Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 ~ Yuri Amidst The Unseelie (Spoilery Comic Book Review)

In this first issue of Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk, as the name suggests, we get to see what the Fair Folk look like in this setting. Not to mention, we get yuri. Glorious yuri.

Cullen Bunn is the writer behind Tales From Harrow Country: Fair Folk #1, as he is for the original Harrow County comic book series. Emily Schnall is the new artist behind this spin-off series though, with Tyler Crook returning as the letterer. Emily Schnall is also the cover artist for this series. Oh, and as before, Dark Horse Comics is the publisher for this series, as they were for the original Harrow County.

Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 went on sale on July 21, 2021. You can purchase print copies from your local comic book store. Or, if you are fine with the digital version, you can download it directly from Dark Horse Comics own website here.

Warning: spoiler for Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 below. If you want to read this latest tale of horror from the infamous Harrow County, stop here and come back one you have returned from being spirited away.

Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 ~ Plot Summary

The plot of Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 seems to take place some number of years after the original Harrow County. This spin-off starts off with the main character from the original comic book, Emmy, leaving town. Only, it’s not from Emmy’s perspective. The spin-off actually takes place from the perspective of Bernice Anderson: Emmy’s best friend. Also love interest, but only on Bernice’s side apparently.

Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 begins with Bernice describing the event to her current girlfriend: Georgia. Unfortunately, Georgia takes the story the wrong way. Including the part where Bernice apparently erased everyone’s memories about Emmy. Not sure if there’s a right way to take it, really. What I do think though, is that running away is probably the wrong way to take it.

Anyways, Bernice reacts to this apparent breakup by getting back to work. And boy, does she have a job to do. As it turns out, Priscilla, Emmy’s goblin friend, is now trapped in the goblin realm. Bernice aims to get her back, starting by waiting for a fairy circle to form so that she can get into the realm of the Fair Folk. It’s while opening the door and summoning a fae guide that Georgia makes a surprise reappearance, apparently deciding that Bernice’s past affection for Emmy doesn’t affect their current relationship. Georgia even decides to accompany Bernice to the Fair Folk realm, so now they have a 2-woman party.

And Bernice could really use the extra pair of helping hands. As it turns out, the fae in this world like to live in caves. Some of them look cute, but most of them look like they walked out of a nightmare. And the fae that had promised to guide Bernice to Priscilla? He instead leads her to a bizarre effigy of Emmy. Why? Well, we’re going to have to find out in the next issue of Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk.

Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 ~ The Good

As a yuri fan, I give points for the yuri in Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1. The yuri is actually fairly well-done here. It’s a good mixture of jealousy, drama, and cute fluff. Even people who are not explicitly into yuri can at least appreciate the romantic dramedy going on between Bernice and Georgia.

And boy, do we need it. Nothing explicitly horrific has happened yet, but the story does appear to be heading in that direction, and in a good way. There’s a slow buildup to the horror, culminating with that effigy of Emmy at the end, standing atop a pile of refuse and bones. Yeah, that doesn’t look creepy at all.

Speaking of which, the Fair Folk themselves have a really interesting design that adds to the whole atmosphere. They haven’t done anything horrific yet, but they look the part. Flaming skeletons, blind salamander things, things with sharp claws and too many teeth, the works. And then you have bunnies and opossums mixed in. Not sure what’s up with those fae. My guess is that they will be surprisingly horrific if they turn violent. For some reason, I’m strangely eager for that to happen.

Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 ~ The Bad

I guess my sole complaint about this comic book is how the story left us on a cliffhanger. It’s not as bad as, say, RWBY cliffhangers, but it’s still a bit bad. I can only wait for the next issue to find out what happens next.

Conclusion

Tales From Harrow County: Fair Folk #1 is pretty much a yuri story, with some creepy fae mixed in. Save for at the end, when it suddenly turns into a creepy mystery due to that Emmy effigy the fae are keeping around. Why? Well, we will just have to find out next time, when the next issue of this horror comic book series from Dark Horse Comics arrives on August 18, 2021.

Source: Dark Horse Comics