witchy_woo_13's review
3.0
I have serious mixed feelings about this one - loved the art. Didn't care for much of the dialog. The story plot itself fell a little flat in places and over all I just wish there was more explanation into things.
hachich's review
5.0
As they say in Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11. Yes, I am aware goodreads is only a 5 star rating system, and yes, it still gets an 11!
I received a signed copy of this as a gift from my special lady (thanks to both Colin and Anika!) after reading the individual issues and falling in love with the series.
Colin Lorimer does an amazing job with this series. It is a fantastic fantasy/horror story, wonderfully written and executed. My only disappointment was that my local comic shop had it originally listed as a 6 part series and it ended up only being 5 issues. Hopefully someday we will see a return to the dark and disturbing, yet colourful and beautiful, world of The Hunt.
Colin's artwork is second to none, I feel he is probably the most underrated artist in the comic business. After reading this series I went on to find other works he has done. Although he has worked with some amazing writers he really proves with this series that he doesn't need anyone to provide a background for his incredible dark art. Colin completely knocked this work out of the park. I couldn't possibly say enough good things about this series, nor could I thank Colin enough for bringing this great work to life. I would also like to commend Joana and Jim for their contributions to the book, as it all came together so beautifully.
In short: READ THIS! Then go buy anything and everything this man has done. You will not be disappointed. You can thank me (and more importantly Colin) later.
I received a signed copy of this as a gift from my special lady (thanks to both Colin and Anika!) after reading the individual issues and falling in love with the series.
Colin Lorimer does an amazing job with this series. It is a fantastic fantasy/horror story, wonderfully written and executed. My only disappointment was that my local comic shop had it originally listed as a 6 part series and it ended up only being 5 issues. Hopefully someday we will see a return to the dark and disturbing, yet colourful and beautiful, world of The Hunt.
Colin's artwork is second to none, I feel he is probably the most underrated artist in the comic business. After reading this series I went on to find other works he has done. Although he has worked with some amazing writers he really proves with this series that he doesn't need anyone to provide a background for his incredible dark art. Colin completely knocked this work out of the park. I couldn't possibly say enough good things about this series, nor could I thank Colin enough for bringing this great work to life. I would also like to commend Joana and Jim for their contributions to the book, as it all came together so beautifully.
In short: READ THIS! Then go buy anything and everything this man has done. You will not be disappointed. You can thank me (and more importantly Colin) later.
eyelit's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
ruthsic's review
4.0
The Hunt is a urban fantasy about Orla, a girl who had witnessed creatures called Slaugh taking her father's soul on his deathbed. Now, a decade later, she is being followed around by changelings, who want her to help them out for something, and meanwhile, she is still searching for her father's stolen soul. The main crux of the story is this power struggle between the fairies, the changelings and the Slaugh, and while the story doesn't go into much detail about it, she has some role to play that involves her being able to help the Slaugh gain a foothold into the mortal world. But that is mostly conjecture on my part, because this five chapter graphic novel leaves me with more questions than answers at the end.
The mood of The Hunt is very dark and horror-like, and if you love Irish mythology, this one is a treat with it plumbing the darker undertones of those myths. It brings in the changelings as they walk among us, hidden but still dangerous, and not visible to everyone. Orla and her grandmother definitely have some spiritual powers, as they are able to cast spells, but nothing explains the netherworld's connections to the family, yet. Along with this paranormal element, another concurrent storyline is that of the cops (or at least one cop in particular) investigating the strange events in their family, and the multiple disappearances of Orla throughout the years, and now the disappearance of her younger brother. The latter is important because he is a secret of Orla's and her grandmother's, as they did something that was hidden from the netherworld. Basically, it has a multi-layered arc and a pervasive sense of danger that hovers.
As for the artwork, it is one of the best I have come across for a graphic novel of this length. It is beautifully rendered and detailed, and the whimsical strokes of the fairies and the harsh and cruel deformities of the changelings and the Slaugh are both crafted wonderfully. Even the human parts of the story are done with loving detail, and some scenes just awed me with their lineart. It is, overall, very dark in the book all the time, though, so I can never figure out if it is day or night *laughs*. In any case, the artwork definitely has me in love and even though I usually prefer stories like these in prose (as they would be more detailed), I feel it works in this medium too.
