Gold standard weird fiction with some of the most effective storytelling I’ve seen in horror comics. ( )

Set in a dying Pennsylvania coal town where a fire burns below ground, this horror story follows two queer teens who wake up in a movie theater, not remembering the past two hours. Anyone with experience of Machado and/or the news will likely figure out the gist, though not its fantastic/horror elements, which are linked to the skinned men and deer-woman that stalk the woods around town, and to the existence of sinkhole women (body horror). If Stephen King does horror well because his answer to “Why do bad things happen?” is “because they can,” Machado’s horror comes from giving the same answer to “Why do people do bad things?” ( )

insanely beautiful illustrations and a fantastic, unsettling tone throughout. ( )

The Low, Low Woods is an atmospheric and surreal horror story (that has tons of body horror - if you're into that) set in the dying coal town of Shudder-To-Think, Pennsylvania. It's Carmen Maria Machado's first graphic novel that she has written.

Elements of feminism and malice are combined to create a creepy story about regaining one's agency, as two young women named El and Vee realize something is terribly wrong in their town. Years ago a fire moved underground into the coal mines, forcing their closures and gutting an already fragile economy. In addition, women began to exhibit strange episodes in which they were losing large portions of their memory. When this seems to happen to El and Vee on an evening at the movies, they obviously want to figure out what happened. Readers then discover there is already a layer of magic, as a strange deer/human hybrid is sighted, skinned men are hiding in the woods, and there are rabbits everywhere with human eyes. And there's also healing/magical mushrooms?

In addition to El and Vee, who are attempting to solve the mystery at the center of the story there is a witch who is trying to combat the cruelty of the men in the region, as previous sexual assaults are implied in the story but not seen, but her spells don’t always work the way she intended. The remainder of the story is about the young women trying to give agency back to the women affected by the dark magic.

The story is a bit heavy on dropping exposition at times and doesn't always let the images by Dani do the work of plot progression. I think Machado did a great job with her characterization but the overall story was a bit clunky.

Reread: 2022 - for IndyPL's graphic novel book club. Really enjoyed revisiting the story and the art by Dani. This graphic novel is part of the "elevated" horror trend - that is, it is horror with a message. ( )

the girls that get it, GET IT, and the men who don’t, dont. ( )