Early Reader Review: Coffin Hill Vol. 1: Forest of the Night by Caitlin Kittredge

Coffin Hill Vol. 1: Forest of the Night by Caitlin Kittredge
Series: Coffin Hill
Publisher: Vertigo
Publication Date:  May 20, 2014

 

Format: ebook
Source:Vertigo and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.  Receiving this ecopy did not affect my opinion of the book or this review.

Rating:




 

Goodreads Synopsis: 

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

 Review: 

NOTE: Not for young readers, contains a lot of bloody violence and nudity.

I have read a few of the Coffin Hill comics but was happy to see Volume 1 on Netgalley when I did, I was finally able to read the series as it currently stands. I enjoy Coffin Hill for its dark presence in the comic world - yes various series do have darker elements but this series is about a witch (not always a good one) and a dark power. 

Eve Coffin is our main character, who is stubborn and determined but also strong and interesting. There is so much that I want to learn about her character - more through each issue. The other characters are kind of just there; there are a few guys that Eve has relations with, towns people that all hate her, and her mother who also seems to loathe her daughter (I want to know more about this!). These characters ll kind of fell flat for me.

I found the overall story to be very confusing at first, because I had only read a few of the issues - sad to say that even as a compilation of 1-7 it can still be confusing. I felt like there was a lot of information that had to be assumed by the reader, or just overall left out completely.  

The art was pretty great, very macabre and deeply colored. I found that to be redeeming to the story.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this volume, it was an interesting story with a lot of characters, but I felt like I was missing a lot of back-story to go with it and really get into it. So I just liked it, nothing overly spectacular, 3 out of 5 stars.