This was a book of two halves for me. I really enjoyed the first half and thought the set up was really interesting.. Unfortunately for me, in the second half the plot went off the rails and just rushed through to a conclusion with little explanation. I thought the art was great and I loved the colour palette used, but I was let down by the conclusion of the story.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This was a fantastic graphic novel, if not a little bit short. It's no surprise, really - it was written by absolute titans of the comic book industry. The story that this turned out was great - the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, the hysteria that accompanied the decisions people made and how they approached things, and the demons that followed them afterwards. This is a really interesting plot, and it went for it with the story full throttle.

The art style is fantastic, and suits the story so well - the horror elements in this as well are just fantastic. It's not necessarily scary, but it has a heap of intrigue. There is no reliance on style here, but the style is impeccable nonetheless. The story speaks for itself and it's got a lot to say - social commentary for the modern era and the nostalgia of the past as well.

My only complaint is that there wasn't quite enough in the novel as a whole. I was hoping to have a little more expanded, especially when it came to the climax, and I thought there could have been a little bit more fleshing out of the second half of it.

All in all, this was a fantastic graphic novel, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

This was my first book by Brubaker and it didn't disappoint! I'm ready to dive deep into more by him.

Houses of the Unholy is a standalone that has us follow Natalie in an investigation into the murder of the survivors of an alleged satanic ritual. There's a very unexpected but intriguing start to this one which gets you hooked pretty quickly.

The art style works well mixing in horror & realism and contributes to the tense atmosphere, the use of colour in flashbacks is also a great device for differentiating the timelines.

Overall, a really tense read with some interesting visuals and set in a pretty interesting backdrop of the satanic scare in the US.

Thanks to Image Comics & Netgalley for the arc.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this comic book in exchange for my honest review!

This was a very bittersweet read the whole way through. I loved the older art style and even though I was almost in tears by the end of the novel, I still very much enjoyed it. The mysticism and number of unreliable narrator-esque characters gave me very strong "House of Leaves" vibes, anyone who loved that will most love this very melancholy comic!

i really enjoyed this! the writing was very good, and although it was short I got invested in Natalie's story

(this was an eARC)

Houses of the Unholy is a horror graphic novel set after the chaos of the Satanic Panic. It follows Natalie, a private investigator who was previously influenced into accusing camp counsellors of satanic torture. She and the other children involved were dubbed as the Satanic Six. Years later, Natalie now works to protect those in similar situations. After getting involved with an FBI agent, the two team up to find the culprit behind the murders of the children from Natalie's past.

I liked this! It ticked all the boxes: good pacing, developed characters, interesting plot and well-thought-through illustrations that added to the allure of the story. It was great to see all of that compacted into 144 pages.

This being my first Brubaker and Philips read, I will definitely give their other works a go.

Thank you to NetGalley and Image Comics for providing me with the ARC!

This is an author and illustrator team that brings a gritty edge to the comics page. Not for the faint of heart, but definitely for those who love a good yarn in visual form. Glad to see that Image is taking the storytelling on and giving these creators, a venue for their narrative work.

Brubaker and Phillips are a powerful duo; I love their Reckless graphic novel series, and felt that Houses of the Unholy felt very similar; a bit of a graphic thriller which involves satanic panic, FBI agents, and abductions. It doesn't have the most exciting art in the world, but I still really enjoyed the story and would recommend it along the authors' other works together.

First I would like to thank Net Galley, Image Comics, Ed Brubaker, and Sean Phillips for my copy of Houses of the Unholy. This was my very first graphic novel ever. I found it to be very enjoyable. I loved the 80's horror religious cult vibe of the story. I found it to be entertaining and I liked ow the art style meshed well with the story. I also enjoyed the flashback sequences of the graphic novel and being able to see the events that led to present day. Overall I found this to be very enjoyable and easy to read. I would definitely check out more titles by this author in the future.

Great art and an interesting take on the satanic panic and an idea of what could of happened to people involved afterwards. I did finish this graphic novel with a bit of confusion but that didn't really take away anything from it I just wish a little more work was done to flesh the ending out a bit more.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was dark and very interesting. If you like cults and demons . This graphic novel is for you. The graphics and the colors were awesome. This was a good quick read. I love dark graphic novels. Also that ending!! I hope there will be more.

A horror graphic novel is right up my alley- I really enjoyed this one, however I was a little let down with the ending. Overall I did really enjoy this though! Definitely want to let the read marinate for a little bit and it could be a five star, I am going to grab a physical copy for sure!

I love Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips. The story and the artwork together with the colours chosen was able to portray the creepy feeling the graphic novel wanted to. I loved that the story was way more than what we see. There were a few twists that I didn't see coming and can't wait until the second volume.

Cults, satanic panic and betrayal...

An enjoyable read throughout. I really liked the way they used the flashbacks to piece the story together the further you progress through the novel. The only bummer was the open ending - it left me feeling a bit empty, as the ending was totally inconclusive.

Overall, I really liked this one. The artwork was pretty and the story was gripping. The only reason for the 3 stars instead of 4 is down to the open ending as I find these quite frustrating!

Thanks to Image Comics for letting me read this one in exchange for an honest review.

My first graphic novel. A true horror and loved every second of it. Took me on a wild ride and cant wait to read more!

This was very mid for me. There was nothing new in this story if you are at all familiar with the Satanic Panic as a historical event or if you are familiar with any kind of satanic/cult trope plot line in horror. It could have taken this story to such different places but this felt very safe and very over done.

The team of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips are often called the "dynamic duo" or the "dream team" in a lot of the comic book community circles I participate in. I continue to NOT understand why. Houses of the Unholy was interesting to me at first but I just felt the writing got lazy and the character development was weak. Phillips gratuitous depiction of women is tiresome.

Natalie is one of the "Satanic Six," a group of children who told tales of being taken by trusted adults to be tortured by demons and satan himself. As an adult, she's had that history as a shroud from which she cannot escape. As her fellow Satanic Six find themselves in trouble, Natalie is next on the list.
A short, fast read. I would have loved to see this fleshed out into a longer story - there's so many fun points; with an FBI agent, car chase, stalkers, conspiracy theorists, and more. It was beautifully illustrated, I loved the use of colors. So much of the book is in a sort of sunset tone (reds, oranges, pinks) which fits perfectly with the end-of-days themes.

A beautifully illustrated comic about the darkness of the Satanic Panic and a fictional account of its ripples through the years.
Well written story with characters that were horribly flawed and a twist I didn't see coming.
The ending felt...unfinished though. I wasn't left with any sense of finality or effect. All I had was the bleakness of the story and even that felt short lived.
I would love to see more from these creators especially a darker horror story. The art and dialogue were excellent.