Harrow County
# Harrow County

Harrow County is an American comic book series that ran from 2015 to 2018. It was created by writer Cullen Bunn and artist Tyler Crook, and published by Dark Horse Comics.

## Characters

### Emmy Crawford

    An eighteen-year-old young woman and witch, presumed to be the reincarnation of the witch Hester Beck. She has godlike abilities that allow her to reshape reality at will.

### Bernice Anderson

    Emmy's best friend, granddaughter of Riah Anderson, and student of Lovey Belfont. She lives in the Black community of Mason's Hollow. She is the protagonist of the sequel series Tales from Harrow County.

### Kammi

    Emmy's evil twin sister and one of the primary antagonists of the series. She grew up in New York City.

### Isaac Crawford

    Emmy's adoptive father. He was created by Hester and was one of the townsfolk that murdered her.

### Lady Lovey Belfont

    An old woman that has spent her life capturing the servants of Hester Beck. She lives alone in Mason's Hollow, where she is shunned by her community for being a witch. She teaches hedge magic to Bernice and tasks her with protecting Harrow County.

### Haints

**The Skinless Boy / The Tattered Skin**


    Emmy's mute familiar. He was summoned from the nightmares of a child. Emmy carries his skin around in her satchel and he whispers secrets to her.

**Priscilla**


    A goblin that befriends Emmy.

### The Family

**Malachi**


    The head of the Family in the old days, until he became the Abandoned and settled in Harrow County.

**Hester Beck**


    The primary antagonist of the series. She was a god-like witch who was killed by her own creations. Of all of Malachi's children, she was the youngest and his favorite.

**Amaryllis**


    A kindly old woman and the most powerful in the family. Like Hester, she was capable of bending all of reality to her will. Hester murdered and cannibalized her to gain her powers.

**Odessa**


    The head of the family after Malachi leaves. She has a connection to the woods and their animals.

**Levi**


    A psychopomp. He guides the dead to the afterlife. When Malachi was the head of the family, Levi would try to find ways to undermine him.

Other Family members include Mildred, Willa, Kaine, Corbin, and Old Buck.

## Publication history

### Harrow County

Harrow County began as a serialized prose story called Countless Haints, written by Cullen Bunn and released on his website. Countless Haints ran for ten chapters before it was retired. Later the story was repurposed as an ongoing comic with artist and co-creator Tyler Crook. The main character Madrigal was renamed Emmy, the time period was shifted from present day to the 1930s, and the location was changed from Ahmen's Landing to Harrow County.

When Bunn began working on the series, he wrote the first two arcs so that they told a fairly complete story, though he hoped Harrow County would be popular enough to become an ongoing series. Crook chose to do the book in watercolors to get away from the computer and to make the project more fun for himself. As part of the promotional material for the comic, he created a special ordering form and made process videos showcasing his watercolors. He even wrote music for the first two arcs.

During Harrow County’s run, Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook regularly shared their process in a column called The Harrow County Observer, Tyler Crook's YouTube channel, and in the extensive sketchbook sections of the trade paperback collections.

Harrow County issues :

