| Title | : | Freaks of the Heartland |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1593070292 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781593070298 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 170 |
| Publication | : | First published July 20, 1995 |
Freaks of the Heartland Reviews
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Good art, crap writing/story, there’s a reason why you’ve not heard of this one - I feel like this is essentially what 90% of my comics reviews boil down to. And it also applies to Freaks of the Heartland!
Set in rural ‘murica, stereotypical hillbillies (“You sassin’ me, boy?” *drinks ‘shine*, hits wife, repeat) keep their mutated offspring in barns until they decide to rid the world of Satan’s spawn one arbitrary day. Except one boy decides to set loose his freak brother and the pair go about the county freeing a disproportionate number of mutated kiddles - on count of the nookulurr testing or some such, see? Honestly, if I was from the South I’d be insulted with Steve Niles’ lazy characterisation.
Greg Ruth’s painted art is genuinely beautiful and is the only thing that attracted me to this book - it certainly wasn’t seeing Steve Niles’ name on the cover! The Southern Gothic style is there visually at least but Niles’ script is as hackneyed and dull as ever. The guy’s spent his entire career writing horror but it’s all surface level crap - he’s never written anything original, memorable or even truly scary, he just rehashes tired tropes over and over.
So yeah, Freaks of the Heartland: good art, crap writing/story, there’s a reason why you’ve not heard of this one! -
3.5*
<-Cuando nacieron había nubes iguales a estas.
Yo era pequeño. solo un cachorro.pero lo recuerdo todo.
Todas las madres del pueblo tuvieron un niño.Fue muy raro.Todas embarazadas al mismo tiempo y dieron a luz la misma semana...
pero cuando los vieron a todos ustedes simplemente enloquecieron.
Recuerdo a todo el mundo acusando a todo el mundo por ello. Decían que fueron las bombas, el agua...algunos pensaron que el mismo diablo lo había hecho.
Ellos acusaron a esto y aquello, pero en lo único que se pusieron de acuerdo fue en...
-Odiarnos>
Una de esas historias en las que los verdaderos monstruos no son los de fea apariencia. Aunque hay una contraparte que le da el punto de decencia, complicidad y "justicia poética"
Un aceptable guion . Unos dibujos que están bastante bien,con una paleta de colores muy adecuada... Aunque guiándose por la portada de cada grapa prometía un poco mas el apartado grafico. Un epilogo que le da un buen cierre y deja bien parada a la historia . -
Freaks in the Heartland is a creepy story about a boy and his little brother. Gristlewood is a very rural, small community of farmers deep in the heartland of the US. Something terrible happened to this place a few decades back and they are paying the price for it now.
I wish I could say more but it would ruin the story. Greg Ruth's illustrations are wonderful in showing a deeply disturbing town. There is no question the author and the artist want the reader to think who the real freaks are? Not only the offspring, who end up being the most decent of them all, but also the nature of the townsfolk as a community and as parents.
I really enjoy a nice short horror story. Especially one that is well told and well illustrated. It reminded me of the Stephen King Dark Tower comics and I enjoyed those immensely. I also liked this graphic novel. Well done-I wish I could say more but I won't. It's a good horror story.
However to be fair- there is a story about the bonds that exist between siblings. The love between Trevor and Will is real and deep. So there are some good moments to this story- just look to the young ones to find the future. The adults in many ways are the true freaks. So true in the real world as well. -
Trevor looks after his little brother Will who is treated like a dog by his father. Will is some kind of hulking mutant. When his father decides to take care of Will once and for all, the boys go on the run where they discover a dark secret about the valley they've grown up in. I love the relationship between these two brothers.
The story is quick with only a couple panels per page. Greg Ruth's art was frustrating. Some pages set the mood of the story perfectly. Others, I couldn't tell what has happening at all. It was just swirls on the page. Still, I liked this variation of the hounded monster trope due to the bond between the two brothers. -
Overall I really liked Freaks of the Heartland, the harrowing artwork compelled with some very scary/disturbing/sad themes made for some pretty intense reading. On the flipside however I found the plot a little undernourished. After a strong build-up to the introduction of the existence of 'freaks' a little too much was left to the imagination
SPOILERS going forwards
While I like a little ambiguity it was hard to get behind the conclusion, what exactly happened to the 'Freaks' did everyone just go back to the village/heartland and live out their lives with the freaks living wild? Why did the Sheriff seem to be the reason that some of the freaks were allowed to live yet also seem to be the main instigator of hunting them down? Was the setting a Villagesque recluse town (hence none of the children has any knowledge of beyond the hills) or did the existence of the freaks drive them that way?
