Downlands HC Review

 

Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer: Norm Konyu

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $29.99

Release Date: May 13, 2025

 

What happens when someone close to you dies? Does it bring you closer to the people you love? Or does the loss shatter a family, and force the bereaved to find solace elsewhere? In James Reynolds’ case, the answer is all the above.

 

Mysterious coincidences prompt an investigation into what happens after death and how the spirits of the departed can linger long after their deaths. What will the fourteen-year-old find as he seeks clues to his sister's death? And why did his sensible sister talk about a black hound a month before she died? Let's grab some tea and biscuits, leap into Downlands HC, and find out!

 

Story

Jen wasn’t just James’ sister. She was his twin. So when Jen dies, James feels like he has lost part of himself. He isn't alone. Yet he might as well be. His parents inhabit worlds of their own, regarding those around them with distant eyes.

 

A month after Jen's death, James' great-uncle passes away. At the reception, his aunt Flora mentions that her husband saw a giant black hound before he died. His cousin Abby confirms her grandfather's last words were of a black dog hunting him.  

 

In Downlands HC, James's need for answers prompts him to befriend a neighbor. Few people talk to Rose Walker, but she has much to say about the deceased. Like Inklings author Charles Williams, Rose Walker views her surroundings through the lens of history. What happened when the Celts, Romans, Vikings, and Anglo-Saxons inhabited Sussex seems as palpable to her as what occurs today. She suggests that the people who lived in her town left an imprint. Those perceptive enough can sense their lingering presence.

 

In Norm Konyu’s story, Rose Walker hesitates to help James when he wishes to see the echoes that souls leave behind. Some people hunger for the gift to peer into other realms. Life has taught Mrs Walker to be cautious in Downlands HC. She has seen the black hound and survived. But Mrs Walker inherited her mother’s gift. And her mother ended up in an asylum.

 

Art

Norm Konyu conjures people and places out of simple shapes. Straight lines and sharp edges portray people and conjure the worlds they inhabit. Set pieces of framed photographs, newspaper clippings, and books retell the events from years past. Vehicles appear taller, as if swelling to contain the life forces within. And always lingering nearby, a black hound watches with glowing eyes.

 

Downlands HC features an attractive palette of colors. Bright hues blend and swirl around characters and silhouettes. Night falls in shades of blue, morning light fills homes with bright blue and green, while lavender fills James’ bedroom as he studies Mrs Walker’s writings. Black And White photos hang in Mrs Walker's living room. Sepia photos cling to dark blue photo album pages courtesy of black picture corners.

 

Generous uppercase letters haunt dialogue balloons and colored narrative boxes. Words hover against backgrounds as they grow bold for emphasis and swell for raised voices. Hand-printed letters relate James' intention to keep his sister apprised of events after her death. Wailing fills a chilly evening as James seeks answers to a mystery that frightens all who hear it. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a copy for review.

 

Final Thoughts

Mysteries pervade the fabric of life in Sussex, England. Folklore suggests that the church bells ring to frighten away evil spirits. And everyone who counts the circle of stones on a nearby hill comes away with a different tally. When teenager James Reynolds probes the mystery of the black dog that appeared before his sister's death, he enters a world of spirits, folklore, and unsolved deaths in Downlands HC.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Downlands HC.