On her sixth birthday in 1979 England, Alice is unexpectedly bequeathed a dollhouse that has apparently been in the family for over 150 years. While it’s love at first sight, Alice quickly learns this is no ordinary dollhouse. The dolls inside are real people who talk to Alice. The house itself—and its ominous “Black Room”—can also speak. Oh, and the house and its occupants want Alice to shrink down by saying specific magical words and come live and play with them forever and ever. That’s the deceptively simple premise that writer M.R. (Mike) Carey (Lucifer, The Girl with All the Gifts) sets up in this creepy, exciting tale. During the course of the story, we get to see Alice at different stages in her life and how the dollhouse keeps coming back into play. The tale switches back and forth from Alice’s story to that of her ancestors of the 1800s during the first years of the dollhouse’s existence. Both plot threads are incredibly engrossing and are expertly woven together by Carey, producing a rich, beautifully haunting tapestry by tale’s end. The art by Peter Gross (layouts) and Vince Locke (finishes) demarcates the timelines expertly, both styles feeling well-suited to the tone of the story.

As the second of five standalone miniseries curated by Joe Hill under his Hill House Comics pop-up line of comics from the mature-readers’ DC Black Label imprint, Hill is two for two with fun, expertly crafted horror tales. I’m very much looking forward to the other offerings from his new imprint.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Dollhouse Family is a classic DC Comics-style horror by Mike Carey with Peter (The Books of Magic, Lucifer) Gross’s etching perfectly blending the two eras in which the story takes place. In 1979, a girl called Alice (of course!) receives a highly detailed 19th-century dollhouse and avoids the traumas of her parents' squabbles (abusive men haunt three of these four titles) by shrinking and adventuring within. 150 years earlier, a surveyor makes a startling discovery in an unmapped cave that curses his family line.

Tragedy piles upon tragedy as the two tales entwine and an ancient evil reveals its purpose in the present day. There are many tropes here — the orphan, the priest’s warning, a cat’s watchful eye — but it’s a story that is beautifully told and, again, led by a strong, brave woman, facing the darkness alone. Of note too are the fabulous photographic covers/chapter openers by Jessica Dalva. The ending (no spoilers) offers intriguing sequel possibilities that are unlikely to be followed up due to the nature of this ‘pop-up’ series.

The Dollhouse Family is a creepy read that jumps from different times to give you multiple story lines that influence the "present." The plot is well thought out and merges fantasy creatures into a family history.

A great creepy read that gives you two stories for the price of one. When Alice is willed a dollhouse from her great-aunt, she has no idea the influence it will have on her life. Alice's story sucks you in and switching between her timeline and the story of its creation keeps creates a page turner of a read. What will happen to Alice and what really is the dollhouse and the people living inside? I couldn't put it down!

I really like the art style the story was a little bit lacking for me but I believe if you are able to follow the storyline you will enjoy it. For me it broke up a little too much from two different timelines.

When Alice is a child, she inherits a dollhouse unlike any other. At first, it’s just a dollhouse but then Alice learns the words that will allow her to enter the house herself. It’s a fun escape from the mess of her real life. But the dollhouse wants something from Alice and it’s only willing to wait for so long.

This is a creepy and twisted tale with!

I’ve been a fan of Carey’s work for ages but this is the first time I’ve read a comic he’s been involved with. It definitely won’t be the last!

I loved the story and the illustrations are excellent. The Dollhouse Family is an excellent horror comic!

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book!

You guys, this book was everything I needed it to be. The plot and storyline in the book gave me what I was looking for and the creep factor was there. A small girl was invited into the dollhouse by her dolls but the story only starts there. I highly recommend this author. I loved the writing. I will be looking for other works in the future from this author.

I never imagined a dollhouse could be anymore scary. The perfect little home for someone to escape to in a terrible life. A terrible life full of predators with prejudice just because they want to feel superior. All while dealing with the traumas that come from their pasts. What's more some people just don't know how to deal with these things despite their best efforts to help others. This need for escape and reprieve exists everywhere for the main character Alice and her extended family. It's a classic battle against living in the fantasy of wish fulfillment. My only complaint is how the family inside the Dollhouse readily accept the confrontation with their demonic matriarch.

