The Exorcism at 1600 Penn by Hannah Rose May is a gripping horror thriller with a refreshingly unique concept. Set against the backdrop of the White House, the story immediately pulls you in with its bold and eerie premise. The narrative unfolds with a strong plotline, filled with suspense, dark secrets, and supernatural twists that keep you turning the pages—or in my case, swiping the screen.
The writing is sharp and engaging, and the pacing is just right to maintain tension throughout. However, while the story itself holds a lot of potential, the visual presentation unfortunately falls short. The graphics in the digital review copy were quite underwhelming. This was a real letdown because a horror thriller in graphic format relies heavily on visual impact to evoke fear and immerse the reader. Had the illustrations been clearer and more defined, the story could have delivered a far more chilling and immersive experience.
Despite the visual issues, I still appreciate the originality of the plot and the effort behind this work. I’d love to revisit this title again—hopefully in print or with a cleaner digital version—because the story definitely deserves better representation through its art.

"The Exorcism at 1600 Penn" by Hannah Rose May presents a unique combination of political drama and supernatural horror, set within the iconic White House. The story follows Kelly Doyle, the first woman elected as President of the United States, as she navigates the complexities of her new role while facing an unexpected demonic presence in the nation’s most secure residence.

May's storytelling is ambitious, intertwining themes of power, faith, and family with horror elements. The pacing is deliberate and builds tension gradually, which may appeal to readers who appreciate a slow-burn narrative. However, some may find the buildup a bit prolonged, with the horror aspects taking time to fully develop.

While it may not provide the intense thrills some readers might expect, it offers a thought-provoking narrative for those interested in exploring the intersection of power and the paranormal.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing the ARC copy for an honest review

Kelly Doyle has just been sworn in as the first female president of the United States. Her husband and their two kids move into the White House and have to get used to their mom's new high pressure job. President Doyle is dealing with international threats from day one, but her biggest threat comes from insider her home when one of her children becomes possessed. As the possession and international relations worsen, the Doyles must work together to save one of their own and potentially the world.

I thought The Exorcism at 1600 Penn was a solid attempt at its premise of what if an exorcism needed to be done in the White House. I read all the issues in one sitting and thought the story flowed pretty well, though I imagine reading this month-to-month might have left me desiring more, and even then I still think the book skipped some narrative steps to get to the exorcism. I did not love the art, I think it was a good style and there were plenty of striking images throughout, but the ARC I was provided was not the highest resolution so I was loosing detail. The characters were well-drawn enough for a miniseries and it was easy to follow all of the threads through the climactic exorcism. Not a perfect comic, but if you are looking for the story its trying to sell I think you will be satisfied.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW for a copy of The Exorcism at 1600 Penn in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this.

The artwork was neat, what I could see of it past the large watermark. That was one issue with this. I understand watermarking but, make it so you can still read and see the image if you’re trying to have people ARC read.

Then it just got a bit messy in some panels with too much going on and too many word bubbles.

The story was ok. Nothing that was so interesting I want to continue it though.

I was provided an ARC though NetGalley for an honest review.

I hate to say it, but good gravy this is bad!

DNF @ 63% and that's after really pushing myself to continue.

I just don't understand what the point of this is. Like, at all.

I absolutely don't get how the cover quote got comparing this to West Wing and Flanagan's shows...like, it's primarily set in the white house and there's spoops (kinda), but nothing about this is anything like those other properties. The comparison is frankly insulting to the prospective reader.

Why is this about the president's family?
What party is the president from and what are her politics? (a women in an interracial couple does not a manifesto make)
Am I supposed to care about any of the characters, beyond hating the bullies and shitty journalists?
Why the fuck is it banging on so much about fucking Havana fucking syndrome?

I am absolutely flummoxed.

There are bones of an interesting story here. A possessed child of the president and some spoopy creepypasta Havana Syndrome silliness could be something, but not in this poe faced, taking itself way too fucking seriously, absolutely falling into the Westworld Pretentiousnes Paradox.

