Warning SPOILERS for The Low, Low Woods #2

There's a new type of horror at work in The Low, Low Woods from DC's Hill House Comics. With the book's heroines resisting the threat of both men and the natural world, our preview of the new issue proves skinless men who strike from the forest combine the two forces for an even more disturbing result.

The creation of bestselling horror writer Carmen Maria Machado (Her Body and Other Parties) and artist Dani (Girl With No Name), The Low, Low Woods wasted little time in creating an unwavering sense of dread in the world of El and Octavia, two teen girls from the dying (dead?) town of Shudder-To-Think, Pennsylvania. But where the first two issues used that dread to make even everyday life seem like a nightmare waiting to happen, The Low, Low Woods #3 looks to embrace the horror in a more... physical sense. And thanks to our exclusive preview of the coming issue, fans can be sure the story is about to take another turn in its body horror show.

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In the previous issue, the mystery surrounding the memory loss that kicked off this story dropped its first major clue. While El and Octavia both agree that they have no memory of the missing hours that began and ended in the town's movie theater, the true horror story came after. Confessing to Octavia that she discovered her underwear had been removed and replace inside out, El accused her friend of trying to run away, rather than face their reality. But their argument boiled over, leaving Octavia to walk home as El was left to comfort herself. But if readers were worried that Octavia would wind up in danger walking home by herself, the preview shows that it is El who will find herself in danger... returning to the spot where she and Octavia first encountered the 'Skinless Man' residing in the woods. And finding out just how little has changed. Take a look at the official preview pages below:

Low Low Woods Comic 3 Cover
Low Low Woods Comic 3 Preview 1
Low Low Woods Comic 3 Preview 2
Low Low Woods Comic 3 Preview 3
Low Low Woods Comic 3 Preview 4
Low Low Woods Comic 3 Variant

The final pages of The Low, Low Woods #2 introduced or re-contextualized the types of horror at work. First came the horror of the unknown, and the sense that El and Octavia had taken their first steps into the strange trauma and uncertainty the women of Shudder-To-Think are forced to live with. With El's confession that terror of not knowing seemed ready to give way to the horror of the truth. That may still be the next turn taken in Issue #3, but the presence of a skinless man attacking from within the Earth encapsulates the surreal horror Machado and Dani have created. There is truly no telling where the issue will lead when it's released, but readers can find the full solicitation details below:

  • THE LOW, LOW WOODS #3 (OF 6)
  • Release Date: February 19th, 2020
  • Written by: Carmen Maria Machado
  • Art by: Dani
  • Colors by: Tamra Bonvillain
  • Cover Art by: Sam Wolfe Connelly
  • Women with antlers like deer. Men in the woods with no skin. Coal mines, eternally burning underground. Just another day in the town of Shudder-To-Think, PA. El and Octavia find themselves on two separate paths. One leads to somewhere deep within the Earth, and the other leads to a small green trailer on the edge of town. There, the people of Shudder-to-Think, PA say, lives a witch. For a price, she can change you—and even make you forget that which you no longer wish to remember. But what is the price of remembering that which you have lost?

The Low, Low Woods will be available in your local comic book shop on February 19th, 2020.

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