| Story Arc | Issue | Release Date | Story | Art | Extras |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Countless Haints | #1 | May 13, 2015 Second Printing: June 17, 2015 Halloween ComicFest: October 29, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | ART: Tyler Crook COVER: Tyler Crook Jason Latour (HeroesCon variant) Jeff Lemire (Four Color Grails variant) Tyler Crook (Second printing) Tyler Crook (Halloween ComicFest) | Tales of Harrow County: Baptism Let's Talk About the Tree (essay) |
| Countless Haints | #2 | June 10, 2015 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: What was Lost Let's Talk About Ghosts (essay) Pinup by Joëlle Jones |
| Countless Haints | #3 | July 8, 2015 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: All Hallows' Eve Sleeping with Water Moccasins (essay) Pinup by Shane White |
| Countless Haints | #4 | August 12, 2015 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Let's Talk About the Farmhouse (essay) |
| Twice Told | #5 | September 9, 2015 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Bat House El Guapo, Ghost of Tower Plaza (essay) Pinup by Cat Farris |
| Twice Told | #6 | October 14, 2015 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Hunter Letters column Pinup by JOK |
| Twice Told | #7 | November 11, 2015 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Daughters Letters column Pinup by Bryan Fyffe |
| Twice Told | #8 | December 9, 2015 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Mold Letters column |
| Snake Doctor | #9 | February 10, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | ART: Carla Speed McNeil COLORS: Jenn Manley Lee LETTERING & COVER: Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Friends |
| Snake Doctor | #10 | March 9, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Butcher |
| Snake Doctor | #11 | April 13, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Haint Train Fear and Love of the Devil Himself (essay) Letters column |
| Snake Doctor | #12 | May 11, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | ART: Hannah Lavender COVER: Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Holler |
| Family Tree | #13 | June 8, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Butler (Part 1) Letters column |
| Family Tree | #14 | July 13, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Butler (Part 2) Letters column |
| Family Tree | #15 | August 10, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Butler (Part 3) Letters column |
| Family Tree | #16 | September 14, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Butler (Part 4) Letters column |
| Abandoned | #17 | October 19, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | ART: Carla Speed McNeil COLORS: Jenn Manley Lee LETTERING & COVERS: Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Tithe Letters column |
| Abandoned | #18 | November 23, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | ART: Carla Speed McNeil COLORS: Jenn Manley Lee LETTERING & COVERS: Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Priscilla (Part 1) Letters column |
| Abandoned | #19 | December 28, 2016 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Priscilla (Part 2) Letters column |
| Abandoned | #20 | January 25, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Priscilla (Part 3) Letters column |
| Hedge Magic | #21 | March 8, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Priscilla (Part 4) |
| Hedge Magic | #22 | April 12, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Worship Music |
| Hedge Magic | #23 | May 10, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Possum Lady |
| Hedge Magic | #24 | June 14, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | The Devil's Hoof Prints (essay) |
| Dark Times A’Coming | #25 | September 13, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Granddad's Rocking Chair (essay) |
| Dark Times A’Coming | #26 | October 11, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Exterminator |
| Dark Times A’Coming | #27 | November 8, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Combine |
| Dark Times A’Coming | #28 | December 13, 2017 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: The Radio |
| Done Come Back | #29 | March 21, 2018 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Henry Church Camp, Broken Pinky-Toe, and Floating Coffins (essay) |
| Done Come Back | #30 | April 25, 2018 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tales of Harrow County: Scripture |
| Done Come Back | #31 | May 30, 2018 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | — |
| Done Come Back | #32 | June 27, 2018 | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | — |

**Tales of Harrow County**

Most issues of Harrow County include Tales of Harrow County backup stories. This extra material is only collected in the hardcover library editions. The one-page story "Lovelorn" (story by Cullen Bunn, art by Tyler Crook) was accidentally left out of Harrow County #31, so Dark Horse Comics debuted it as a free online comic.

Tales of Harrow County short stories :

| Title | Story | Art | Colors | Appeared in |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Baptism | Cullen Bunn | Owen Gieni | Owen Gieni | Harrow County #1 |
| What was Lost | Cullen Bunn | Owen Gieni | Owen Gieni | Harrow County #2 |
| All Hallows' Eve | Cullen Bunn | Owen Gieni | Owen Gieni | Harrow County #3 |
| The Bat House | Tyler Crook | Tyler Crook | Ma'at Crook | Harrow County #5 |
| The Hunter | Tyler Crook | Tyler Crook | Ma'at Crook | Harrow County #6 |
| Daughters | Tyler Crook | Cat Farris | Cat Farris | Harrow County #7 |
| Mold | Tyler Crook | Simon Roy | Simon Roy | Harrow County #8 |
| Friends | Tyler Crook | Jessica Mahon | Jessica Mahon | Harrow County #9 |
| The Butcher | Tyler Crook | David Rubín | David Rubín | Harrow County #10 |
| Haint Train | Tyler Crook | Kate Leth | Kate Leth | Harrow County #11 |
| The Holler | Tyler Crook | Kel McDonald | Kel McDonald | Harrow County #12 |
| The Butler | Tyler Crook | Brian Hurtt | Matt Kindt | Harrow County #13–16 |
| The Tithe | Cullen Bunn | Owen Gieni | Owen Gieni | Harrow County #17 |
| Priscilla | Tyler Crook | Aud Koch | Aud Koch | Harrow County #18–21 |
| Worship Music | Chris Schweizer | Chris Schweizer | Chris Schweizer | Harrow County #22 |
| The Possum Lady | Chris Schweizer | Chris Schweizer | Chris Schweizer | Harrow County #23 |
| Exterminator | Tyler Crook | Alise Gluškova | Alise Gluškova | Harrow County #26 |
| Combine | Tyler Crook | Alise Gluškova | Alise Gluškova | Harrow County #27 |
| The Radio | Rhiannon Rasmussen-Silverstein | Christianne Goudreau | Christianne Goudreau | Harrow County #28 |
| Henry | Tyler Crook | Tyler Crook | Tyler Crook | Harrow County #29 |
| Scripture | Tyler Crook | Cat Farris | Cat Farris | Harrow County #30 |
| Lovelorn | Cullen Bunn | Tyler Crook | Tyler Crook | Dark Horse blog |