I guess my point is there were some very powerful ideas and moments in the narrative, like when Will and Trevor realized that escaping over the hills wouldn't be enough to save the freaks from persecution, but ultimately I felt like nothing really resolved. -
Freaks of the heartland is a graphic novel about family secrets, monsters, and brotherly love somewhere in the rural midwest. Young Trevor's life is a hard one - his father is a cruel bully and his mother has been beaten down until she is hardly more than a shadow. His six-year-old brother, Will, is a freak, monstrously huge and monstrously deformed. He is kept chained in the barn to keep him from prying eyes and to hide the family's 'shame'. But Trevor loves his brother and does his best to protect him from their father. So when he hears his father planning to kill Will, he tries to stop it. Unfortunately, things go wrong and Trevor decides that he and Will have to run away before the neighbours catch them.
My one problem with Freaks is the ending - it's too abrupt and, in a story which has the emotional impact of this one, you can't help but want more and to feel a little cheated when you don't get it.
That aside, however, Freaks of the Heartland is a pretty damn good graphic novel. The story grabs you; there is a strong message but it doesn't clobber the reader over the head; and the graphics are, to say the least, stunning.
As a tale of horror, Freaks of the Heartland is more Mary Shelley than HP Lovecraft. Its message is one of tolerance and acceptance and that sometimes it is hard to know who the real monsters are. if you're looking for a gorefest with lots of action and blood, you might want to give this one a pass. But if you like graphic novels with gorgeous graphics and an intelligent (albeit abrupt) storyline, Freaks is definitely worth the time. -
This is a gorgeous package. Good job, Dark Horse, on the fabulous cover*, end papers, extra matter, full color illustrations... yes, please, this is lovely.
I also warmed up to Ruth's illustration style (cf. my thoughts on The Lost Boy) when in color. Even though the colors here are muted, adding that element makes his work feel more edgy to me. More like the impressionistic elements are intentional, and not an indication of a lack of skill.
I'm sure this story was a much different experience when read issue to issue. I read this all in one sitting, and as such, felt there were chances missed. I wanted to know MORE about this world. About these characters. It's never totally clear what is freakish about (really ANY of) the characters, and the mythology around the town could be explored much further. Maybe the story will continue, but it doesn't feel like it's intended that way.
Beautiful work - I kinda really want to see the movie. In this case, I feel like it would be MORE detailed than the book. Or a TV series!!!
*although its similarity to the cover for Lost Boy kinda cracks me up. -
Trevor has never left the rural farm that he shares with his timid mother, domineering father, and freakish-giant younger brother Will. When a neighbor's pig is killed and Will's father subsequently decides to end his son's life, Trevor and Will escape and try to leave the valley. Before they get far, they uncover the grisly secret that the valley's families have hidden for years.
Freaks of the Heartland is a short book, a surprisingly quick read, with great big panels. The art is heavy on gray and taupe, evoking a kind of Great Depression era aesthetic, I think. It's beautiful at times--when setting the scene or showing panoramic views--but action shots and close-ups of people tend to look like big confusing smears.
The story, both heart warming and heart breaking, is where Freaks shines. It's minimalist, stripped down to the bare essentials; there's a lot more that could be told, but does it need to be? The ending is perfect and went a long way toward redeeming the confuzzling illustrations in my mind. -
The idea was enjoyable enough, Greg Ruth's art is stunning and reminds me of Tyler Crook's watercolour work on Harrow County.
But the violent sequences had me absolutely lost in splashes of incoherent colours.
Also, the story just stops without any real resolution.
Overall pretty to look at had some interesting elements but ultimately it failed to pull the trigger. -
Terrific artwork, finely crafted story, gloomy setting, great atmosphere and sympathetic characters, what more can I ask for?
