A dark, gripping graphic novel that intertwines themes of crime, horror, and psychological drama. The story revolves around an FBI agent from the cult crime division and Natalie Burns, a private investigator with a traumatic past linked to the Satanic Panic era of the 1980s. Natalie, part of the infamous "Satanic Six," is haunted by false accusations of satanic torture that ruined many lives. The plot centers on their investigation into a series of cult-related kidnappings and murders. The narrative delves deep into the psychological scars left by the Satanic Panic, exploring whether one can ever truly escape their past or if it continually haunts them. As they pursue an insane killer hidden in the shadows of the underworld, the story presents a blend of intense, atmospheric horror and noir elements. Brubaker's storytelling is characterized by a blend of hardboiled noir and psychological depth. Phillips's illustrations makes this graphic novel successful, establishing an eerie and sinister atmosphere.

Thank you Image Comics and NetGalley for a copy of Houses of the Unholy!

"In this new tale, an FBI agent from the cult crime beat and a woman with a past linked to the Satanic Panic are drawn into a terrifying hunt for an insane killer hiding in the shadows of the underworld. This pulse-pounding story asks: can you ever escape your past, or are all your bad decisions just more ghosts to haunt you, wherever you go?"

Finished this during a camping trip and boy did it spook me. I ended up researching Satanic Panic of the 80s and Ed Brubaker's other works. Love when a good read does that!

The Houses of the Unholy is perfect for those looking for a classic cult, horror story with a tight plot and retro/gorgeous comic illustrations!

First I have to mention the artwork. Absolutely love the artwork and the color palette of this graphic novel. I especially like how the artist incorporated all the red and black to really give that Satanic Panic theme.

Speaking of Satanic Panic. If you are like me, a reader intrigued by that era, this graphic novel will give you exactly what you’re looking for. With half of the story taking place during the Satanic Panic and showing the reader how stories and rumors could ruin lives of many.

I love how the writer went for a past and present tense showcasing our Main character’s backstory. Bounty Hunters, blood and Satanic Cults. What more can you ask for?

This was a fast paced comic, delving into one of the children who grew and was a victim to the Satanic Panic. I enjoyed the setting and the exposition into the past of the Satanic Panic, but I feel like the ending as wrapped up quite quickly. Overall aesthetics and the plot make it worth it!

4.5/5. "Brubaker and Phillips release outstanding graphic novels" is as much a truism as "Water is wet" at this point. HOUSES OF THE UNHOLY doesn't break the streak. This latest standalone has some elements of their past work (particularly FATALE, RECKLESS and CRIMINAL) but ultimately stands up as its own work.

Brubaker writes private investigator Natalie Burns about as spectacularly cynical as any educated survivor of the 80s "satanic panics" would be, and Phillips draws her as someone consciously trying to avoid attention. Drawn back into that world of make-believe horror by some very real murders of fellow panic survivors, with a driven but mysterious FBI agent at her side, Burns is ultimately face to face with demons internal and external in a fantastically illustrated and written finale.

The art evokes the signposts of the satanic panics perfectly -- the coercive teachers and child therapists, the collective hallucination that has these kids all telling the same stories, all with the garish materialism of the Reagan 80s in the background. Phillips is a genius at stillness, chaos and everything in between; his panels are alive in your mind the way good movies are.

If there's anything holding me back from a perfect rating, it's probably the climax and ending: It works, technically, and it's entertaining, but it seems a little more thrown together than the airtight conclusions of many other works from this pair. I felt like it didn't have to rush, but rush it did.

Oh well. It's still better than 98% of the other crime comics out there and will satisfy Brubaker/Phillips fans (of which I'm one). Eagerly awaiting the duo's next work -- hopefully more RECKLESS, but anything they do will be well worth reading.

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.