>After many lonely years, Abby's just gotten married. She met her new husband — a recently widowed dentist — when he arrived in town with his young daughter, seeking a new start. Although it's strange living in the shadow of her predecessor, Abby does her best to be a good wife and mother. But the more she learns about her new husband's first wife, the more things don’t add up. And Abby starts to wonder... was Sheila's death really by natural causes? As Abby sinks deeper into confusion, Sheila's memory seems to become a force all its own, ensnaring Abby in a mystery that leaves her obsessed, fascinated, and desperately in love for the first time in her life.>Emily's masterful balance of black and white, surreal colors, rich textures, and dramatic lettering is assured to bring this story to life and give readers a chill up their spine as they read.Going to try to storytime A Guest in the House by E. M. CarollIf you're familiar with Through the Woods, it's by the same person
Bump if you're reading
>>156029795Sure
Previous page is blank
>>156029861nice colors
>>156029965Seems fine
>>156029792The premise reminds me of du Maurier's Rebecca.
>>156029930>I'm no prize either>>156029950>I'm almost 30The 90s must've been wild. Today she'd have to be 40ish or a single mom to think like this.
>>156030714The dentist likes 'em thicc.
>>156029792bump
Once again, a lesbian ruins everything.
>>156030359>>156030376>>156030399someone is gonna have to explain this to me when it's over
>>156031082A schizo-affective lesbian, even.
>>156030399That's hot.
>>156031182looks like the plot of Rebecca, but the new wife is a schizo lesbian deep in the closet.
>>156031649amogus
>>156031395well dang
>>156031727cute & smart kid
>>156031908>>156031926Brutal. Her hair was cute before; that hairdresser ruined it.
>>156031231Anon it's neat seeing someone reference or even know what schizo-affective is
>>156031963please enlighten us
>>156029792The thumbnail (too small to read the artist's name) made me think of Will Eisner.
>>156032149hot
>>156032631Uh oh
>>156032673>>156032688Now this is a twist.
>>156032740Fuck, this is miserable. Just divorce already.
>>156032935Hell yeah get that ghost pussy Abby.
>read western comics bro>reads it>pseudointelectual dykeshit verbose Every single time
>>156031204>>156032886What is wrong with the tomatoes in this town
>>156033017>>156033036Ghost murder time! Finally. Also Abby looks like she's aged 20 years since the start of the comic. The "ghost" is haunting the life out of her.
>>156033055It's ground beef I'm pretty sure>>156033067Gussy get
>>156033067It's not too late to back out, Abby. Ghost pussy has to be mighty cold...
>>156033126Just say he slipped you are BLOWING IT, Abby
>>156033152This broad will enjoy being a witness in the trial.
>>156033228FUCK
>>156032648still would.
>>156033126she gotta learn how to hide it from that psycho bear milf
>>156033432New adverse childhood experience has been found.
>>156033310wait WHAT
>>156033459why do they keep spilling ink everywhere
Previous pages are blank
This page goes before the last oneMy mistake
And that concludes A Guest in the House by E. M. CarollThanks to all those who bumped
>>156033456Turns out little Sheila fella just went out for milk all along.
>>156033536good stuff OP, thanks for posting. specially loved the art. didn't get it at all, though.
Thanks OPIt was goodThis does not make me sympathetic to lesbians or ghosts
>>156033166>>156033444Should've kept a cool head then you would've had evil spirit pussy every night instead of getting got by the actual Sheila. Bad luck. Abby
So was Sheila's ghost just a hallucination in Abby's mind or an actual supernatural being manipulating her?
>>156033636Depends what you think about the door breaking I guess
>>156029792Thanks, OP.Is Through the Woods good too?
>>156033636I don't believe anyone was manipulating Abby, but Sheila was also stalking and breaking into the house. Dave has the worst luck. 2 out of 2 bad picks for a wife.