-
This was my first graphic novel, aside from comic books and Heavy Metal as a kid. But the cover caught my eye.
I loved the graphics in this novel! The colors reminded me of the movie Sin City. Beiges and tans, gold, black, with striking orange and red splattered throughout. The colors of fall.
The faces were very expressive, and one of my favorites was one that did not make it into the finished product (as it was deemed too "scary" for the character to gain the sympathy of the reader), but it can be found in the "Sketchbook and Notes" at the end of the novel.
The novel had a good storyline, and attracted me because of the "creep factor". The idea of a giant deformed kid being kept in the barn, hidden from society, was just too creepy to resist!
So, for someone like me that has never read a graphic novel, this was a great way to be introduced to the genre. The author was also behind the graphic novel 30 Days of Night, which was adapted to movie a few years ago, and I absolutely love that movie. It has the ultimate "creep factor"!
If you like graphic novels, or if you like horror, check out Freaks of the Heartland. You won't be sorry! -
Generally I avoid graphic novels, believing “they’re not my thing.” But I chose to read this one because of the title and description; and I am so thankful I did. Talk about reader’s hook! The first page or so grabbed me; and the art is delicious-very evocative-where in a novel I would normally look to the description to understand setting, here it’s right in front of me, and so well drawn! Between the art and the text, I literally experienced cold shivers throughout the book. If THIS is what graphic novels can do for horror, I’ve been sadly misguided. I’d like to call this book extraordinary: it has deep characterizations, likely dialogue, horror, family tension (serious dysfunction), and that wonderful, exquisite art! “Freaks of the Heartland” has made a Dark Horse Books fan out of me!
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Another goodie from Steve Niles. I will give most horror comics a go, but with Steve Niles you can trust you will be getting an interesting and original story. The story is wistful, disturbing and strange but really quite affecting. While Steve Niles is the reason I gravitated towards this one, the artist is a revelation for me---Greg Ruth's artwork is gorgeous. Painterly and emotional, I looked forward to each and every panel. I will definitely be on the look out for more of his work. Highly recommend.
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Not really horror....more like side show freaks hidden in barns and shit. Nothing was explained....sigh.
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Great art mixed with confusing and honestly boring storytelling. I dunno if Niles is just not the writer for me.
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A compelling read! Interesting and unique art and engaging story. I was hoping for more background and character development but I still enjoyed it!
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Freaks of the Heartland collects issues 1-6 of the series written by Steve Niles with art by Greg Ruth
Will is a 6-year old who lives in the barn behind the house, hidden away from society. Will towers above his younger brother, has freakish strength, and many other unnatural abilities. When Will's dad has decided that Will should no longer be in this world, Will's brother decides to free him and run away.
This book is haunting but tells a warm story of brotherly love. The art perfectly captures the feel of the book and rural atmosphere. With the book being only 6-issues, the story relies on archetypes to keep the book moving. Overall I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to horror fans. -
The art is really the only thing going on here. The story don’t make one dang lick o’ sense an’ it ain’t got no ending’. The characters, see, is alla buncha them clee-shays ‘bout rednecks an’ whatnot. Maybe if there were a hint of a theme besides “don’t treat people who look different from you badly” I’d be inclined to overlook the non-ending. It just feels like Niles saw he only had two pages left and went, “Welp, best rap this up.” Seemed mostly okay until then.
This is exactly the kind of story that the various X-Men books have done for decades, and done better. You really need to bring more to the table at this late date. -
Steve Niles and Greg Ruth tell a moving story about mutation and mercy in the hinterlands of the American Midwest. Somewhere in an unnamed town, a monstrous six-year-old boy named Will lived hidden away in a barn, while his older brother Trevor waits for the day when his abusive and violent father finally puts a bullet in Will. When Trevor and Will flee for their lives, they uncover a great secret at the heart of their small, isolated community that at first brings horror. But very soon we see that monsters aren't always defined by their physical form. And love and mercy are always more powerful than hate and fear. Tightly told, wonderfully illustrated, and compelling stuff.
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A really powerful story about secrets kept and buried, and love of one brother to another, done in sepia tones to help with the claustrophobic feeling of being trapped in the small town paranoia.
