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E. M. Carroll

イー・エム・キャロル

E. M. Carroll

Aliases: Emily Carroll
Pen Names: Emily Carroll（Previously credited name; used on earlier webcomics and publications.）

Profile

Gender
Unknown
Born
1983-01-01 （London, Ontario）
Nationality
Canada
Languages
English
Residence History
London, Ontario (birthplace) → Stratford, Ontario (based there as of 2014)

Career

Occupations
comics author, illustrator, animator, graphic novelist
Active Years
2010-

Education

—
Educated as an animator; specific institution not specified in sources.

Awards

Joe Shuster Award
2011
Work: His Face All Red, Dream Journals, The Death of José Arcadio, Out the Door, The Hare’s Bride (works from the prior year)
Category: Outstanding Web Comics Creator
Organization: The Joe Shuster Awards
Result: winner
Joe Shuster Award
2012
Work: Margot's Room
Category: Outstanding Web Comics Creator
Organization: The Joe Shuster Awards
Result: winner
Joe Shuster Award
2019
Work: Beneath the Dead Oak Tree
Category: Outstanding Cartoonist
Organization: The Joe Shuster Awards
Result: winner
Doug Wright Award (Pigskin Peters Award)
2014
Category: Pigskin Peters Award (実験的／前衛的作品を顕彰)
Organization: Doug Wright Awards
Result: winner
Doug Wright Award (Best Comic)
2024
Work: A Guest in the House
Category: Best Comic
Organization: Doug Wright Awards
Result: winner
Eisner Award
2015
Work: Through the Woods
Category: Best Graphic Album—Reprint
Organization: Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
Result: winner
Eisner Award
2015
Work: When the Darkness Presses (short story)
Category: Best Short Story
Organization: Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards
Result: winner
Ignatz Award
2015
Work: Through the Woods
Category: Outstanding Artist
Organization: Ignatz Awards
Result: winner
British Fantasy Award
2015
Work: Through the Woods
Category: Best Comic/Graphic Novel
Organization: British Fantasy Society
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

His Face All Red

2010 webcomic / horror

A short horror webcomic released around Halloween 2010 that went viral; noted for vivid colors and unsettling narrative.

horrorfairy-tale motifstransformation

Through the Woods

2014 graphic novel / horror

An anthology collection containing four original short stories and a print adaptation of 'His Face All Red'; features fairy-tale-like, unsettling horror tales.

isolationguiltallegorical horror

The Hole the Fox Did Make

2014 webcomic / horror

A short webcomic created in a limited format to explore how to generate unease within a constrained space.

uneaseexperimental structure

Margot's Room

2014 interactive webcomic / horror

An interactive webcomic presenting a child's bedroom; clicking objects reveals parts of the story. A poem suggests a reading order but it can be read in any order.

memorychildhood roomambiguity

Some Other Animal's Meat

2016 webcomic / horror

A 2016 short webcomic later adapted as the episode 'The Outside' for the Netflix horror anthology 'Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities'.

supernaturalisolation
Adaptations
  • [TV/film (anthology episode)] The Outside (2022)

When I Arrived at the Castle

2019 graphic novel / dark fantasy

Published in 2019; a graphic novel written and illustrated by the author. Praised for its depth and capacity to scare, inviting multiple readings.

power and victimhoodmoral ambiguity

A Guest in the House

2023 adult horror / graphic novel

A 2023 adult horror graphic novel noted for its dense, unsettling atmosphere.

adult horrorinvasion and boundaries

Bibliography

  • Through the Woods (2014)
  • Ann by the Bed (Frontier #6, 2014)
  • Baba Yaga's Assistant (illustrator, 2015)
  • Beneath the Dead Oak Tree (2018)
  • Speak: The Graphic Novel (collaboration, 2018)
  • When I Arrived at the Castle (2019)
  • A Guest in the House (2023)

Adaptations

  • Gone Home (2013 indie video game — provided illustrations)
  • The Yawhg (2013 — provided artwork)
  • Some Other Animal's Meat → adapted as 'The Outside' for Netflix (2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
fairy-tale-like yet bleak visualsstriking color palette and experimental layoutswebcomic-friendly pacing and screen-oriented suspense
Recurring Motifs
isolationguiltambiguous endingsfairy-tale / folktale elements

Legacy

E. M. Carroll began in webcomics and gained international recognition for an atmospheric, distinctive visual voice. Recipient of multiple awards including Eisners, Ignatz, and Joe Shuster Awards, Carroll has shown new possibilities for horror across web and print media.

In Popular Culture

  • Adaptation of a short work into an episode of a Netflix horror anthology
  • Influence on game culture through artwork contributions to indie games

Quotes

  • Beautiful, yet delicately sinister, fairy-tale comics evoke a feeling of isolation that twists into suspense.
    Source: Room magazine (interview) (2014)
  • 'His Face All Red' seemed a break from that when it hit me. And it hit a lot of people.
    Source: Critic Joe McCulloch (2010)

Trivia

  • Began publishing webcomics in 2010; 'His Face All Red' went viral around Halloween 2010.
  • Provided illustrations for the indie video game 'Gone Home' (2013).
  • 'Through the Woods' won Eisner, Ignatz, and British Fantasy Awards (awarded in 2015).
  • Married to Kate Craig.