Overall, a very interesting urban fantasy story with some delightfully dark artwork. If only some elements of the plot and the backstories were better explained, this book would have been perfect.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Image Comics, via Edelweiss.
The mood of The Hunt is very dark and horror-like, and if you love Irish mythology, this one is a treat with it plumbing the darker undertones of those myths. It brings in the changelings as they walk among us, hidden but still dangerous, and not visible to everyone. Orla and her grandmother definitely have some spiritual powers, as they are able to cast spells, but nothing explains the netherworld's connections to the family, yet. Along with this paranormal element, another concurrent storyline is that of the cops (or at least one cop in particular) investigating the strange events in their family, and the multiple disappearances of Orla throughout the years, and now the disappearance of her younger brother. The latter is important because he is a secret of Orla's and her grandmother's, as they did something that was hidden from the netherworld. Basically, it has a multi-layered arc and a pervasive sense of danger that hovers.
As for the artwork, it is one of the best I have come across for a graphic novel of this length. It is beautifully rendered and detailed, and the whimsical strokes of the fairies and the harsh and cruel deformities of the changelings and the Slaugh are both crafted wonderfully. Even the human parts of the story are done with loving detail, and some scenes just awed me with their lineart. It is, overall, very dark in the book all the time, though, so I can never figure out if it is day or night *laughs*. In any case, the artwork definitely has me in love and even though I usually prefer stories like these in prose (as they would be more detailed), I feel it works in this medium too.
Overall, a very interesting urban fantasy story with some delightfully dark artwork. If only some elements of the plot and the backstories were better explained, this book would have been perfect.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Image Comics, via Edelweiss.
ninjamuse's review
2.0
In brief: When Orla was a kid, she witnessed her father’s soul being stolen by the Sluagh. Now in her late teens, she’s on one last desperate quest to rescue him.
Thoughts: I’m not really sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, it’s got those creepy fairies and urban fantasy grit that I love, and it deals with the real-world consequences of believing in fairies and working magic in the modern world, and the art is fantastic. The dialogue’s good and the interaction between characters feels very realistic, and perfectly Irish.
On the other hand, the characters felt like they existed to serve the story Lorimer wanted to tell, rather than the other way round, and there were points in the story that left me a little confused, a little lost, like there were scenes that had been taken out so the story would fit comic format better. And I felt the ending came a bit out of nowhere and it left me feeling unresolved and a bit disappointed. (Lorimer spends time building up a few supporting characters and then … doesn’t do a whole lot with them.)
I might have liked the story better if it had been a novel rather than a comic, which would have given Lorimer time to really flesh everything out and build the atmosphere more. It’s Gaimanesque as it stands but it could have been a lot more so. I don’t regret reading it, but I wasn’t very impressed with it overall either.
Warnings: Child abduction, accusations of mental illness, forced use of psychological medication, gore.
6/10
Thoughts: I’m not really sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, it’s got those creepy fairies and urban fantasy grit that I love, and it deals with the real-world consequences of believing in fairies and working magic in the modern world, and the art is fantastic. The dialogue’s good and the interaction between characters feels very realistic, and perfectly Irish.
On the other hand, the characters felt like they existed to serve the story Lorimer wanted to tell, rather than the other way round, and there were points in the story that left me a little confused, a little lost, like there were scenes that had been taken out so the story would fit comic format better. And I felt the ending came a bit out of nowhere and it left me feeling unresolved and a bit disappointed. (Lorimer spends time building up a few supporting characters and then … doesn’t do a whole lot with them.)
I might have liked the story better if it had been a novel rather than a comic, which would have given Lorimer time to really flesh everything out and build the atmosphere more. It’s Gaimanesque as it stands but it could have been a lot more so. I don’t regret reading it, but I wasn’t very impressed with it overall either.
Warnings: Child abduction, accusations of mental illness, forced use of psychological medication, gore.
6/10
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