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Crownsville

by Rodney Barnes

A haunted institution and its buried history

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Awards & Recognition

  • Award recognition

    Winner of the 2026 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics

    The source identifies Crownsville as the winner of the 2026 award.

  • Editorial selection

    A Book Riot Best Comic and Graphic Novel of 2026 So Far

    Named a Best Comic and Graphic Novel of 2026 So Far by Book Riot.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A haunted institution and its buried history

Rodney Barnes’s horror graphic novel links a present-day investigation to the history of Crownsville Hospital, a segregated psychiatric institution for Black patients near Annapolis. After a death in the abandoned building is ruled a suicide, a police detective and a journalist investigate its past, including reports of neglect, abuse, and illegal medical experiments. The story spans a century and brings supernatural terror into contact with documented institutional harm, centering the legacy of a vulnerable community. This paperback collects issues #1–6.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in horror graphic novels rooted in the history of real institutions.
  • Readers drawn to stories combining a police investigation with supernatural elements.
  • Readers interested in comics exploring segregation and the treatment of marginalized communities.

Themes

Institutional neglect and abuseSegregationHistorical memorySupernatural horror

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Winner of the 2026 Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics
2026 Eisner Award Nominee
A Book Riot Best Comic and Graphic Novel of 2026 So Far

SINS OF THE PAST DON'T STAY BURIED . . . THEY ALWAYS FIND A WAY OF RISING FROM THE GRAVE! From Eisner Award-nominated writer and master storyteller Rodney Barnes (Batman: Full Moon, Killadelphia) and phenomenal artist Elia Bonetti (Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy), enter a century-spanning tale of suspense and sorrow as true crime meets shocking terror inside an infamous asylum with a tortured past.


Founded at the turn of the 20th century outside of Annapolis, Maryland, the Crownsville Hospital was a notoriously segregated, all-Black psychiatric institute. After decades of overcrowding and neglect-- alongside darker, more persistent rumors of patient abuse and illegal medical experiments--it was finally closed. Today, it stands condemned--a crumbling testament to a legacy of all-too-real terror inflicted on a marginalized and vulnerable community. But even as a ruin of its former self, Crownsville still casts a long shadow. . . . When an unexplained death inside the abandoned hospital is ruled a suicide, Annapolis police detective Mike Simms and journalist Paul Blairare are compelled to dig deeper, only to discover the reality of the horrors that once took place there . . . and the powerful connection they share to the anguished spirits of the dead that are still locked within its walls.

Collects Crownsville #1-6.
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