Is there a more terrifying comic book coming out this October than The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #1? Given I haven’t read every comic coming out that month: I do not know. But having checked out an advance copy of the IDW political horror thriller, it’s clear that any other book being released during the spooky season will be given a run for its money.
Written by Hannah Rose May with art by Vanesa Del Rey, the new series is the perfect melding of The West Wing and Mike Flanagan’s The Haunting of… series. It focuses on Kelly Doyle, the first woman President, who is trying to balance preventing a full-scale global conflict with being a mother to two teens. But rather than being a “can women have it all” Lifetime-style story, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is suffused with dread at every moment, thanks in large part to Del Rey’s terrifying pencils.
The twist here is that this is a similar structure to any “family moves into a new house that may be haunted” story… But setting it in the White House amps up the stakes — and tension — to unbelievable levels. May carefully takes her time exploring the four main characters: President Doyle, her desperate to fit in son Kevin, her doom-scrolling daughter Mara, and her doctor husband. And subsequently, we, the readers, begin to care about them. But always lurking in the background — sometimes literally — are the demons that are haunting them.
What makes this work is that the book expertly parallels our current fears of burgeoning war and nuclear annihilation, gives us a window character in a President who understands the job and the challenges inherent but still may be in over her head, and then adds demons to the mix. And goddamn those demons are scary. If you spent hours looking for hidden ghosts in The Haunting of Hill House, you’re going to comb through every panel of this book to discover what Del Rey has hidden throughout. Ably assisted by Jordie Bellaire’s colors, every panel is loaded with simmering terror: skies are always dark and stormy, except when reddened through nightmares, shadows looming everywhere.
The panel layout, too, helps build the dread. It tightens over time, building the claustrophobia of four characters living in — and perhaps trapped in — one of the most famous houses in the world. The pages rise and flow, with Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou’s letters deftly guiding you through the action.
Particularly during a Presidential election season already filled with real-world dread, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is the perfect book for our times. Get ready to vote this November; but first, get ready for the scare of your life this October at your comic book shop.
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #1 hits stores on October 16, 2024, from IDW Publishing.
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #1 Rating:
The Exorcism at 1600 Penn #1 Official Synopsis:
This October, IDW debuts a chilling new four-issue original supernatural horror series perfect for fans of the Nice House on the Lake and the Haunting of Hill House.
From the pen of rising comics writer Hannah Rose May (Rogues’ Gallery) and acclaimed artist Vanesa Del Rey (Scarlet Witch).
Kelly Doyle has just been elected the first woman president of the United States of America, and boiling political tension could spill over at any second. Having to balance being a mother to two teenagers and navigating the shifting media landscape, all while preventing World War III, has Kelly spread thin, but she could never predict that the nation’s hallowed halls would soon become a demonic battleground for good versus evil.