I like the art
>>156033345>>156033444So which one of them actually got stabbed? Abby?Abby delusionally saw herself as the knight, and sheila as the lady of the lake. But it turns out that Abby is the Dragon, Sheila is the knight, and The kid with the terrible haircut is the lady of the lake. That's what I'm getting from this. Also as a whole, fuck abby, fuck bpd girlies and schizos who don't bother learning how to self-regulate. Fucker killed her husband (I think) I kinda skimmed. and didn't even have a plan besides gaslighting her 'kid'. When mood swings and schizophrenia get to a certain level, I think it genuinely borders on sociopathy because of how little they care about how other people feel. Or moreso how much they only focus on their wants and needs that other people are completely drowned out of the equation.
>>156033682That was obviously sheila breaking in, as portrayed by the knight in the jungle
I think it's more fun if there actually was a malicious ghost fucking shit up.
>>156034299The glass broke from the inside, otherwise it would be all over the floor. But yeah it was probably Sheila. Kid lets her in while too sleepy to remember properly the next morning or something, she hears Abby up and about that night and breaks out in a panic to keep from getting caught.>>156032688
>>156034288>So which one of them actually got stabbed? Abby?Pay attention to the shirtsSheila stabbed Abby
>>156033326So she knows what Abby did and didn't just call the damn cops?>>156034288There's only one hand we can't see in that last shot and it's Abby's.
>>156034008>Deadbeat mother>Literal batshit insane loony timebomb>>156030341>>156030359>>156030376>>156030399>>156030410>>156029930It's really telling that Abby literally only sees David as a means to an end, A tool to center and affirm herself off of and not as another person. She also doesn't say she loves him, and even mentions him like as the 6th thing she likes about being married. What a psycho, Literally murdered an innocent person, and her husband no less off of a gut feeling and hallucinations. Honestly this IS a terrifying comic because there are people out there like Abby everywhere. I've had to interact with bpdemons and turbo schizos so many times, and the scariest part is that you can't fully put the blame for shitty actions solely on them, or soley on their condition, it's a sickening mix of both. It's a mix of unintentional AND intentional evil that really hurts. Someone who's too sick to actually change themselves in a large way, but also too self-absorbed to even want to change in the first place. Fuck I hate em. I hate to be that guy, but Insane Asylums need to come back (albeit much more regulated and humanely ran). Some people are so far gone that there is no hope of rehabilitation.
This is actually a lot better than I thought it would be. It looked like it was just going to be generic feminist horror slop but the subversion at the end was great.
>>156034836It definitely didn't go the way I assumed it would based on the synopsis.
>>156033957>Is Through the Woods good too?Yep
>>156033309>t. Abby
>>156033536Whata shit book. 200 pages till it starts to get interesting. Than it just became pathetic depressed sociopath lesbian.That comic defined a new over decrompressed storytelling!
>>156034427Honestly?I kind of like the idea that a ghost can just pretend to be someone who it's not to be more interesting than Abby simply going insane
>>156034684>So she knows what Abby did and didn't just call the damn cops?Yes, because Sheila is a scummy, selfish bitch.
>>156034427Certainly a good reminder not to trust ghosts at their word
>>156037339Problem is once you've started to see and hear the ghost and it knows, you're compromised. Your options after that are move if you're not being haunted or request an exorcism.
>>156031995nta but it's essentially having schizophrenia (delusions, hallucinations, etc) with another mental disorder (in Abby's case, most likely clinical depression)
>>156031332Poor Abby, she assumes that all compliments are inherently sexual
>>156030093What part of the upper midwest are they in that the kids aren't gamboling in the shallows of a lake during summer?
>all these anons saying Abby is schizoI mean, Crystal also sees her mom's ghost, so it seems more like a straightforward ghost story to me
>>156030212Bottom right pic is kinda metal.
>>156030229The normal natural process of drawing your dead ma crying blood as she leads you into a lake. That's at least worth a "You okay, sport?" even for Gen X parents.
>>156038987Did Crystal know about the divorce?
>>156038956They're in Canada
>>156038987yeah agreed
>>156037246But the cops would take Abby away and then there would be no one to stop her from taking the child back.>>156038987The things the kids says about the mom are pretty vague and basic. She's not looking in the lake for her mom because she's a ghost rising out of the lake but because this is a child and she knows her mom likes to swim. Abby is just drawing conclusions to match her delusions because she's deluded.