Per publisher’s blurb: Alice loves to talk to her dolls, and her dolls and dollhouse love to talk back.
When Alice is six, she is given a beautiful antique dollhouse. When things in her life get scary, Alice turns to her dolls and dollhouse for comfort. One day, they invite her to come and play inside with them. As Alice's life is turned upside down in the "big" world, she is always welcomed home to the little world inside the dollhouse; the house will even grant her a wish if she agrees to live with them!

Follow Alice through the door of the dollhouse and into the demon's den

This was a very interesting comic. It had all the necessary parts I enjoy in a supernatural tale. Murder, ghosts, legend, mystery, demons, and a child to lead them all. At some points, I was a little confused as the author jumped back and forth in time but it did all come together in the end. I also get the impression that the story is not over and we shall see more of a certain little girl, born with more courage than a thousand armies.
I received this book free from DC Entertainment, and NetGalley for my honest, unbiased review.

This book does a good job of weaving fantasy elements into the mundane world. Themes of abuse, different types of families, and diverse characters balance with horror and thriller pacing and engaging story. I will remember some of the plots twists for a while. Not recommended for younger readers.

Mike Carey and Joe Hill join forces for The Dollhouse Family.

Wow. I think this could have prequels and sequels and we still need the Joe Hill part available for buying- the American Revolution story from the backs of the issues?

A demon takes up residence in a dollhouse; a place to hide, to thrive on the souls of those she beguiles. Each soul is another step to her freedom. Poor little Alice. She's next in line to inherit the dollhouse. From one generation to the next, the dollhouse consumes. Alice may not be the first, but she sure will make every attempt to be the last.

Thanks to NetGalley, DC Black Label, and Mike Carey, Peter Gross, Vince Locke, and Chris Peter for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

exqueeze me this was so freaking good?? weird and effed up but really good. i know a scary dollhouse sounds a little silly and not at ALL scary but this book definitely makes it work. art work was great too.

The Dollhouse Family is one of the initial entries in the new Hill House Comics line of horror comics from DC. The line comes from the head of accomplished horror author Joe Hill, who comics fans will know from co-creating the fantastic series Locke & Key. The Dollhouse Family comes from writer M.R. Carey (Mike Carey), artists Peter Gross and Vince Locke, and colorist Chris Peter. All members of the team are veterans of Vertigo’s Sandman universe, with Carey notably writing the Lucifer spin-off. They’ve also teamed up previously with The Unwritten, also from Vertigo. This group seems like a pretty natural fit to help launch a new horror line at DC. The collected volume is slated for release in early Fall. I received an advanced copy from NetGalley.

The Dollhouse Family begins with the story of a down-on-their-luck English family in the early 80s. Six year old Alice inherits an antique dollhouse from a distant relative that’s more than one-hundred years old. Whether to sell this antiquity becomes a source of friction in the family, but Alice quickly becomes attached. Indeed, there is more to the dollhouse than meets the eye and Alice quickly comes to realize just what kind of magic her favorite new possession holds. The dollhouse offers Alice an escape from real life, where she and her mother must deal with an abusive father and husband. It also offers Alice an idea on how to solve her family issues.

The Dollhouse Family bounces back and forth between Alice’s worsening circumstances and the story of an early nineteenth century land surveyor named Joseph Kent. Kent stumbles upon a mind-bending cave in the line of duty that sees him lost for 8 days and an encounter therein with a mysterious woman starts him down a path of madness. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Kent’s story is a telling of the origins of Alice’s dollhouse. This interweaving of the downward spiral of Alice and Kent’s life centered on this strange toy is effective horror storytelling.

The story on the whole is very reminiscent of the English, Vertigo-style horror that its creators might be associated with. The horror isn’t based on jump scares or body-horror, but on the demonic and paranormal. The Dollhouse Family is of a kind with The Sandman and early Hellblazer, tonally if admittedly not on the same level. That happens to be the kind of horror I enjoy best. The climax felt a bit rushed, but there’s only so much space when you’re working with just six issues. I liked that it was a self-contained mini-series, though. There is room for future exploration, but we get a whole story end-to-end. It’s a compelling enough comic.