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Creo que no entendí el final -.-
Me gustó la paleta de colores que oscilaba entre la escala de grises y algunos toques de amarillos y naranjas, es un comic bastante sombrío situado en un pueblo campestre lleno de gente fea que esconden hijos "deformes", los odian y quieren acabar con ellos.
Los protas son Trevor y su hermano Will, al que tienen escondido, y Trevor es el encargado de alimentarlo. Pero mientras el padre se vuelve cada vez más odioso con respecto a Will, Trevor decide que tiene que hacer algo, impedir que le hagan daño a su hermano.
La idea de los niños deformes y el odio que generan en la gente del pueblo me gustó, nunca pasa de moda ni deja de haber gente que repudia lo diferente. Es remarcable que sean los otros niños los que sean amables y comprensivos con los "freaks" y solo un puñado de adultos se apiadan de ellos.
Pero no explica el origen de ellos, en un momento Trevor recuerda algo pero no se explica el por qué, de dónde salieron, cuál fue la causa. Aún así son criaturas extremadamente curiosas, hiperdesarrolladas físicamente pero algo lentos de mente. Son inofensivos si no se los provoca, pero pobres de los que quieran hacerles daño.
La historia me pareció realmente interesante, pero así como se tomó su tiempo en introducirnos en el lugar y los personajes, el último volumen deja muchos interrogantes dando vueltas. No lo terminé de entender :/ -
Dark story about mutant children in rural America. Artwork is great, makes you feel desperation and loneliness of that place. Great comic book overall.
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Classic variation on 'Who's greater monster?' which stands mostly on amazing art. Long of the book is just right, it manages to deliver atmosphere and uneasy/almost horror feeling.
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This is about a boy looking out for his monstrously deformed little brother in a small farming community, that's basically it.
There's some great ideas around who the actual freaks are and the relationship between the two brothers is solid. But there are so many unanswered questions about the origin of the monster boy, what exactly his "powers" are, how it relates to the other people in the town and the way characters just come and go. And it all just kind of ends but then skips forward to an epilogue so it's all kind of unclear how it was resolved.
I do like that it's a self contained story, but I think it could have used an extra couple of chapters to flesh out what happens next.
I really liked the artwork, it was very moody and had a kind of dreamlike quality to it, while remaining very brown and yellow, evoking the feelings of being in the middle of a farming community. -
For 2012 references, the book was the love-child of Frankenstein's monster meet Winter's Bone.
That what I've been thinking the whole time I was reading this book. Its the story of a young boy named Trevor with a deformed six years old younger brother, Will. Their father, a misogynistic bastard and abuser who like to degrade everyone, wanted to kill the younger brother for being different. A couple of pages later it was revealed that Will have telepathy in which he sensed the death of someone who was like him. Their father newly resolved with the abomination in the family, decided to end his son's life until Trevor try to prevent his father with a bullet which missed. Before his father would hit his older brother, Will unveiled a superhuman ability of flamethrowing from his throat. Leaving his father fried crispy in the barn and their mother letting them go. They went to find more caged creatures like Will and behind them was a group of rednecks with guns and a thirst to kill all of the deformed children.
The graphic is gloomy and the watercolour and the details and shades were magnificent. I find myself hard to appreciate most western graphic novels because of the overused filling computer colouring but each of the pages from this book were bringing live to the screen. The intensity of the shades heightened the overwhelming depression, mania and hope that are prevalent in some graphic novels like The Walking Dead but in this stand alone book, I kept coming up various of scenes and themes that was bleeding through the graphics silently. The fear of the unknown, the sense of freedom, the inquisitiveness and redemption of several of the characters. The tears.
The artistic work on this book is plain overwhelming. The content carry a lot of depth in it and make me wish for more. -
It's a small town. And small towns have secrets.
Yet, that's the thing about secrets - they never go unnoticed.
For Trevor, there is a secret hiding in his backyard, inside of the barn. It's his brother - Will. Will, only six years old, stands several feet above his brother. And it wasn't until Trevor decides to take a stand against the hiding of his brother, that he realizes how much this small town would be willing to fight for the silence of the children.
