Dave Stewart, colorist on Gideon Falls, is a talent to behold. Everything he touches takes on an otherworldly palette, a dreamlike temperature; there’s something hidden underneath the surface of everything he colors. A cursory look-up shows that he’s won nine Eisner Awards. He’s a rock star. His coloring tells a story; it draws back the curtain of a fake reality that comic books typically embrace and shows you something that is sometimes too real.

With Gideon Falls, a story about a troubled priest in a small town who stumbles upon a dead body and a man who is driven to find random items in a city, both tied together by something only known as the Black Barn, Dave Stewart again brings to life a dark, dreary, uncertain, dangerous, and mysterious world simply by coloring in the lines.

Jeff Lemire, the creator here, is one of the hardest-working writers in the comic book industry and one of the most consistently wonderful. He never stoops to the lowest common denominator. In a world of derivative stories, reading his work is a refreshing journey; it’s complex. Most often, you have no idea where you’re headed, because the pieces aren’t immediately familiar, and the journey is always worthwhile. For me, he’s akin to Philip K. Dick, minus the absurdist comedy.

Andrea Sorrentino’s artwork I like a lot. Both he and Dave Stewart have collaborated with Lemire on other works, and you can see why he’s gathered them together here. They have created an unruly world together – a world in which I don’t think anyone could ever be comfortable. And as the mystery begins to build, I can only imagine where we’ll be in 6 months, and I’m most likely 100% wrong, and that’s exciting.

Creative Team: Jeff Lemire (story), Andrea Sorrentino (art), Dave Stewart (colors), Steve Wands (letters)
Publisher: Image Comics
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