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Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn
(Gideon Falls #1)
by
The legend of the Black Barn tells of an otherworldly building that has appeared and reappeared throughout history, bringing death and madness in its wake. Now, its mystery ensnares and entwines the lives of two very different men. One: a young recluse, obsessed with finding hidden clues within the city's trash. The other: a washed-up Catholic priest, finding his place in
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Paperback, 160 pages
Published
October 23rd 2018
by Image Comics
(first published October 17th 2018)
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Start your review of Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn

A ritual killer’s doin’ his thang in the small town of Gideon Falls. A Catholic priest is dispatched to replace the previous Father who recently died in strange circumstances. A mental patient with a face mask wanders the city collecting “special” pieces of garbage. Both priest and nutbar have visions of a black barn. *Yawns* Oh, what does it all mean?
The creative team behind Old Man Logan, Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, reunite for their first Image series, Gideon Falls. And it’s not very ...more
The creative team behind Old Man Logan, Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino, reunite for their first Image series, Gideon Falls. And it’s not very ...more

Damnation!—literally. Lemire surprises with this dark fantasy horror told through two parallel plots. While characterization is only moderate so far, it’s only because there’s so much going for the plot. Illustrations are sketchy but wonderfully fantastical.

We are in Harrow County, Rachel Rising and Outcast territory with Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino and Dave Stewarts's entry into the comics horror world. And like those other series (and many more we could name), we have a fight going for the soul of the town, an epic battle between Heaven and Hell. The central feature that distinguishes this from the others is not great art, because all of the above series are exemplary in that category, but Sorrentino is amazingly inventive with paneling and la
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Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino reunite for their new horror comic with very little horror. This is the slowest of slow burns. If visions of old barns scare you, this may be the book for you. The story follows two separate individuals in two different environments. One, a mentally ill man who wonders through a city's garbage looking for splinters and nails. The other, a priest new to a small town who witnesses a murder. Their only connection an old barn that they see visions of. Speaking of th
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I'm not writing a full review for this. I like the concept and some of the characters but I hate the art and I'm not in a hurry to read the rest of the series when there's a ton of other stuff out there I want to read.
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Oct 28, 2018
L. McCoy
rated it
it was amazing
Recommends it for:
Fans of horror and weird books.
Recommended to L. by:
Devon Munn
Shelves:
creator-owned,
horror,
comics-and-graphic-novels,
hoopla,
reviewed,
favorites,
image,
5-star-reads-of-2018
Alright, I’ll end my flood of reviews with this.
What’s it about?
One guy is the new Catholic preacher in the town of Gideon Falls.
The other guy is a guy who is supposedly insane and obsessed with digging through the garbage.
They both see eerie visions of a black barn that may be more than just visions.
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is very interesting. I don’t want to give too much away but it is so great and strange.
The art is fantastic! Sorrentino’s gritty style suits this book perfectly! It so ...more
What’s it about?
One guy is the new Catholic preacher in the town of Gideon Falls.
The other guy is a guy who is supposedly insane and obsessed with digging through the garbage.
They both see eerie visions of a black barn that may be more than just visions.
Why it gets 5 stars:
The story is very interesting. I don’t want to give too much away but it is so great and strange.
The art is fantastic! Sorrentino’s gritty style suits this book perfectly! It so ...more

Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino strike gold. Again.
What else to say? Gideon Falls is a comic with 2 storylines that are apart from one another, yet connected. It is a noir feeling, dark, supernatural, thriller that fired for me on absolutely all cylinders.
Lemire's prose is gritty and mysterious and adds a creepy voice to Sorrentino's experimental feeling artwork. And I don't mean experimental in a bad way. Its just nice to see pages that don't follow the run-of-the-mill panel layouts for a chan ...more
What else to say? Gideon Falls is a comic with 2 storylines that are apart from one another, yet connected. It is a noir feeling, dark, supernatural, thriller that fired for me on absolutely all cylinders.
Lemire's prose is gritty and mysterious and adds a creepy voice to Sorrentino's experimental feeling artwork. And I don't mean experimental in a bad way. Its just nice to see pages that don't follow the run-of-the-mill panel layouts for a chan ...more

