Gideon Falls (In it's entirety)

Well, I did it!! After nearly a year since I acquired volume 2, I've finally gotten around to reading the entire of Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino's Gideon Falls.

Less than two years since I first started reading this series (I received the Deluxe Vol. 1 for Christmas 2021), I had planned to return to this horror comic ever since I received the second deluxe volume just a year later.

However, with other comics and books in the queue before it and time moving ever onwards, it got to a point that the only way to truly enjoy this second part would be to read the whole series in its entirety.

Well, with the new winter approaching and the trips to and from work shrouded in darkness, I was able to return to the bus to work and, with it, the opportunity to finally read Gideon Falls in one large go.

As I reiterated when I read the first volume (a long time ago now), this series, set (mostly) in the titular town of Gideon Falls follows Father Fred, a priest haunted by the actions of his past, and Norton Sinclair, a troubled young man from a city a world away. However, despite their differing situations, both of these men have something on common; a reoccurring dream of a hauntingly eerie Black Barn.

I have to confess, Gideon Falls, as a concept, is not really my cup of tea. However, the work of Lemire and Sorrentino together that I've read in the past was sublime enough to warrant them my trust. And it was certainly this trust which was only enhanced when I read the first volume.

But could this dream team stick the landing with this series? Or would it all fall apart and leave me immensely disappointed? It was a fear of this latter option that maybe had me stay my hand when it came to picking this series up.

Fortunately, this worry proved to be unfounded as Lemire and Sorrentino finish this story as wonderfully as they started it.

The story begins slowly enough but it perfectly increases the tone, tempo and intrigue at the right gradient as it continues. For me, what started as a morbidly intriguing tale became a terrifyingly captivating and addictive one as Fred, Norton and their respective allies attempted to learn the truth behind the Black Barn and save the worlds they'd built themselves.

There is an opening foreword which compares this series to Twin Peaks and, while I've never seen that series, I certainly can believe it as Gideon Falls feels so in keeping with Alan Wake video game (which itself is a homage to David Lynch's TV series) with its dramatic supernatural/horror-esque tone.

Meanwhile, Andrea Sorrentino's art has this gritty taste to it, based on my thoughts when he drew Green Arrow. However, here, his work looks peerless and is pitch perfect for the world of Gideon Falls. Providing the story a realistic vibe to ground itself in, but then also beautifully providing us with the more horrific aspects as well as something truly mind bending towards the end which I couldn't help but drop my jaw to see.

I'm not sure what else I can say about this comic? Probably 10 times what I have but then I'd be pushing into spoiler territory and this is something which has to be seen to be believed. Nevertheless, Gideon Falls was a tremendous read over its two Deluxe Editions with an ending that, while feeling finite, also seems to leave the door open for a return visit. Whether more stories came from this universe or not though, this two tomes are definitely staying on my shelves to travel back to in the future.