Daphne Byrne #1
| Writer | Laura Marks |
| Artist | Kelley Jones |
| Cover Price | $3.99 |
In the gaslit splendor of late 19th-century New York, rage builds inside 14-year-old Daphne. The sudden death of her father has left her alone with her irresponsible, grief-stricken mother-who becomes easy prey for a group of occultists promising to contact her dead husband. While fighting to disentangle her mother from these charlatans, Daphne begins to sense a strange, insidious presence in her own body...an entity with unspeakable appetites. What does "Brother" want? And could she even stop him if she tried?
Writer Laura Marks (TV's Ray Donovan, The Expanse, and The Good Fight) and horror-art legend Kelley Jones (The Sandman, Batman: R
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CRITIC REVIEWS
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9.0
AIPT - David Brooke
Jan 08, 2020This is a good start to yet another excellent horror series in the Hill House Comics line. It's dark, brooding, and delightfully disturbed in its coming-of-age underpinnings. Daphne Byrne will send shivers down your spine. Read Full Review
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9.0
But Why Tho? - Kate Snchez
Jan 08, 2020Overall, Daphne Byrne #1is a decent start with exciting elements that keep me tuned in for the rest of the series. I'm excited for the potential of this miniseries and I can't wait to see more of the occult and Daphne's goth looks later on. Read Full Review
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8.9
The Super Powered Fancast - Deron Generally
Jan 06, 2020Jones delivers some beautifully detailed visuals in this issue. I loved the character designs and how the darkness and shadows are used as almost a character themselves. Read Full Review
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8.5
Geek Dad - Ray Goldfield
Jan 08, 2020The story here is a slow burn, full of character development punctuated by an occasional burst of horror. Writer Laura Marks effectively immerses you in the eerie world of Victorian London, but the real star here is veteran DC artist Kelley Jones. It would be a crime to do a horror line without using DC's most iconic horror artist, and his twisted visions are as effective as they've ever been. Read Full Review
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8.0
ComicBook.com - Chase Magnett
Jan 08, 2020Kelley Jones' exaggerated forms and atmospheric set pieces bring the world to life, providing a clear tone that fills the narration and dialogue with life as they exist in such a specific and clearly defined world. Read Full Review
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8.0
Big Comic Page - Mark Scott
Jan 08, 2020Another superbly delivered horror title from Hill House Comics, so get out there and get your Gothic Horror on! Read Full Review
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7.5
Multiversity Comics - Gregory Ellner
Jan 09, 2020An intriguing story propped up by excellent artwork and colors, "Daphne Byrne" shows a lot of promise for a particular kind of haunting. Read Full Review
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5.5
Weird Science - Joey Casco CSW/CSS
Jan 08, 2020There are parts of this that I did enjoy. I like how the art gets pretty creepy at times, that Daphne is a science geek dressed up like Wednesday Addams, and how she gives false information to a medium to prove she was a phony. But I didn't really care for the story, especially when the dream starts. Yeah, I know it's the first issue but it doesn't have the appeal or captivating storytelling that the first issues of the other Hill House books have had. It leaves me not really caring about what's happening or who this goth kid is. Sure, I'd like to know what happens next (if only to see if it gets better), but I'm not going to be eagerly awaiting the publication of the second issue. Read Full Review
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3.0
Newsarama - Forrest C. Helvie
Jan 09, 2020Overall, the promise of a horror comic with Joe Hill's name on the imprint and Kelley Jones on art duties might sound too good to be true; sadly, the story on the inside of the cover proves that to be the case. Read Full Review
USER REVIEWS
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10
Remarkable comics are few and far between, and horror comics even more so. The true masters of the craft one can name on just a few severed fingers.So I came to this with a tad of trepidation.See,I love horror. I will say nothing about the story other than its seductive as hell.Within a few pages you are fascinated with this world, and the character of Daphne Byrne herself.You begin to care almost immediately about her.She's one of the most interesting characters in comics of recent times. The story is written by Laura Marks,a writer new to comics, but you would never know.Marks seems to do something unique anymore, she respects her readers.No endless expository balloons or pointing out the obvious with cranked up fake emotions. Nope.M more
+ Like • Comment• Likes (2) -
10
Awesome.
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9.0
The art is a bit iffy in a couple of places, but overall there's a fantastic dreary gothic atmosphere that embraces the grotesque ness of life and death. Loving this already.
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9.0
A good start. More classically horror from the start than the other Joe Hill comics. The pacing seems rather rushed but the premise is interesting.
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7.5
Really like seeing Kelley Jones art on this title. The story was okay, but I have to see more of it to fully decide.
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7.0
Nothing we haven't seen a thousand times before. I'll give it another issue, but this one did not inspire me.
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6.5
THE GOOD: -Solid gothic horror. The best Hill House venture by far. -Kelley Jones is something else. Without him, this issue probably wouldn't work. He just fits with the story so perfectly, and translates the ideas into such an interesting looking comic. -That scene with the homeless man was well done. -The dream sequence was by far the most interesting part of the issue. Lots of great scenes and images there. THE BAD: -Can't say I find Daphne a compelling lead. Thankfully the imagery and art can carry the series, hopefully. -I could do without the Pet Sematary ending.
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5.0
I don't care about any of this. The plot is nothing original and there's no intrigue here. It's very light on actual horror. I know horror works better with build up but they're trying to hook us aren't they? I'm constantly hoping for something groundbreaking to come to these comics, and nothing so far has been that. That's not to say these needs to be that in order to be interesting or entertaining, but I feel like this issue exemplifies the problem I'm having with the entire line, so I'm picking on it. Horror is a genre that already has a ton of hurdles to overcome, but these comics aren't helping.
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5.0
Moderately captivating, but nothing remarkable and the art was amateurish.
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5.0
This is pretty boring and the art is unattractive.
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5.0
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