Jeff Lemire's new horror/thriller/mystical series starts veeeery slow. It's five long and tedious issues of buildup and one final issue that tries to turn everything on its head (and kind of fails by being too ambiguous), it doesn't feel very original or exciting enough to sustain its length, and the characters are all just... meh. Andrea Sorrentino's artwork is absolutely gorgeous though, better than I've ever seen it in other books. It does much more for building the tone and atmosphere of the
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When Lemire writes a good story it's really hard to not want more.
This is telling a story of two very different people trying to solve the same mystery. This Red Barn is a source of evil. Something, or someone, is forcing innocent people to go crazy and murder others. Through this story we focus on a priest coming to a village and trying to fit in after priest goes missing but we soon find out he might not be. Then we have a story of a crazy guy picking up trash and learning the secrets of the r ...more
This is telling a story of two very different people trying to solve the same mystery. This Red Barn is a source of evil. Something, or someone, is forcing innocent people to go crazy and murder others. Through this story we focus on a priest coming to a village and trying to fit in after priest goes missing but we soon find out he might not be. Then we have a story of a crazy guy picking up trash and learning the secrets of the r ...more

A well-written and creatively illustrated first chapter in a new horror mystery series that tells parallel stories about a reclusive mental patient obsessed with a mystery in the city's trash and a troubled Catholic priest assigned to preach in the small town of Gideon Falls. I love the slow, creeping build-up in the Gideon Falls scenes and I wish the city sections matched it. This series definitely shows promise though.
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Every time I turn around, it seems, there's a new Jeff Lemire series. Nothing wrong with that. He seems to be the hot writer of the moment, and, so far, he’s doing a good job of keeping the momentum going.
Which brings us to Gideon Falls. There appear to be two main characters. Father Wilfred is newly appointed to the local Catholic Church. It's implied that his predecessor died, or at least disappeared, but we're never told the exact circumstances, and it eventually becomes clear that Wilfred’s ...more
Which brings us to Gideon Falls. There appear to be two main characters. Father Wilfred is newly appointed to the local Catholic Church. It's implied that his predecessor died, or at least disappeared, but we're never told the exact circumstances, and it eventually becomes clear that Wilfred’s ...more

[4.5 Stars]
A wonderfully creepy and beautifully drawn new horror comic from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino that sets up a new series with a lot of potential. We've got two parallel stories, one in a rural setting and the other urban, both unsettling. Sorrentino's a great choice of artist as he's able to add a level grit and grime that really helps sell the weird and horrific Black Barn. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the "I'm schizophrenic, but I actually am the only one who sees the w ...more
A wonderfully creepy and beautifully drawn new horror comic from Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino that sets up a new series with a lot of potential. We've got two parallel stories, one in a rural setting and the other urban, both unsettling. Sorrentino's a great choice of artist as he's able to add a level grit and grime that really helps sell the weird and horrific Black Barn. The only thing I'm not crazy about is the "I'm schizophrenic, but I actually am the only one who sees the w ...more

This dual-narrative story introduces a mysterious barn that appears and disappears at random while dragging chaos and death into the lives of certain people along its way.
It is interesting at first, building up the suspense as you try to understand the direction it's heading and the story it wants to tell, but once it really gets into the mythology behind the barn and the horror elements that are attached to it, it becomes too zany to be fully appreciated.
The artwork fits with the overall tone ...more
It is interesting at first, building up the suspense as you try to understand the direction it's heading and the story it wants to tell, but once it really gets into the mythology behind the barn and the horror elements that are attached to it, it becomes too zany to be fully appreciated.
The artwork fits with the overall tone ...more

Gideon falls is a supernatural horror thriller which for the most part was a decent start to a series!
The story focuses on two men, A young man With serval mental health issues and a catholic priest both very different in character who’s worlds are plagued by a mysterious black barn that holds a sinister evil are these mind games? Or does this barn hold dark secrets for both men?
I felt the story was on the right track it held a level of suspense and mystery however I felt I didn’t get to know ...more
The story focuses on two men, A young man With serval mental health issues and a catholic priest both very different in character who’s worlds are plagued by a mysterious black barn that holds a sinister evil are these mind games? Or does this barn hold dark secrets for both men?
I felt the story was on the right track it held a level of suspense and mystery however I felt I didn’t get to know ...more

There's a trope in horror that I'm all set on. By which I mean I've had enough and would like something else.
It's the Reasonable Skeptic.
Here's how it work:
I move to a town where people say there's a Ghost Barn and a bunch of weird shit has happened and people see the Ghost Barn mysteriously appear and disappear. Reasonably, I'm skeptical, so a series of events must occur before I can get on board and get to the place where I'm like, "What are we going to do about this goddamn Ghost Bard?"
The b ...more
It's the Reasonable Skeptic.
Here's how it work:
I move to a town where people say there's a Ghost Barn and a bunch of weird shit has happened and people see the Ghost Barn mysteriously appear and disappear. Reasonably, I'm skeptical, so a series of events must occur before I can get on board and get to the place where I'm like, "What are we going to do about this goddamn Ghost Bard?"
The b ...more

