Gideon Falls #15 from Image Comics hits your local comic book store today; written by Jeff Lemire, with art by Andrea Sorrentino, colors by Dave Stewart, and design & letters by Steve Wands. The series continues to churn out complex storytelling with breathtaking artwork.
Spoilers follow after the next image.
The most recent issue of Gideon Falls brings two of the main characters together. In the last issue, we saw a future Gideon Falls the people there referred to as the “city near the center” where future technology was housed in a barn…not a black barn, not yet at least. Gideon Falls #15 starts with Father Wilfred waking in a city that feels familiar but very different. Given what we found out in the last issue, this appears to be a different city than the one we’ve come to know, but eerily the same. There is something sinister in this town’s past, and it’s unraveled slowly but surely.
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Lemire does it again. He’s giving us enough of the story to keep it progressing but still keeping the readers in the dark about the past of this town. Sorrentino never disappoints in this book. His layouts and the way the story unfolds is beautiful. Sorrentino treats us to an absolutely gruesome two page spread that I can still see in my nightmares. Stewart shows off his versatility in this series week in and week out. Two books released this week showcase just how good he is. Silver Surfer: Black #2, also out this week, is full of bright, vibrant colors that pop off the page. With Gideon Falls, Stewart is using paler, dirty colors that fit the horror mystery of this book. Wands is a perfect fit for this title as well. His lettering is scratchy and has the feeling of someone hurriedly filling out a journal. If you’ve been reading Gideon Falls you know quite a few of the characters have their walls covered in paper and scribbles like they’re trying to find out who Pepe Silvia is, the lettering gives it that feel that we are reading someone’s ramblings about the crazy goings-on of this haunted, troubled town.
Norton Sinclair has been missing from the story for a few issues now. As the past has told us, Norton is very crucial to what is happening. Is the terror of this town his fault? Is it cursed because of him? Dr. Xu runs into Father Wilfred at the end of this issue while looking for Norton. She first visited Norton’s apartment trying to find him. While she is sitting on his bed, we get a glimpse of the smiling man. I’ve got to believe that Norton is the key to something very sinister happening here. Dr. Xu takes a hasty drawing of the black barn from his apartment, and before she nearly gets knocked upside the head with a pipe, she yells out to stop and then holds up the drawing to ask Wilfred what he knows about the black barn.
I had never heard of the show Twin Peaks before Lemire mentioned it a few times on his Instagram. Of course, anything my favorite author is going to reference multiple times deserves my attention. I’m currently about halfway through the 2nd season, and I can see the influence Twin Peaks has had on this story. Both are named after a town, slowly reveals more and more of the terrible past of each town, Twin Peaks has the black lodge Gideon Falls has the black barn, and I’m positive that is not where the similarities will end. Many comic books these days jump right into the action. Lemire has mastered the slow burn that keeps us highly intrigued and curious about how the story will unfold. If you like suspenseful horror that keeps you guessing and has you going back to reread previous issues, look no further than Gideon Falls.
What have you thought about the story so far? What are your thoughts about the black barn? Let us know in the comments.
