*I was given an ARC of Plague House in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Oni Press, Michael W. Conrad & Dave Chisholm for my copy of this graphic novel*
Synopsis:
Thirteen years ago, Orin McCabe was a family man living a privileged life in the California suburbs. Today, he’s condemned to death row for murdering his entire family in an unexpected fit of hammer-wielding brutality.
In the aftermath of his heinous crime, it’s fallen to a trio of eclectic, but dedicated, ghost hunters—Jacob, the holy man; Holland, the skeptic; and their leader, Del, a true believer in the occult and worlds beyond—to surveil the abandoned McCabe home in search of proof for the existence of the undead . . . and whatever supernatural source may have possibly fueled McCabe’s inhuman massacre. But this ill-matched and uneasy squad of investigators is about to discover something much more terrifying than any ordinary spirit. . . . Something much more pernicious, much more contagious, that if not contained, could take full advantage of America’s unquenchable appetite for violence and deliver a plague of blood unto us all . . .
Collects issues #1–4 of Plague House in a twisting tale of horror that’s as blood-soaked as the ground you stand on.
Review:
Plague House was very dark and gritty, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it also wasn’t the most engaging. Which is pretty bad for a graphic novel. The advantages of a graphic novel is having images to back up the plot line and while I did enjoy the horror elements a lot, everything fell flat.
The art style fits the story very well but I didn’t find it to be very interesting. I’m much more a fan of cleaner, bolder line work so every page felt overly busy but it did add to the unnerving tension that built throughout. A minimalist bold style wouldn’t make sense for a story of this nature, so I can’t bash it too much.
I love a classic ghost hunter group and this one had it all. The star of the show, the skeptic and the holy man. I could see why their show would do well. Plus I really liked Holland’s character design – they were a standout character. The constant misgendering of them felt unnecessary though. Also, Holland and Jacob were just there for decoration. They split off from Del (the star of the show) very quickly so the inclusion of their characters felt a little pointless.
The story should have been much more thrilling than it was. A ghost hunter taking vengeance on those that killed the ghosts he’s contacted sounds really cool. Unfortunately, this premise isn’t conveyed all too well. It took me a little while to understand what was actually going on. Maybe that was part user error and also the fact that I tried to read the latter half of Plague House fairly quickly as I just wasn’t feeling it.
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