This is Lemire doing strange horror things. The plot is a slow build. I dont mind the occasional slow burn and in this case it works. The plot does eventually work but there are a few questions I have after finishing #6. The characters are your typical washed up country characters. Although I do prefer the Norton/Dr interaction. The worldbuilding is quite unique although why do small country towns always have these horror elements. A good first outing although probably not Lemires best work. At
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I love Sorrentino's artwork, even though it starts to look like it's raining in every panel, even when events/characters are obviously indoors. The story here needs a goose--not much really happens in this first volume, just a lot of stage-setting and mystery. Never a good idea to stretch things out this much without some sort of payoff. I'll be interested to see what happens next, but calling this the best comic of the year is a bit much.
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Excellent -- 4.5 stars rounded up to 5. One of the creepiest, most original horror comics I've read in a long time.
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Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
(Quarantine: Book 9)
I have no recollection of how I found this volume, but I reckon I was in a mood for a graphic novel and this kind of just appeared.
Gideon Falls, Vol. 1 introduces us to two storylines: a priest who is moved by his bishop to the town of Gideon Falls after the death of his predecessor, and a schizophrenic guy who is obsessed with rummaging through trash to look for pieces of a puzzle he can't quite put together. The two stories meet ...more
(Quarantine: Book 9)
I have no recollection of how I found this volume, but I reckon I was in a mood for a graphic novel and this kind of just appeared.
Gideon Falls, Vol. 1 introduces us to two storylines: a priest who is moved by his bishop to the town of Gideon Falls after the death of his predecessor, and a schizophrenic guy who is obsessed with rummaging through trash to look for pieces of a puzzle he can't quite put together. The two stories meet ...more

I love the central idea; I'm a big fan of architectural disruptions in dark fiction. I was hoping for something along the lines of Nick Antosca's No-end House (Season 2 of Channel Zero, on Syfy), with its tense, surreal take on everyday social situations. But Lemire opted for more conventional horror tropes, and I got bored with the shootings and stabbings with the Barn playing a largely background role.
The treatment is overall quite restrained, and I like most of the art (though occasionally it ...more
The treatment is overall quite restrained, and I like most of the art (though occasionally it ...more

Whahhh! That was something! Again Lemire! This was dark, psychedelic and a good thriller vibes to it. Different from most Lemire work's I've read so far but amazing work and a really great chemistry between the story/action and the illustrations, everything just perfectly fit together. Awesome!! Now I need to buy vol. 2!
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Art is new, fresh with a really personal style and Sorrentino has some tricks up his sleeve concerning narration and panel distrubition in his pages that surely will be used by many creators in the future. It stands out from the latest titles of Image, it has premise but the scenario needs some tuning. I hope this happens at the second tpb.

The highly acclaimed Gideon Falls doesn't contain any original ideas that I can see. It's largely well-drawn, though there are consistency problems with some characters (a common problem when the artist's reliance on photo reference includes some gaps in said reference). I like the paneling a lot, and the texture effects.
The story jumping read smoothly, and I was about equally interested in both stories - the connections between the stories have some satisfying payoffs, and one of them is even ...more
The story jumping read smoothly, and I was about equally interested in both stories - the connections between the stories have some satisfying payoffs, and one of them is even ...more

It's a decent start with a really good hook at the end. The panel art combined with a look that borders on the gritty side is original looking and compliments this horror story very well. I was a huge fan with Lemire and Sarrantinos work on the old man Logan run so I was highly anticipating this one. If I had to compare it to another current series I'd say it is close to Outcast by Robert Kirkman
Vol. 2 Original Sin -4.5🌟 ...more
Vol. 2 Original Sin -4.5🌟 ...more

This is some quality dark story telling. The premise is one I've never seen/read, and the direction of the first book is promising. Looking forward to later installments.
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There was a lot to enjoy about this one. Andrea Sorrentino has some really impressive art that gives this book a very distinctive, grounded feel. Jeff Lemire isn't a stranger to oddly esoteric stories, but this feels dark for him. It was weird in all the right ways and while it was a slower trip it was easy to keep going. I kind of liked that it wasn't a break neck speed, it let the tension build in a way that worked for me. I don't read a lot of comics like this, but (probably thanks to my affi
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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.
Other books in the series
Gideon Falls
(6 books)
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