Review by Ian Keogh

Harrow County has tracked the progression of Emmy Crawford, from ordinary 1930s farm girl to the revelation that she’s the reincarnation of a witch murdered by the community eighteen years previously. That’s not entirely the case (spoiler avoided), but she has gradually come to terms with an ability to reshape reality. Despite this, at heart she remains the good natured young woman she always was, and protects the local supernatural beings, known as Haints, along with the local community.

Bernice has been an important supporting character from the beginning, starting as Emmy’s best friend, yet now greatly suspicious that the powers Emmy uses might be abused. To this end she’s apprenticed herself to a mysterious old woman distanced from the local community who has her own mystical knowledge and talents. Cullen Bunn’s plot for Hedge Magic cleverly exploits the differences between the friends, and Emmy being far less certain about what’s right than Bernice is. Both viewpoints have validity, and they’re coherently explained.

While Bunn’s scripting sets a tone, so much of what makes Harrow County atmospheric is down to Tyler Crook’s painted delicacy. He supplies an innocent Emmy and an angry Bernice and surrounds them in the darkness of the woods, barely illuminated by a lantern. At first glance the art seems simple, but it’s deceptively authentic and emotive, yet also highlights human emotions so important as a touchstone for the series. At heart Bernice wants Emmy to be her friend again, yet isn’t sure that can ever happen, and the way Crook draws her brings this sorrow out.

Over four chapters much changes in Harrow County. It’s not as if the old rules have been thrown out, but Emmy becomes aware there are limitations to what she can control, and that other protections have been in place. Bernice undertakes her own journey. What looks as if it’s being laid out for the long term is resolved in Hedge County, although not without cost, and it leaves Emmy aware that an earlier victory might have been too easily achieved. What’s for sure is no reader is going to want to miss Dark Times A’Coming.

This collection and everything that follows until the end of the series are combined in the second Harrow County Omnibus, while Hedge Magic is combined with the previous Abandoned in the hardback Harrow County Volume Three.