>>156038987Crystal made artwork of her own speculations about what happened to her mom because David left the west coast, came to this small village, and told people conflicting stories about what happened to her mom. Once you reread Crystal's behavior makes sense.>>156030989>Crystal says her mom looks differentThis is true because Sheila died her hair (she mentions having to touch up her roots much later) and has gotten really fat>>156031029>Crystal thinks Abby saw her mom in the flesh too and makes Abby promise not to tell>>156032267>Crystal tearing up pictures of her mom. In fact she stops making pictures of her mom after Sheila starts secretly visiting because she knows Sheila isn't dead (and also isn't thin and blonde anymore)
>>156033067Is it weird this was the song that played in my head during this moment?https://youtu.be/oE56g61mW44I know it's not a romantic song by the way
>>156031503>but the new wife is a schizo lesbian deep in the closet.Yeah I figured
>>156039281>But the cops would take Abby away and then there would be no one to stop her from taking the child back.You are not thinking like a bpdemon, anon. If the ex immediately called the police, she knows they're gonna ask all sorts of questions that she doesn't want to answer. How was the woman even supporting herself while stalking the house for months? We know ex was trespassing the property for a while, and Crystal might confess it by accident, which means jail and no custody for a while.
>>156033636Hallucinations can't break glass. I think David killed SOMEONE, then did his "Move to town and lie his ass off" routine twice, but didn't geek Sheila.
>>156039536>You are not thinking like a bpdemon, anon.You got me there. It's my only weakness.
>>156030237>>156031503>>156039446>Your latest graphic novel, A Guest in the House, is out now! Where did the inspiration for A Guest in the House come from?>It was initially inspired by a dream about monsters coming out of the ocean (and then returning to it as fleshy ribbon worms), but suffice to say I dropped almost all of that, and now I’d say its major influences are “A Jest of God” by Margaret Laurence and “Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier.>The sequences where we get a glimpse into the main character’s fantasy life were the most fun to figure out, as those are the portions of the book not only in colour, but also involving the most gore and body horror. I find that the most enjoyable and soothing thing to draw.https://thenerddaily.com/emily-carroll-author-interview/
>>156033345Huh alright I was two for two with her being a lesbian and her husband being a "murderer" (not really) quite surprised and glad they went with the ghost gas lighting instead of playing the first two completely straight
>>156034703>Literally murdered an innocent person, and her husband no less off of a gut feeling and hallucinationsI like how it actually fucks with your expectations same with OP who you expect to be rage baiting us. You go in thinking this is a by the books supernatural Rad Fem comic and that the ghost is 100% real and 100% telling the truth that the husband IS a Bluebeard. Then nope it's possibly a schizo delusion but the ghost was absolutely full of shit with it's accusations.Very pleasantly surprised with comic.
>>156039622Again like some Anons said, it could have been Sheila
>>156029965> Being a wife and mother is the worst possible thing in the world Tired of this
>>156029792I've been a fan of Em Carroll since her online work like Margot's Room. I had no idea she worked on half of the stuff she's done since.
>>156039867>with your expectations same with OP who you expect to be rage baiting us.Anon that's the official description of the book
>>156033444>trips>that spreadYet another resounding victory for Hyperborean Hetero Stacies.
https://strawpoll.com/wAg3QN6kly8
>>156034684>There's only one hand we can't see in that last shot and it's Abby's.Part of me think it's left ambiguous since it's Abby being pierced but we see both of Sheila's hands on her back (assuming the left hand on her back is hers')
>>156041977you're projecting, badly
>>156043020Another?
>>156030237i guess the fear of marrying a murderer dates back to Bluebeard
>>156031395damn that's a fairly important thing to not tell the new mother of your traumatised child
>>156033126she's absolutely fucked herself over here do NOT take murder advice from a ghost
>>156034703did you miss the part where the dad lied constantly, including telling his community and child that her mother died by suicide?he didn't deserve to get murderkilled but that's objectively abusive behavior
Damn I wish I could get haunted by a hot lesbian ghost
>>156043054Perhaps because both are fucked no matter who stabbed whom.