I'm unfathomably bored.
I'm not in the least bit invested in anything.
My jeebies are decidedly unheebied.
I don't care.

I'm sorry.

I haven't written such a negative review on a long time, but this is the most milquetoast tin foil liberal nothing I've read in a while, and that would be one thing, but with the world and politics as they are right now, I actually find this comic insulting to my intelligence as well as being unbelievably fucking boring.

I'm always going to give an honest review.

I did not finish this one, it was hard to follow and the watermark in the middle was distracting and I did not connect with it

ARC courtesy of NetGalley.

I do normally love a demon possession story, and I'll admit that a lot of the full art pieces in this were really good. I really loved looking for the demon in the shadowy areas of the earlier panels too, definitely added a bit of tension in a way I don't think you could get from just a written piece of work.

At the end of the day though this was just your bog-standard demon possession story but with a really unnecessary presidential plotline alongside it. Obvious and not compelling, this exact story has been written hundreds of times before. Also, maybe it's just because I'm not American but... I just felt really put off by it all honestly, the presidential speeches and the war plot and whatever else. Just not for me. I also think the art style looked so unfinished which was disappointing.

As an aside, the watermark was really annoying in this, I know it's necessary but it was really distracting.

ARC Read: Yes, thank you to @idwpublishing for the ARC copy!
Format: Digital ARC
Genre: Horror
Pages: 130
Content Warnings: demonic possession, language
Rating: 🐆🐆🐆 .5/🐆🐆🐆🐆🐆

Synopsis: The first female president of the United States of America has her hands full with bloodthirsty congressmen, bad-faith reporters, increased foreign hostilities and more, not to mention balancing her marriage and the care of their two teenagers. But when an ancient evil surfaces among them, the halls of the White House become a much different kind of battleground, one that may cost them their souls.

Thoughts (assume minor spoilers):
This graphic novel collects the full run of the limited comic series The Exorcism at 1600 Penn. I subbed to this book because the ashcan preview my local comic book shop set aside for me looked compelling, and I’m glad I did.

I love a good possession story, and I appreciate the change in setting here. It takes that age-old political adage of “fighting for the soul of the nation” to its most literal. Rose May does a great job expressing outside of the possession story just how much technology plays a pivotal role in today’s political and social landscape. Del Rey’s frantic sketchy visuals keep your eyes on edge the entire time, and Bellaire’s muted color palette conveys a sense of dread that intensifies with each page.

Quibbles: I really did enjoy this book, so my quibbles are very minor, but - one, I wish there was more of the demon. Whether it be him manifesting more in the background, or wreaking more havoc up front, it would have been nice to see more. Two, and I realize this is a dumb thing to fixate on, but… where was the Secret Service during some of these scenes? The most egregious examples for me are when Kevin is pulling the prank, and when the major battle is happening in the final third of the book.

Overall, I recommend this one for folks who enjoy possession and demon stories.

Kelly Doyle is the 1st elected female president trying to juggle political tensions, the media and having 2 teenagers
the world on the brink of WWIII, kelly must battle not only international threats but the demonic possession of her daughter in this dark, gritty, modern political exorcist story

First off, many thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this book as an ARC! I greatly appreciate it!

This graphic novel had a really cool concept, and while I'm aware that this is just the first entry in a series, I can't help but feel like it didn't live up to its potential. It's not bad or anything, it just could be better. The art is fine, the characters are fine, the story is fine. It's just fine. I'll probably forgot I read this in a week, but remember the concept itself.

I'm also seeing rumblings about AI use in the reviews here, which is super yikes, if it's true. I'd like some clarification on that.

Three stars out of five for The Exorcism at 1600 Penn!

I thought the premise of this graphic novel was interesting, but I just never fully got invested in this story and always wanted something a little more from everything I read.

The Exorcism at 1600 Penn by Hannah Rose unfortunately did not live up to the hype in my opinion. This comic follows the new First Family of the United States and the troubles they face as they move their lives into the White House.

