Member Review
Review by
Maggie L, Media/Journalist
Just in time for pumpkin spice latte season, DC’s horror imprint — Hill House Comics — delivers a 1980s horror film packed into a 163-page graphic novel. Basketful of Heads is a page-turning tale filled with intrigue, police cover-ups, and bad men getting what they deserve.
Joe Hill is a master of horror and fiction and those familiar with his previous works (20th Century Ghosts, NOS4A2, Locke & Key) are in for another treat with Basketful of Heads. Like any good horror story, the novel begins with the innocence of the last weekend of summer. June Branch, a psychology major, heads to Brody Island to spend the weekend with her boyfriend Liam, who is a cop in training.
It may seem like a slow start, but the scene is set from June’s introduction on the suspension bridge through to Liam bringing her home to meet his family. Once you finish Basketful of Heads, go back and reflect on the clever allusions in the dialogue and the way that Hill bookends the story. This is a graphic novel made to be seen on the screen one day and part of that is due to the rich vintage feel of Leomacs’ artwork. Each page evokes a sense of quintessential New England horror — the muted tones, the vibrant blood, and of course the yellow fisherman’s raincoat.
Synopsis: June Branch visits her boyfriend, Liam, on Brody Island for a relaxing last weekend of summer. After an escaped group of criminals breaks into the house that June and Liam are watching, Liam is taken by them. June grabs a strange Viking axe and flees from the intruders. When one of the attackers finds her, she swings the axe and takes off his head, which rolls away and begins to babble in terror. For June to uncover the truth, she'll need to hear the facts straight from the mouths of her attackers, with...or without their bodies attached.
Basketful of Heads was originally published in a series of seven issues in 2019, but has been artfully bound into one novel — just in time for the spooky season. Pick it up everywhere comic books are sold on September 8th, 2020. Find out more at DC Comics.
Joe Hill is a master of horror and fiction and those familiar with his previous works (20th Century Ghosts, NOS4A2, Locke & Key) are in for another treat with Basketful of Heads. Like any good horror story, the novel begins with the innocence of the last weekend of summer. June Branch, a psychology major, heads to Brody Island to spend the weekend with her boyfriend Liam, who is a cop in training.
It may seem like a slow start, but the scene is set from June’s introduction on the suspension bridge through to Liam bringing her home to meet his family. Once you finish Basketful of Heads, go back and reflect on the clever allusions in the dialogue and the way that Hill bookends the story. This is a graphic novel made to be seen on the screen one day and part of that is due to the rich vintage feel of Leomacs’ artwork. Each page evokes a sense of quintessential New England horror — the muted tones, the vibrant blood, and of course the yellow fisherman’s raincoat.
Synopsis: June Branch visits her boyfriend, Liam, on Brody Island for a relaxing last weekend of summer. After an escaped group of criminals breaks into the house that June and Liam are watching, Liam is taken by them. June grabs a strange Viking axe and flees from the intruders. When one of the attackers finds her, she swings the axe and takes off his head, which rolls away and begins to babble in terror. For June to uncover the truth, she'll need to hear the facts straight from the mouths of her attackers, with...or without their bodies attached.
Basketful of Heads was originally published in a series of seven issues in 2019, but has been artfully bound into one novel — just in time for the spooky season. Pick it up everywhere comic books are sold on September 8th, 2020. Find out more at DC Comics.
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