Gideon Falls Vol 1 - The Black Barn by Jeff Lemire

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Gideon Falls Vol 1 - The Black Barn by Jeff Lemire
Picked up for TV by Hivemind after a multi-studio bidding war with long-time producing partners Sean Daniel and Jason Brown, Bad Robot veteran Kathy Lingg, and former Valiant Entertainment CEO & Chief Creative Officer Dinesh Shamdasani. From the bestselling creative team behind Old Man Logan and Green Arrow comes a character-driven meditation on obsession, mental illness, and faith. The legend of the Black Barn—an otherworldly building alleged to have appeared and reappeared throughout history, bringing death and madness in its wake—ensnares and entwines the lives of two very different men. Plus, this collection includes a variant cover gallery from some of comics’ best artists, including CLIFF CHIANG (PAPER GIRLS), JOCK (WYTCHES), SKOTTIE YOUNG (I HATE FAIRYLAND), and more! Collects GIDEON FALLS #1-6

Available online at
https://www.amazon.in/Gideon-Falls-1-Black-Barn/dp/1534308520

About the Author - Jeff Lemire

New York Times Bestselling author Jeff Lemire has built a unique career as both the writer and artist of acclaimed literary graphic novels like Essex County, The Underwater Welder, Sweet Tooth and Trillium. Also known for Green Arrow, Animal Man, Justice League and Hawkeye for Marvel and DC Comics.  More about the author here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Lemire

The Black Barn

The eerie looking structure below is the center piece of this story. 



There is a fascinating mystery surrounding Gideon Falls. This story is in 5-6 parts with this book being the first of the stories. This graphic story follows an investigation in the area about something known as the Black Barn, a dark entity that maybe a force of evil. The investigation allows us to be a part of the storyline decoding the clues and understanding where the story is progressing being a part of it. There are continuous points of tension, thrills and suspense. The way the Barn keeps cropping up at various locations. The experience is surreal and the underlying tension and foreboding racks up this book and is a great start to the series.

We follow the story of two characters as they delve into the mystery behind the Black Barn. We get some tit bits of information with a clear understanding of a greater power at play  something just beyond the camera line. Having read the Constantine series very avidly dark all pervading horror is something that I relish but here the mood is sombre and the tale clean. 
Near the end we also get to see the Barn in all its majesty where before we only see pencil scrolled sketches, crop squares (yes reminded me of the crop circles), crops all squashed with the hint of a rectangular object having settled down and then moved away. This also gives us a glimpse of the entity as something which is able to take corporeal form. 

                      

The undercurrent of this book is that there is something drastically wrong in Gideon Falls but from the reader's perspective the "What" is unclear and wafts through like a gut feeling.  It is frequently hinted at as the story progresses, but we never get a complete picture. This for me serves as the intent to keep the reader interested. The story is dark and eerie and I loved the psychological elements, the relationships that come to the fore slowly. 
The feel of malevolence and danger is constant. 

Not just the horror but also the characters in the story seem constantly ill at ease and have their own struggles with trauma, strained relationships, etc. This helps in developing their characters and you start rooting for characters. The high level of tension and stress with the new pastor as an X factor makes reading this book an experience.

The artwork suits the dreary atmosphere (have attached some pictures as a sample) is of a high-quality. It is suitably intimidating and gruesome compares well with the story line. The Barn itself seems daunting whether sketched or the complete picture and seems to have a personality of its own. 
It also projects a sci-fi style like the old alien novels. 

The book is well done and serves as a perfect hors d'oeuvre for the series and it entices one to continue with the series. 

Nice first volume. Recommend this with all my heart. 4 stars

Please do not forget to post your comments. I am an equal opportunity person so would love to hear your love or your hate for the review or book in any order. Please write what you did not like or whether the book was an absolute disaster for you and why.

You can also follow/like my review at Goodreads here - 
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4709007805


<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41567608-gideon-falls-vol-1" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn" src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1535612097l/41567608._SX98_.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41567608-gideon-falls-vol-1">Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/543719.Jeff_Lemire">Jeff Lemire</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4709007805">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
There is a fascinating mystery surrounding Gideon Falls. This story is in 5-6 parts with this book being the first of the stories. This graphic story follows an investigation in the area about something known as the Black Barn, a dark entity that maybe a force of evil. The investigation allows us to be a part of the storyline decoding the clues and understanding where the story is progressing being a part of it. There are continuous points of tension, thrills and suspense. The way the Barn keeps cropping up at various locations. The experience is surreal and the underlying tension and foreboding racks up this book and is a great start to the series.<br /><br />We follow the story of two characters as they delve into the mystery behind the Black Barn. We get some tit bits of information with a clear understanding of a greater power at play something just beyond the camera line. Having read the Constantine series very avidly dark all pervading horror is something that I relish but here the mood is sombre and the tale clean. <br />Near the end we also get to see the Barn in all its majesty where before we only see pencil scrolled sketches, crop squares (yes reminded me of the crop circles), crops all squashed with the hint of a rectangular object having settled down and then moved away. This also gives us a glimpse of the entity as something which is able to take corporeal form. <br />The undercurrent of this book is that there is something drastically wrong in Gideon Falls but from the reader's perspective the "What" is unclear and wafts through like a gut feeling. It is frequently hinted at as the story progresses, but we never get a complete picture. This for me serves as the intent to keep the reader interested. The story is dark and eerie and I loved the psychological elements, the relationships that come to the fore slowly. <br />The feel of malevolence and danger is constant. <br /><br />Not just the horror but also the characters in the story seem constantly ill at ease and have their own struggles with trauma, strained relationships, etc. This helps in developing their characters and you start rooting for characters. The high level of tension and stress with the new pastor as an X factor makes reading this book an experience.<br /><br />The artwork suits the dreary atmosphere (have attached some pictures as a sample) is of a high-quality. It is suitably intimidating and gruesome compares well with the story line. The Barn itself seems daunting whether sketched or the complete picture and seems to have a personality of its own. <br />It also projects a sci-fi style like the old alien novels. <br /><br />The book is well done and serves as a perfect hors d'oeuvre for the series and it entices one to continue with the series. <br /><br />Nice first volume. Recommend this with all my heart. 4 stars
<br/><br/>
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/134366167-sanjib-dash">View all my reviews</a>


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