Through the Woods

After reading the work on the author's website, I decided to buy this book for a horror-loving friend's birthday gift. But since I ordered it some time in advance I'll freely admit I read it all first! He, of course, loved it (and forced it upon other horror fans). People seem a little torn on their opinions of this, so all I can do is say what I think. First of all, the art is unique and great and very chilling. Of course it is a drawing but (and this will sound odd) it LOOKS like drawings, like somebody skillfully scribbling down their memories of the macabre. It's reminiscent of a dark and twisted fairy tale (which I believe is mostly the point). I quite enjoy the style. If you aren't sure you'll like it, try the 'look inside' function on Amazon or go to the authors website to get a better feel for her. As for the stories, I'm not going to take them one by one but rather a general impression. There's a short intro and epilogue and (unrelated) stories between. Although 5 stories may not seem like a ton you get quite a bit of content. I saw some complaints that the stories didn't really have an ending and I guess for the majority that is true. I personally felt like they ended, but it is correct that maybe only one (or two?) had a concrete "this is what happened the end" type of ending. The majority of the stories show a scenario, what happened, and a hint of what might (or might not) be the outcome and leave the reader to wonder or decide. I like that sort of thing. If you do not, perhaps you won't be fond of this book. Some people said the book wasn't scary. I thought it was plenty scary, although I can't recall having any nightmares over it or anything. It definitely brings a feeling of dread and I love creepy foreshadowing pictures where you're like "Eck, what's going to happen?!" and then reveal pictures where you're like "Oh geez, nooo! What and why?!" Gore is present, but it is not a gore fest. There is some body horror, but that's not what the book is. Perhaps I'd categorize it as existential horror, but that doesn't feel right either. Every story is different, so they don't fall into a clear category. All in all yes it was scary enough to please me and the intended horror-loving recipient. I know this will sound like I'm repeating myself but if you still aren't sure, check out the author's comics online. As a small side note, the book in hardcover is sufficiently hefty and good quality. There is a nice, textured dust jacket that comes off to reveal the regular cover, which is smooth and matte. The pages are nicely colored and a nice thickness as well. The first copy I ordered had a wrinkly manufacturer's defect on the cover but I sent it back and got a replacement from Amazon fairly quickly and without incident.

There are so many different ways to create horror, especially in comics. If you’re Richard Corben, you go with surreality, cheesecake, and backwoods decadence. If you’re Bernie Wrightson, you go with lifelike detail and emotion. If you’re Mike Mignola, you go with thick lines and hints of antiquity. If you’re Junji Ito, you go with body horror, spirals, and fish. If you’re Emily Carroll, you go with subtly complex simplicity, negative space, vivid colors, and fairy tales. Emily Carroll is an artist who publishes many of her horror webcomics online. Only one of the stories in this collection — the masterful and near-legendary “His Face All Red” — is available on her website. The rest of the tales in this book are gloriously new and wonderfully diabolical. We get “Our Neighbor’s House,” in which three young girls are left alone in a winter storm — until they encounter a strange man with a broad-brimmed hat and a full-face smile. We get “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold,” a ghostly variant of the Bluebeard legend. We get “My Friend Janna,” in which two friends dabble in spiritualism and discover something spectral and predatory. And we get “The Nesting Place,” in which a girl visits her brother and discovers that his wife is hiding a gruesome secret underneath her skin. Carroll does an amazing job of creating stories that seem both timeless and ancient, and utterly new and shocking. I think my favorite story in this one is the first — “Our Neighbor’s House” — because it never shows you anything horrific and lets your imagination do all the heavy lifting — which I still think is Carroll’s greatest strength. But that doesn’t mean the others aren’t all fantastic, too. “My Friend Janna” brings us subtle terrors we’re not even sure if we can see clearly and definitely can’t possibly understand. Is Janna being haunted at all? What’s the significance of the pulse inside the ghost? And “A Lady’s Hands Are Cold” is more gruesome but also a slower burn. The song sung throughout helps a story already rooted in the past feel even older, like it’s something pulled up from antiquity. “The Nesting Place” is the tale that seems to break most of the rules one expects from Carroll’s work — it’s much more modern, there’s more dialogue, less omniscient narration, and the horrors are downright gory. But I loved the hell out of this one, too. The surreal shapeshifting monster in this story has horribly human motivations, and that makes the story more powerful and more frightening. If you love horror, beautiful artwork, splendid little stories, and fears both subtle and shrieking, both chilling and gore-caked, you'll want to pick this one up.

I’m not normally one to pick up a graphic novel – even though this is a compilation of five graphic short stories – but it was a welcome change from a usual steady diet of books. Each story is set in a different time and has its own twist. ‘Our Neighbor’s House’ is quietly spooky and has a Blair Witch feel; where ‘A Lady’s Hands are Cold’ is a morbid cautionary tale. ‘His Face All Red’ is like body snatchers from deep in the woods and shudder-worthy; while ‘My Friend Janna’ is a freaky tale of a haunted medium and definitely my favourite story, both the drawings and storyline up the creep factor. And finally ‘The Nesting Place’ is the longest of the stories and the ssshhhkkk ssssshhhhkkkk of teeth still echo through my head. The illustrations in ‘Through the Woods’ were scratchy and blotchy with only one or two colours – as equally ominous as the stories themselves. It was eerie and spooky and suitably gave me the shivers. While not terrifying, ‘Through the Woods’ is morbid and creepy. Reminding me of Ronald Dahl – that same way the stories ended, or even ‘The Raven’ by Edgar Allen Poe. Several moments had the hair standing up on the back of my neck. It is a quick read, but I urge you to take your time and enjoy the artwork. There is so much atmosphere that projects off the page to suck you into the narrative. For my first graphic novel – highly recommended!

The stories mostly seem like folk tales, despite being original (?). They are simple and often a bit pointless like real folk tales are, but there are also obvious depths and teachings if you want to look. the illustrations are also deceptively simple and match the stories well. this seems like a book worth buying and reading again to me.

Beautiful book with some cool, spooky stories. Interesting art, love it

This was a great read, and its a book on my shelf that I revisit fairly frequently - I would definitely recommend if you have a soft spot for the creepy. Each tale is intriguing in its own way and, although short, leave a larger impact than you would expect. My personal favourites are probably His Face All Red and Nesting Place. The rhythm in the language gave the stories an old, fairy-tale like feel. The artwork is fantastic. Emily Carroll has a distinct style and knows exactly how to create atmosphere with colour and light, at times the artworks melding with the black panelling around them to create deep shadows and the silhouettes of horrible creatures. Probably not good for young children, but this definitely seems like the kind of thing I would have enjoyed when I was a little older, and something I enjoy I lot now as an adult!

Es recomendable conocer lo básico del inglés para entender enteramente las historias, eso de primeras. Emily Carroll nos trae con Through the Woods varias historias parecidas a los creepypastas con un toque diferente. Algunas historias te dejaran con un final abierto y quedaras con una duda o con alguna idea de que pudo haber pasado, armaras y finalizaras tu la historia dependiendo la información que tu recogiste de la historia (aunque probablemente debamos fijarnos mas en los detalles gráficos) Tiene un arte inigualable, magnífico y único, y aunque odio las comparaciones, cada historia me daba añoranza y recuerdos a Over the Garden Wall, con esto ya se podrán imaginar la calidad. Los dibujos son sencillos, bonitos y tienen una extraña y bonita relación con el tipo de historia que se cuentan, es increíble. Yo adquirí la versión de pasta blanda y esta tiene relieve y texturas en las ramas de la portada un detalle del cual estoy bastante sorprendido. No dudes en adquirirlo.

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