Noted graphic artist and comic author Emily Carroll has made quite an impact on the graphic novel community in recent years with her book of graphic – in every sense of the word – horror stories Through the Woods, and her other projects. She also has a welcome habit of sharing her work online, as free-to-access webcomics. “His Face All Red,” for instance, one of the showpieces of Through the Woods, is available for free viewing here – and the slideshow-like transitions online are one of the most effective dramatic devices in her work.
And now she has shared a dark tale for Christmas – curiously not acccessible through the main comics menu on her website but reachable here – called “All Along the Wall.” I won’t spoil the suspense by revealing the plot, but just watch for the marvelous transition from monochrome to color, and stay with the story until the final frame. Scrooge never saw anything like this.
There’s still time to order Through the Woods as a Christmas stocking-filler – just don’t be surprised to find a bloody gash in any stocking that it ends up in. And meantime, enjoy “All Along the Wall” – when you’re not looking behind you, that is …
