The Hill

• Writer - Paul Jenkins
• Writer - Bill Jemas
• Writer - Joe Quesada
• Penciler - Andy Kubert
• Computer Color - Richard Isanove
• Lettering - John Roshell
• Lettering - Saida Temofonte
• Ass't Editor - Mike Raicht
• Editor - Mike Marts
• Editor in Chief - Joe Quesada
• Lettering - Comicraft

Summary

  Kenneth drives Rose to the Howlett estate and says it was "built on a foundation of tears" (on a hill probably in late-Victorian Alberta). The elder boy died tragically; the mother went mad for a while; the old man is an unpleasant, self-made copper millionaire; but the father, John, is nice.

  Rose is a poor orphan girl, brought in to be a companion for young James, and Kenneth warns her to do as she's told. Groundskeeper Logan's boy, a charming lad known only as "Dog", greets her with a face full of dirt. Housekeeper Hopkins says the Logans are both trouble. John squabbles with the old man about how to use his money, and Dog steals James's hoop.

  Rose keeps a diary. The mansion is huge; James is sickly with allergies; Elizabeth keeps secluded; Dog keeps looking at her window; Thomas drinks and beats him. Over summer, the three children become friends.

  One day the boys hide from Rose; James falls in the water and can't swim; Dog rescues him; Rose apologizes for not watching him. John is just happy everyone is okay and sends Dog home with Thomas, who beats him, tells him to remember his place, and then offers him a drink.

  James gets a puppy for Christmas; John serves the help on Boxing Day, while the old man sneers; he gives Rose a new dress that makes her cry. Kenneth nabs Dog looking in the window; John just gives him a toy train, and the old man is truly outraged; they argue while James cowers. Thomas, drunk and jealous of upper classes, has his belt ready when Dog gets home, and he takes refuge that night on the snowy top of the cabin.