyormuşum gibi bir his uyandırdı okurken. Kopuk olaylar zincirini okurken merak uyandıran ya da ilgimi çeken tek bir an bile olmadı. Yine de burada bu kitaptan keyif alabilen şanslı kişilerin olduğunu görmek güzel.
May 10, 2022
Interessante primo volume, non ho ancora ben capito quanto si possa svolgere la trama, ma come primo arco narrativo, devo ammettere di essere discretamente soddisfatta sia per quanto riguarda la storia, che i disegni.
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