Title: Daphne Byrne.
Series: Hill House Comics #4.
Writer(s): Laura Marks.
Artist(s): Kelley Jones.
Colourist(s): Michelle Madsen.
Letterer(s): Rob Leigh.
Publisher: DC Comics.
Format: Hardcover.
Release Date: November 3rd 2020.
Pages: 144.
Genre(s): Comics, Horror.
ISBN13: 9781779504654.
My Overall Rating:
Also in the Hill House Comics series:
Basketful of Heads by Joe Hill.
The Dollhouse Family by Mike Carey.
The Low, Low Woods by Carmen Maria Machado.
Plunge by Joe Hill.
Death is terrifying. It can catch you off guard and take away from your life someone close and dear when you least expect it. But how does one deal with the pain that accompanies such a life-staggering event? While reason invites us to become one with our emotions and embrace the future with hope and optimism, some require answers that only the spiritual realm might be able to give them. But what it might have to give might cost more than just their own sanity. The penultimate installment in the Hill House Comics, collecting all six issues of this mini-series, now goes to writer Laura Marks and artist Kelley Jones who seek to deliver a story of grief, mediums, and mental isolation.
What is Daphne Byrne about? The story follows the young and odd Daphne Byrne in her time of grief as her father meets a sudden death. While her mother is off trying to find ways to reconnect with her dead husband, she finds herself dealing with her own set of spiritual problems as a strange being reaches out to her and lures her into a mischievous relationship. As she tries to elucidate this phenomenon that has taken possession of her reality, while also trying to stop her mother from falling into a trap in her search for comfort, she discovers that she might actually have powers that have far more repercussions on her life than she ever would’ve thought.
“Don’t be afraid, Mrs. Byrne. The veil between worlds… is as delicate as this one. And the dear ones on the other side are so eager to speak to us…”
— Laura Marks
It is a bit disheartening to see this graphic novel filled with exterior and interior cover art masterpieces by Piotr Jabłoński only for the actual content to ruin it all instantly. This story focuses on the fourteen-year-old Daphne Byrne and her sudden and eventful transformation into womanhood while experiencing a supernatural encounter in the form of an entity that calls itself “Brother”. This plot is tied in with her grieving mother who finds herself desperately seeking the help of strange occultists to find a way to contact her dead husband. While both plots occasionally collide, none of it actually succeeds in luring the reader into this gaslit late-19th-century New York tale as they both crumble from their weak foundations. The dull characterizations and the trivial action sequences simply make for a depthless horror story that unoriginally copies its plot elements from other classic pieces (e.g. Rosemary’s Baby) to try and stay afloat and relevant.
It was quite maddening to see what artist Kelley Jones had to offer in the artistic department for this story. More often than not, the artwork solicited a solid facepalm if not a strong teeth grinding as it exhibited a less-than-stellar and very average style that did nothing to the story but highlight its flaws. Not only do characters have odd body proportions, but they also have awkward facial constructions that invite readers to wonder what exactly is going on. The awkward blend between fantasy horror elements and human psychology elements was also failed in execution, never truly capturing any sense of cohesion. The horror elements alone miserably failed to take a life of their own. Michelle Madsen’s colours also don’t achieve anything special as it simply fills in the blank and assures the reader a certain Gothic horror tone for the story. Unfortunately, that was certainly not enough to save it from imploding in the end.
Daphne Byrne is a mediocre coming-of-age horror story exploring grief and spiritualism through terror and madness.
Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a copy for review!
Roars and Echoes 
It sounds like face palm pretty much sums this whole thing up…
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Yep. A sad, unfortunate facepalm. I’m hoping that the next and final story will be much better. 😮 Thanks for reading, Lydia!
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Oh dear not good!
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Hahahah love your reaction! Pretty much me after each chapter/issue in this graphic novel! 😛
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This doesn’t sound good, not a concept or anything. Fair review!
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I do hope that anyone who does give it a try will be able to better appreciate it than I did. Thanks for reading, Yesha. 🙂
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This whole Hill House set doesn’t seem to have come off very well. Sorry you had to spend so much time on it 😦
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Besides the first volume by Joe Hill himself, it is indeed a huge mixed bag. I’m a bit more hopeful that the next and final volume will be better since Joe Hill gets back to writing. 😛
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For your sake, I hope so 😀
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Hill House is sinking fast. So there’s one more to go? Oh boy….
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I’m going to be a bit more optimistic for the last volume; knowing that it’s Joe Hill, I’m a bit convinced that it can’t be as bad as the previous two!
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It is a real shame that the content didn’t live up to that amazing art! Excellent review, Lashaan💜
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Absolutely. I didn’t showcase the cover art inside but they make everything else looks so weak in comparison! Thank you so much for your kind words, Jonetta! 😀
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Damn Lashaan it seems that you don’t have much luck with your reads these days!!
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I’m hoping the next one won’t kill me with another bummer! Thanks for reading, Sophie! 😀
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Sorry this wasn’t a good experience for you – no one wants a ‘mediocre’ horror story.
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Tell me about it. I really wonder how anyone thought this one could sell big and be a success. It didn’t have anything worth discovering. 😮
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Oh man! That sucks. But the premise sounds so creepy though. I’m gonna add it to my TBR, lol, and take a chance with it. I just really like how creepy it sounds. Since it doesn’t seem to have been as well executed as it could be, maybe I won’t be as scared while reading.
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Hahahaahha I love when you pop out of the masses and share your interest in these stories that I clearly seem to warn others from trying! 😛 I do hope it works out better than it did for me though. 😮
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Lol you make them sound interesting despite your critique. 😄 That’s good!
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That’s kind of you to say hahah 😛
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Ouch, too bad this one did not measure up in any way Lashaan.
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I wish it had gone down differently but, unfortunately, this wasn’t for me. Hope others can enjoy it more than I could. Thanks for reading, Carla! Hope you’re doing well! 🙂
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Oh, man….that’s a bummer 😦 But hey, at least you gave it a try 🙂 On to the next! 😉
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That’s right! I don’t mind investing time in these and discovering their flaws since my passion for the medium allows me to indulge the worse of the worse but man, sometimes you have to wonder how some people could think these kinds of stories could be a success! 😮
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Surprisingly, I didn’t hate this story. I admit it was a bit of a mess, and the closeup drawings made everyone look haggard, but I managed to come away liking the story. At least the next story, Plunge, is the best of the five books from Hill House.
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I’m glad to hear that you still came out enjoying this one despite its flaws! I was definitely not forgiving here hahah I’m currently finishing up Plunge and it really does show how much better it is compared to the previous titles in the Hill House Comics imprint!
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Ouch. That bad, huh? I’m all for being inspired by other sources, but you can’t just go copying stuff wholesale like that.
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I’m with you there too. This one didn’t hide its blatant attempt to take stuff from classics and gluing them together… Ultimately, nothing stayed glued though.
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It seems like you’ve been quite unlucky with those low ratings recently.
Sounds like a version of “Ghost.” Also, a being that goes by the name “Brother” but it seems to have an intimate relationship with the kid? Maybe I’m just reading too much into your review but it doesn’t sound all that great.
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It’s definitely a weak title and I’d have a hard time recommending it to anyone. I would much rather steer them towards both Joe Hill titles within the Hill House Comics line-up. The ideas in this one are just so weakly put together without adding anything new to things we might have already seen before.
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