### Tales from Harrow County

On September 10, 2019, Dark Horse Comics announced the spinoff series Tales from Harrow County (not to be confused with the Tales of Harrow County short stories). The series was initially announced as a way to tell stories with different main characters from many different time periods of Harrow County. Misfit City artist Naomi Franquiz drew the first miniseries, Death's Choir, with Bernice as the protagonist. Emily Schnall later joined the Tales from Harrow County team for the second arc.

Tales from Harrow County issues :

| Story Arc | Issue | Release Date | Story | Art |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Death's Choir | #1 | December 18, 2019 | Cullen Bunn | Naomi Franquiz LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Naomi Franquiz Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Death's Choir | #2 | January 15, 2020 | Cullen Bunn | Naomi Franquiz LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Naomi Franquiz Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Death's Choir | #3 | February 12, 2020 | Cullen Bunn | Naomi Franquiz LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Naomi Franquiz Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Death's Choir | #4 | March 11, 2020 | Cullen Bunn | Naomi Franquiz LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Naomi Franquiz Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Fair Folk | #1 | July 21, 2021 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Fair Folk | #2 | August 18, 2021 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Fair Folk | #3 | September 22, 2021 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Fair Folk | #4 | October 20, 2021 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Lost Ones | #1 | May 11, 2022 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Lost Ones | #2 | June 15, 2022 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Lost Ones | #3 | July 13, 2022 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |
| Lost Ones | #4 | August 17, 2022 | Cullen Bunn | Emily Schnall LETTERING: Tyler Crook COVERS: Emily Schnall Tyler Crook (variants) |

### Trade paperbacks

The trade paperback collections of Harrow County generally come out around four to five months after the final issue of the arc being collected.

Trade paperbacks :

| Series | Volume | Title | Release Date | Material collected | Extras | ISBN |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Harrow County | | | | | | |
| Harrow County | 1 | Countless Haints | December 2, 2015 | Harrow County #1–4 | 24-page sketchbook The original Countless Haints prose story from Cullen Bunn's blog | 9781616557805 |
| Harrow County | 2 | Twice Told | April 13, 2016 | Harrow County #5–8 | 17-page sketchbook | 9781616559007 |
| Harrow County | 3 | Snake Doctor | September 14, 2016 | Harrow County #9–12 | 35-page sketchbook | 9781506700717 |
| Harrow County | 4 | Family Tree | January 25, 2017 | Harrow County #13–16 | 9-page sketchbook Issue #15 script and layouts | 9781506701417 |
| Harrow County | 5 | Abandoned | May 24, 2017 | Harrow County #17–20 | 18-page sketchbook | 9781506701905 |
| Harrow County | 6 | Hedge Magic | October 11, 2017 | Harrow County #21–24 | 6-page sketchbook 8-page bestiary | 9781506702087 |
| Harrow County | 7 | Dark Times A’Coming | March 21, 2018 | Harrow County #25–28 | 5-page sketchbook | 9781506703978 |
| Harrow County | 8 | Done Come Back | October 3, 2018 | Harrow County #29–32 | Afterword by Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook | 9781506706634 |
| Tales from Harrow County | | | | | | |
| Tales from Harrow County | 1 | Death's Choir | July 8, 2020 | Tales from Harrow County: Death's Choir #1–4 | 7-page sketchbook Cover gallery | 9781506716817 |
| Tales from Harrow County | 2 | Fair Folk | March 23, 2022 | Tales from Harrow County: Fair Folk #1–4 | 7-page sketchbook Cover gallery | 9781506722610 |
| Tales from Harrow County | 3 | Lost Ones | January 4, 2023 | Tales from Harrow County: Lost Ones #1–4 | 8-page sketchbook Cover gallery | 9781506729954 |

### Library editions

After Harrow County finished, Dark Horse Comics announced that the series would be recollected in library editions. These hardcover volumes print the comics at a larger size and collect all the special features from both the original issues and the trade paperback collections.