>>156041607Sheila broke in without busting the glass, then Koolaid Man'd through the door? And she broke in while her husband was there despite being afraid lf him? It doesn't add up, it's ghosts.
>>156044707If Abby lives, she's a woman defending her house from a stranger. If Sheila lives, she can throw Abby under the bus for her Ex-Husband's death. It's unnervingly possible that either woman could talk their way out of this, leaving them alone with Crystal for the forseeable future.
>>156043306And Abby was too passive to call him out on it. Yeah he didn't deserve to be murdered, but Abby let him steamroll her until her delusion became too strong.
>>156043054Fair. The way I see it is in the real world Abby is stabbing Sheila and in doing so Abby has completely given into the delusion by destroying the real in favor of the Shiela in her head, thus the Knight persona or whatever you want to call it slaying them both. It was one thing to kill the husband, as she never really loved him and we see her trying to make plans and figure out what to do next, but with this act she is completely gone.
>>156044216What if being a lesbian was just part of the act?
>>156044788Abby could also blame the now dead Sheila for her husband's death
>>156045036You have to enjoy the ride. Like how people don't question whether vampires really liked their victims or was it all for the love of the game.
>>156044216Are you a lesbian yourself?
>>156029795bump
>>156034288I think the ambiguity was foreshadowed when Abby mentioned she cried when the knight died in the story only for Crystal to point out the knight didn't die at all
>>156039331Yeah that convinces me
>>156046134Yeah
>>156029950I like that bird sweater
>>156029792oh hey emily is back writing
>>156042000>bitch made a 100 dollar donation and bragged about it
>>156031289aaw, they're codependent together :)
>>156033444I'm thinking Abby stabbed herself after realizing that Ghost Sheila was just a projection of her own delusions of grandeur all along
>>156033444There's a Dark Souls joke here somewhere
Spooky reading bump
>>156030212Crystal also saw the ghost
>>156034703>doesn't say she loves himThat's what marriage was for a vast majority of people throughout history: we kinda-sorta get along, let's make a baby. Piggies like you really believe they deserve this great love story.>I've had to interact with bpdemons and turbo schizos so many timesNo, you fucking didn't. You sound like those chicks that claim every boyfriend they had was a narc or a psycho. You're not that guy. Get over yourself.
>>156031277>socks and sandalshes up to no good
>>156032631Now you done it
>>156033310reila? ruh roh
Oh wait, Im a big retard. The old lady neighbor was actually Sheila. Oooooooohhhhhhhhh that makes way more sense. After Abbeys co-worker said the neighbors house has been empty for years I thought there was another ghost at work. So then the dad was telling different people different lies about how his wife died, and was innocent of any murdering?
>>156055971Read the thread
>>156029792I really did not see that twist coming at the end. Great art!
>>156033444Chuunis always lose.
>>156056005This. I remember when 4chan would chase out the tryhard permavirgins
>>156033444MMMMMMMMWHATCHA SAYYYYY
>>156033264cool page. one thing i like about comics as a medium is that you can do things like this.
Bump for others
>This many people complaining about AbbyYou guys actually met a girl like her?
>>156063051You guys actually met a girl, for that matter?
>>156057523Can a near 30 something woman really be a chuuni?
Reading
Great shit
>>156065506Chunnibyou is a disease of the mind that transcends age and sex.
>there was no ghost and it was all in her schizo head>crystal seeing her moms "ghost", was her actually seeing her mom visiting and why she tells Abbey to not tell her dad
Nice to see people reading.
>>156068250But her drawings were of a spooky spirit who said she hated her and wanted to drown her in the lake.
>>156031968Getting her hair cut shorter is also a bit of foreshadowing
I really wanna like this, but the lesbian ghost angle is eye rollingly cringe. Everything else about it is good.
>>156069246Anon the story only works if at least one of the members of the couple is queerIf Abby wasn't bisexual and the ghost was male than that would mean David had to be gay since it'd have to be his husband for the story to still work
>>156068839Right? Literacy hasn't died just yet!
