Author: Mike Carey
Artists: Peter Gross, Vince Locke, Chris Peter
Series: Hill House Comics #2
Publisher: DC Black Label
Release: September 22^nd, 2020
Received: NetGalley
Rating:

I received a copy of The Dollhouse Family in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Dollhouse Family is the second horror story to come from Hill House Comics, the newest horror line from DC Comics. I personally am thrilled that DC is diving into the world of horror, and can’t wait to see what else they come up with.

There are strange and dark things hidden throughout this world. Sometimes, those strange and deadly creatures latch onto one family in particular. This is the tale of one monster, one girl, and how her life was changed by a dollhouse.

A dollhouse may not sound like the most terrifying of subjects, but this is no ordinary dollhouse. It has captivated and tortured Alice ever since she was a little girl, forcing changes into her life that she was incapable of stopping.

Mike Carey (writer), Peter Gross (artist), Vince Locke (artist), and Chris Peter (colorist) were all involved in this second project, and boy does it get dark.

The Dollhouse Family is exactly the sort of dark and creepy story I’ve been hoping for from this line. It’s a twisted tale, one that went on for decades before Alice ever came along, and certainly before she ever made any attempt to stop or change it.

One thing, before I dive into this review; while reading, I kept getting reminded of a similar horror story. One that involves a haunted dollhouse, that tried to influence the life of the children it became obsessed with. I can’t recall where that story came from now, but it may have influenced my opinion on this tale.

The idea of taking something beautiful from anyone’s childhood and turning it into a creature of horror is not new. Yet it is so painfully effective. No wonder it seems to come up, time and time again. In this case, the dollhouse is haunted, and it very much wants to take control of little Alice.

Some of what happened in this graphic novel was predictable, possibly because of that other story I read. Other parts really were a surprise, fleshing out the story and world in unexpected ways. It made for quite a chilling read!

I loved the art style used for this series. It was the perfect tone and style for this twisted tale. It was not willing to shy away from some of the more graphic elements (and imagery) in this story, and I actually think that this was the right call.

Once again, I’m finding myself enjoying the series coming out of DC’s Black Label. I know that there are at least five stories in this series (Basketful of Heads, The Dollhouse Family, The Low, Low Woods, Daphne Byrne, and Plunge), and I can’t help but hope that there will be more as well.