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My rating: 5 of 5 stars (4.5 rounded up to a 5)
The Low, Low Woods is a horror comic bound-up in a complete volume with 168 pages by Carmen Maria Machado. The story explores a lot of heavy topics, so please check out my content warnings included at the bottom of this review just in case.
Our two main characters are both queer characters of color; Vee is Black lesbian and El is Latinx and reads as potentially gender fluid but AFAB. These best friends live in a coal mining town in Pennsylvania named Shudder-to-Think, which is a fabulous name. After coal mines start to burn underground, the town starts dealing with a mysterious illness that steals the memories of those people affected by it. The story begins with Vee and El waking up in a movie theater during the credits, with no memory of watching the movie, or anything at all really from the last few hours. They decide to investigate the mystery of their lost memories and find a lot of darkness inside the town.
I’ve seen some reviews (mostly from cis-men) who don’t think this is really horror. But it is definitely horror from a woman’s perspective. This comic wasn’t really written for them. Additionally, the art is fantastic. I especially love the cover art, which is featured heavily on the author’s website and for good reason.
CW: (slight spoilers) SA, molestation, body horror, gore, violence, death
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