>>156062015Awww, that's very kind of you, anon <3
Thanks.
¡Gracias!
Reading bumpo for Halloween.
>>156069307>If Abby wasn't bisexualAbby appeared 100% lesbo to me. She's never shown any attraction to males in the whole story, and even when the cute pregnant hairdresser commented on her hair her thoughts immediately turned sexual. There's a subtle but funny moment when one of her coworkers clocked her with "Husband?" after she mentioned David one time.
>>156074303But Halloween isn't for another four days!
>>156075588Every day is Halloween in October. I don't make the rules that's just the way it is.
>>156068250was the hairdresser also a schizo then?
>>156076739The hairdresser wasn't perhaps taking the conversation seriously and was saying stuff because hairdressers double as conversationalists.
Yeah I actually liked this even though there's some stuff that didn't really make sense or fit in entirely consistently. Abby isn't particularly sympathetic for most of the comic but you can feel for her and her situation, especially when it seems David might actually be an evil person instead of just a kind of meh husband. And even at the end I wouldn't call Abby a "villain" because she's genuinely crazy and clearly thought she was avenging a murder. I think actually the part of the comic that makes Abby the least sympathetic is right here >>156031759 where Crystal is actually happy, David is happy, and you think Abby should be at least feeling more comfortable because Crystal is clearly opening up to her and with her around. But she just doesn't even care and even seems bothered. And the reveal and real twist was pretty good. It shows how messed up our expectations can easily be. I feel bad for Crystal who's the only genuinely sympathetic character in the whole comic.
>>156076739Probably
not bad
>>156030148Well that's fucking weird.
>>156065506Just look at the larping here: >>156033067 >>156032717
>>156030667>>156030680Was my immediately thought too.
>>156032811Hot.
>lesbians this, lesbians thatAnons, open your minds a little. Not for nothing Carroll mentions du Maurier. Who wrote about heroines who pretended to be a little boy who got pushed around by a hot older man.>>156030359>>156030376>>156030399This sound like she's just a psycho lesbian? And her refrain about "someday, me?" That's not a hope, anons. It's not even really a curse. That's a resignation. She's a girl, right? So someday it'll be makeup and boyfriends and marriage and babies. That's how it works. It'll just happen one day. Nothing for it. This is a big du Maurier thing too. Even in the less obviously "du Maurier working some things out" stories of hers, the heroine is often going "oh if only I was a man I could be taken seriously and beat up the villain. But alas I am but a girl, doomed to fall stupidly in love with some bad man."But Abby wants to be A Knight. Not necessarily a man, but definitely not just a woman. More importantly, the lesbian angle is because she wants to be a Knight and a Knight has a Princess. It's about the story of who she wants to be in her head and how she wants a "partner" who will reinforce that story. It's why she freaks out at the real Sheila. Cause Sheila is just her. She's another lumpy, melting woman. Not the perfect waif, or even the vengeful ghost. Just some fucking woman.
>>156081689>du MaurierYou're assuming /co/ even knows who that is
>>156081689Huh, interestingThanks Anon
>>156080903Not that good either
>>156083275>Bumping the thread from page 10 just to say this
>>156031172>>156031352>>156032717Other stray thing, Abby is both the dragon and the knight. You can see it fairly obviously in the scenes where she starts getting really into the "emotions" of the sequence. Weird demon tail curling out of the helmet like a tongue.Then we see it at the end. The ghostly beautiful Sheila, the wraith, the knight, the dragon, all arranged as echoes of the same being. It was all in Abby's head and they were all her. Who she wanted to be with. Who she was afraid of being. Who she wanted to be. Who she was afraid she was and wanted to kill. All were her. In the end, even the real Sheila was just her. Same worries. Same craziness. Same body. No escape for Abby, not even in fantasies any more. The dragon killed the knight in the end.Which makes this an amusingly accidental (unless...) reference to that comic where the set up was a character talking about being trans and wanting to get surgery to be a woman but of course the punchline was they wanted to and became a dragon instead.
