Something is wrong in Shudder-to-Think, PA. That much is clear from the first issue of The Low, Low Woods, another new horror title from DC’s new Hill House imprint. Not much else is clear at all, but it’s still a compelling debut.

This issue introduces us to Eldora and Octavia, two teenagers in this old Pennsylvania coal-mining town in the 1990s. They’ve mysteriously slept through a movie, they may or may not be in love, the town is constantly on fire, and there’s a weird deer with a human head out there. 

This is the first comics work of writer Carmen Maria Machado, and it shows. Machado’s strength is in her descriptive prose and truthful dialogue, and it shows here. Her characters are interesting, but it’s clear that she’s still finding her way as far as conveying those characters visually.

Luckily, the artist, Dani, is more than up to the task. Dani’s art, aided by the gorgeous colors of Tamra Bonvillain and the idiosyncratic lettering of Steve Wands, helps flesh out El and Octavia and the rest of the people they’re surrounded by. The art is haunting, and the mood here is thick and forbidding. 

The Low, Low Woods #1 isn’t scary, per se. But it’s definitely creepy, and it’s built up enough mystery to hope for some real scares in future issues. Definitely worth picking up.

Grade: A-