After reading Freaks of the Heartland by Steve Niles and art by Greg Ruth
After reading this book, the air and feeling of the read reminded me of Sling Blade meets Stand By Me - a creepy small town keeping a very big secret quiet. The two brothers in the book portray a heartwarming relationship, although often chilling at times. I was captivated, of course. Trevor's main purpose is to protect his brother Will. And Will? Will just wants to find peace.
The pace of the book struck me and I just had to know what these beings were, how they came about, and what would become of them. What would happen to the children? Would the adults take them down? Would they break free? But overall, the tempo also felt bleak. Isolating. Trapping. And I'm sure this is how the character's felt. And not only did the dialogue portray that, but so did the art work.
The artwork alone would be worth buying the book for - incredibly detailed and elaborate art that could be calm and peaceful looking one moment and very violent and disturbing the next.
I won't give away what happens to them, but I felt I still needed more from the story. I'm not sure if this book is planning on becoming a series, but if it does, I would be interested in the next read. I would say it would be worth it. -
This story was not what I had expected from Steve Niles. If you are not familiar with his work – they are usually violent, horrific stories. So one about freaks living in the sticks made me think I was picking up something similar to House of 1000 corpses.
Instead what I got was a sweet story about two brothers. Set in the country in a non-descript time (feels old fashioned but there are little things that make me wonder) Steve Niles has woven a tale that is more haunting than anything else he has written.
Trevor has to help take care of his brother Will, who has been chained up in the barn. Like a good older brother, Trevor watches out for Will. Late at night they sneak out to enjoy the fields and moonlight. However, one night he returns to hear his father talk about how he should have killed Will when he was born. Will manages to steal away his father’s pistol.
The next day, a neighbor comes to tell how they will have to kill their daughter. Trevor’s father decides it’s time – the monsters must go. Trevor and Will escape but they can’t leave the valley without rescuing the others like Will.
It’s not an overly deep story but the journey the boys go on carried me away. I wanted to know more at the end. I would have loved answers but there were none given. But that didn’t make me love the story less.
The drawings are soft and subtle. The muted colors would have normally irritated me but I found they worked well with this story. It added to the timeless feel to the story as if it had been tinted with sepia. I do think this is one I’d love to revisit time and again, hoping to find more in each panel, each subtle phrase. -
Wow! I was completely blown away by this graphic novel that tells the story of a young boy who steps away from the mold and takes a chance to help someone he loves. Trevor's brother, Will, has been kept hidden in the barn, away from society, since birth due to his extreme physical deformities. Even though their father treats them terribly and their mother is detached, Trevor always does his best to give Will some semblance of normalcy. When their father decides to rid the world of Will once and for all, Trevor releases him from his confines and they both run away, hoping to find a better life.
Freaks of the Heartland stirred so many emotions within me: anger, sadness, excitement and joy. My heart broke for Will and 'the others,' and I admired Trevor for his courage and desire to want a better life for himself, his brother and 'the others'. Will also surprised me with his bravery as well. It really emphasized the the old adage that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
This story kept me on the edge of my seat and the artwork was beautifully haunting. I really enjoyed this graphic novel and will definitely recommend it to friends. It would have been nice to know exactly what caused the mysterious births and subsequent birth defects and abnormalities, but the fact that it was never revealed just added to the overall theme of the story - doing what's right even when others stand against you. -
Trevor is responsible for taking care of his little brother, Will, who is kept chained up in the barn. Even though Will is only 6 years old, he's already bigger than Trevor and has an oddly large and misshapen head. Their dad is a mean drunk who throws his weight around and demands respect. He thinks Will (and the others like him) are abominations, and after an incident with one of the other "kids", he decides to put Will down. Trevor intervenes, there's a scuffle, and suddenly dad is on fire. As they watch his body burn, Trevor says they will have to leave - go away from their secluded little town, and find somewhere else. As they make their way across the field, though, Will senses that there are others - like him - who need their help. He and Trevor free several other "kids" and continue to flee. When the menfolk discover that their kids are missing they chase after them with guns intending to do what they should have done all along. Dark and mysterious - Trevor and Will's relationship is the strongest element. The story leaves a lot of unanswered questions about what exactly happened to produce the kids/freaks and why the town has remained separate from the rest of society all of these years. It would also be interesting to learn more about the freaks' powers (Will seems to have some supernatural abilities).