Gross’ pencils and Locke’s inks are solid enough. I didn’t find them to be the highlight of the book, but they got the job done when paired with Peter’s colors. The more demonic elements are pretty memorably rendered. Though this is a collection, the covers for the single issues have been included and it should be noted that the work Jessica Dalva did on them is striking. The doll-like covers are reminiscent of Coraline, and surely some of the best cover work that I’ve seen in quite some time.

I thought on the whole that The Dollhouse Family was a good read and a good first exposure to Hill House Comics. There should always be room for this kind of comic on shelves and I’m a bit excited to see if Hill House can fill the Vertigo-sized hole in the horror market. Dark Horse puts out some good stuff, but it’s tonally a bit different than something like The Dollhouse Family usually. I look forward to checking out more from the line.

A gorgeously drawn graphic novel with an interesting narrative, plot, and concepts. Definitely recommended for fans of this genre.

A haunted house (doll) and a creepy story., what more could a horror fan need? This is a dark gothic horror but with a sci fi twist. A must read for comic horror fans! The artwork helped make the story and it was a great complement to the written word. For

When Alice is six, she’s willed an antique dollhouse, and when life gets scary, she turns to her doll friends for escape. Literally. By becoming one of them in their house. If she agrees to stay forever, the house will grant her a wish. Years after she has abandoned the dollhouse and its inhabitants, it shows back up, this time for her daughter.

This comic was so much fun. Horror is one of my favorite genre, and I love it when comics do it well. I can’t seem to get enough of Hill House Comics and hope there will be more forthcoming.

I enjoyed exploring Alice’s world, that of the dollhouse, and the history behind both. As the story unfolded, so did the mysteries, and we traveled back hundreds of years to find the origin of the dollhouse, and what it really wants.

I really enjoyed the artwork, even the gory bits, and I’d love to see a continuation of this story and its characters in the future. Volume 2? Please? Maybe? I hope so.

This one’s out in October, just in time for Halloween, so make sure to have your pull lists in order with your local, indie comic shop, because you won’t want to miss it.

God I'm so disappointed because this won't download for me! I love pretty much anything from Hill House Comics, and I've been wanting to read this one for a few months. I'll definitely be buying myself a copy of this one still, I just hate that I have to wait until October!

Six-year-old Alice inherits an antique dollhouse with a cursed past that is her escape from her dissolving family unit. One day, the dolls invite her to come to play with them inside the dollhouse, a welcome change from the “big” world she so desperately wants to ignore. Soon Alice discovers that the dolls are hiding something even more sinister than she could have imagined.

While I was initially intrigued by the concept of the graphic novel, I found Mike Carey’s pacing of the story jumpy and disjointed. On many occasions, I had to revisit the pages before and after certain scenes to try to make sense of the narrative direction. This piece would have really benefited from being divided into multiple volumes, maybe one per generation, to expand the exposition making it easier to follow. Personally, Peter Gross’s art style felt clucky but I can’t deny that it complimented the theme of the graphic novel.

Carey’s blending of gothic horror and science fiction was very nice. I also appreciated the breathing of originality into an old premise. I do believe that readers and fans of traditional comics will enjoy this piece more than I did, especially those fond of traditional horror stories.

[CW: severe injuries to small children, violence, gore, death, mutilation, racism and hate crimes, death during childbirth]

Thank you to DC Entertainment - DC Comics, NetGalley, and M.R. Carey for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and DC Entertainment - DC Comics for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel is about a little girl inheriting a spooky dollhouse that has many ancient and hidden secrets within its walls. I thought the story was interesting and really enjoyed the plot. As for the chapter break artworks, wow! I loved how creepy and beautiful they are. They would make me stop and admire the work. The artwork throughout was good--just your standard style.

This story was very reminiscent of Creep Show (naturally) with a hint of Basketcase (yes, the 80's horror film--it just made me think of that movie a lot..ha!). Overall, I enjoyed it--one of the first plot twists was semi predictable but the ending had me curious for the future of the story.

I recommend this for people who like some gore and mystery with creepy dollhouses.

4/5