Hardcover library editions :

| Title | Release Date | Material collected | Extras | ISBN |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Harrow County Volume One | November 14, 2018 | Harrow County #1–8 | Countless Haints special features Twice Told special features Tales of Harrow County Baptism What was Lost All Hallows' Eve The Bat House The Hunter Daughters Mold Essays: Let's Talk About the Tree Let's Talk About Ghosts Sleeping with Water Moccasins Let's Talk About the Farmhouse El Guapo, Ghost of Tower Plaza | 9781506710648 |
| Harrow County Volume Two | March 20, 2019 | Harrow County #9–16 | Illustrated introduction by Chris Schweizer Snake Doctor special features Family Tree special features Tales of Harrow County Friends Haint Train The Holler The Butler The Butcher Essays: Fear and Love of the Devil Himself | 9781506710655 |
| Harrow County Volume Three | July 24, 2019 | Harrow County #17–24 | Illustrated introduction by Chris Schweizer Abandoned special features Hedge Magic special features Tales of Harrow County The Tithe Priscilla Worship Music The Possum Lady Essays: The Devil's Hoof Prints New sketchbook material | 9781506710662 |
| Harrow County Volume Four | October 23, 2019 | Harrow County #25–32 | Illustrated introduction by Chris Schweizer Dark Times A’Coming special features Done Come Back special features Tales of Harrow County Exterminator Combine The Radio Henry Scripture Lovelorn Essays: Granddad's Rocking Chair Church Camp, Broken Pinky-Toe, and Floating Coffins | 9781506710679 |
| Tales from Harrow County Volume One | October 5, 2022 | Tales from Harrow County: Death's Choir #1–4 Tales from Harrow County: Fair Folk #1–4 | Death's Choir special features Fair Folk special features | 9781506722764 |

### Omnibus editions

In 2020, Harrow County was recollected in paperback omnibus editions. These editions do not include any special material.

Paperback omnibus editions :

| Title | Release Date | Material collected | ISBN |
| - | - | - | - |
| Harrow County Omnibus One | January 6, 2021 | Harrow County #1–16 | 9781506719917 |
| Harrow County Omnibus Two | June 30, 2021 | Harrow County #17–32 | 9781506719917 |

## Reception

### Critical reception

At the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, Harrow County and Tales from Harrow County have received an average score of 8.4 out of 10 based on 205 reviews, with the final issue of the original series averaging at 9.5. In the years since the original series ended, it has shown up on numerous recommended reads and best-of lists for horror comics.

### Awards

| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| 2015 | Bram Stoker Awards | Graphic Novel | Harrow County – Volume 1: Countless Haints | Nominated |
| 2016 | Eisner Awards | Best New Series | Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook | Nominated |
| 2016 | Ghastly Awards | Best Ongoing Title | Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook | Won |
| 2016 | Ghastly Awards | Best Writer | Cullen Bunn | Won |
| 2016 | Ghastly Awards | Best Artist | Tyler Crook | Won |

## Soundtrack

In 2015, Tyler Crook released a book soundtrack of Harrow County, a month before Harrow County #1 came out. The music was meant to accompany the series' first arc, Countless Haints, with track titles referencing specific moments. A second volume for the Twice Told arc came out the following year.

The soundtrack was repurposed in 2022 for GraphicAudio's Harrow County audio dramas.

### Track listing

All tracks are written by Tyler Crook.

## Adaptations

### Audio drama

In April 2021, Dark Horse Comics announced a they had entered into a multi-year agreement with GraphicAudio to create audio dramas of their comics. The announcement of Harrow County being adapted came the following year in August. The audio drama was released across two volumes, the first on September 26, 2022 and the second on Halloween a month later.

Bunn had long wanted an audio drama of the series and had even been pushing for an audio drama adaption before the GraphicAudio deal happened. Director and adaption writer Scott McCormick selected Harrow County after Dark Horse sent him the first four issues and he became enamored with the narrator's voice. In adapting the story, McCormick kept Bunn's dialogue for the characters, but had to augment and write additional material for the narrator. Crook's book soundtrack was used for the music in the audio drama, though sound designer Abby Rose Raetz also wrote additional pieces inspired by Crook's music.

### Board Game

On October 5, 2022, Off the Page Games launched a Kickstarter campaign for Harrow County: The Game of Gothic Conflict. Designed by Jay Cormier and Shad Miller, the game also features original art by Tyler Crook and "flavor text" in the cards and instructions by Cullen Bunn. It is set to debut some time in late 2023.

### Television

As part of a first look deal between Universal Cable Productions and Dark Horse, a Harrow County television series was in development as of 2015.