The comic felt very disorganised and overloaded with too many topics and plots, from political issues, bullying, strange military deaths, bullying, to demonic possession, this story didn't know where it was headed. The main focus of this read should have been the possession and demonic entity at play, however, this wasn't fleshed out until very late in the comic, and felt rushed.

It was difficult to enjoy and follow this story as it felt that you were trying to follow several different stories that were all rushed to a conclusion and climax in the last several pages.

A lot of the artwork was very beautiful, especially the darker panels.

I wish we got a more fluid storyline where the evil horror that had attached itself to the daughter was the prime focal point. More back story and detailed explanations of what, how and why for the demonic entity would have allowed for a more enjoyable read.

Thank you so much to the author and Netgalley for an ARC of The Exorcism at 1600 Penn in exchange for an honest review.

Chilling, provocative, and visually arresting, The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is a graphic novel that grips you from the first panel and doesn’t let go. Set against the iconic backdrop of the White House, the story unravels a sinister possession that threatens not just a family, but the very heart of the nation—specifically the daughter of the first female President of the United States.

May’s storytelling is sharp and suspenseful, while Del Rey’s hauntingly atmospheric artwork drips with dread, pulling you deeper into the darkness with each turn of the page. The tension within the First Family, layered with their fraught interactions with outsiders, builds a web of intrigue that feels both intimate and politically explosive. It’s a horror tale with gravitas, ambition, and a uniquely American twist.

You'll turn the last page both satisfied and craving more.

I would find this one hard to recommend. I didn't care for the artwork too much, and found the plot hard to follow.

When doom scrolling goes wrong!! This was a really fascinating premise. I liked the characters and the way they interacted with each other and the world. The art was really well done and it had a very spooky feel to it. If you like scary books, I recommend this one.

Firstly, the watermark on the ARC was a little too opaque and got in the way of the words and art that made it difficult for me to read through this with my dyslexia but I persevered and managed to finish, and what I read wasn't bad!

IDW usually puts out some interesting horror and horror adjacent comics, and The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is another for the collection... just not my personal collection. I'm not normally big on religious horror but the setting of this one, the White House, intrigued me.

Hannah Rose May tries to do a lot and mostly succeeds - there's commentary around doomscrolling, negative thoughts, bullies, politicking, reactionaries, religion, etc nothing annoyed me though I think a stronger focus on one or two of these things rather than a whole bunch would have made the story stronger. Her President is newly elected as the first female president (and while the political parties aren't mentioned at all, it's pretty clearly a JFK-type Catholic democrat) and she turns out to actually be a side character lol

The main characters in this comic are the President's kids, Kevin and Mara. Mara, pretty early on, starts showing signs of possession, which is mistaken as a number of other things due to the new situation the family finds themselves in, shortly after the new President takes office. Aside from one of the potential reasons for Mara's behavior being linked to Havana Syndrome, I don't think the setting makes much of a difference and this story would have been the same if it were just like, a student at the school.

Overall it felt very much like a filler episode of Evil. Which, Evil is one of my favorite tv shows so I'm not mad, it's just that I hoped for and wanted more. If you like possession or religious horror, it's not a bad story to check out though. The art is reminiscent of Ben Templesmith's work as well, which I enjoyed.

Loved this so much! Great graphics & plot! I knew I’d love the supernatural aspects, but I also really enjoyed the political aspects as well!

The Exorcism at 1600 Penn is a great story about a haunting/possession in the White House. It's really creepy. It's interesting to see how someone has to deal with being president and a haunting at the same time. It shows what someone would do for their family. It's a different concept and it works. Horror fans will enjoy this graphic novel.

A bizarrely creative premise grounded in gifted illustrations and a riproaringly adventurous plot makes this well-done graphic novel magnetic and compelling, and quite likely apropos in light of our currently divisive Society. Well worth the reading.

Thank you to NetGalley for my Advanced Reader's Copy of this book.

I absolutely love horror comics and this one did not disappoint. I loved the original storyline and the writing; I just wasn't a huge fan of the art, which is just my preference.