While I don’t not think that Shadow Hills by Sean Ford is “OMG BEST BOOK EVER” there was something about it that “grabbed me.” The surface stories are a plague story and an environmental story. But there is also family dynamics at play for two of the main characters. Brothers Cal and Will’s story might be ending but sisters Annie and Dana are starting new. The town is a mess and the ooze (a tar like goop that devours/covers its victims) makes things worse. What is the point? What is happening? There are twists and turns on a straight road. Contradictions and logical 
pathways are in place. My biggest complaint is (SPOILER) the “magic cure” is psychedelic mushrooms. I wish the author had found a non drug solution.
However, that aside, the entire package is a mixture of mystery, horror, thriller, drama, literary and both obvious and confusing elements. The town of Shadow Falls, as Annie says, has always had a darkness over it. She just does not realize how dark it has been and could be. As a young girl, her twin sister Dana, disappears. This is just one of many darkness events for Annie. But she also has the darkness of the past she did not realize she was fighting until her old friend Cal, comes back to town. And he must face the old darkness of living in his older brother, Will’s shadow, and the shadow of life that is left in town now that Will has taken over. It is not until this mysterious ooze shows up, devouring anyone in its way, do they realize the past, present and future are colliding and they must be faced full steam ahead.
The art is the character that anchors the story. There are two main styles that you will see as there is a parallel story going on, first Annie and Cal, then another girl and a boy called K. (SPOILER) We will learn that Dana is not completely missing (however, time plays tricks on us and that is not seen right away, unless you look very carefully), she is hiding in the caves with a boy who does not speak, who she calls K. (END OF SPOILER). The colors change as does the font. We see several styles depending on who is talking, who is thinking and which story arc we are in. There is oddly no real adventure, but there is heart-pumping action, too. This is a graphic novel that had it been a novel I don’t think I would have enjoyed it. There is a sophistication to it that might not lend itself easily to no illustrations. The sparse text makes the art hold up its end to keep things moving.
Did I love this book? Not really. Did I like this book? Not really. Did I hate this book? Not really. This graphic novel is something you need to slowly work your way through. I read via an online reader copy, and recommend you find a finished copy when it comes out mid-October 2023 to fully be immersed in things. 
