Review: Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn

Gideon Falls, Vol. 1: The Black Barn by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All you need to know is that this is a good intro story into something much larger than what it is showing. That, and you'll probably love or hate it. As a first volume, it's intelligent but slow. You either go in for the long haul or you bail early. This is one you marry, not fool around with. I fully recommend you at least read this first volume. You'll finish with more questions than answers, but that isn't the point. It's all a matter if you care enough to keep digging and find out how far the rabbit hole goes.

The writing is good but can be a little uneven. Like I said before, it's slow. The main problem is that the book is trying to tell two stories at the same time, and they aren't equal in terms of pacing. In one story, you have almost entirely setup. Six issues in, and we're still wandering around looking for clues like the opening chapter of a grand novel. In the other story, the action is more immediate but still feels like a tease. There's more of an arc to the second story, which isn't a bad thing, but it's the contrast with the first that feels muddling.

In other news, the art is where it's at. At first, I wasn't sold on it. There's a graininess to it that can be off-putting at first glance. But behind the scratchy nature of it, you start to see patterns to make it some of the best art I've seen in a comic. What sucks about ninety percent of comics is that they're basically bad short stories with pictures. Going from panel to panel without any real interest in using visual art to help tell a story. Gideon doesn't do that. It instead fully invests the time and brainpower to utilize the art form. It might not always make sense, but it sure is refreshing.

I was originally going to give this book three stars. The opening issues spend too much time talking and not enough digging into the lore. It definitely has its pacing problems, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good book. It wants you to stick around but isn't willing to lower itself with cheap tricks in order to do it. Just make it to the end of the volume, you'll be pulled in and you're not going to want to come up for air.

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