Nailbiter Returns is the horror sequel I didn’t know I needed. For seven issues the series has danced around horror tropes, and especially sequel tropes. It’s made fun of and had fun with them. As someone that’s not the biggest horror fan, this is an approach I appreciate. It’s comedic horror in some ways reminding me of the film Behind the Mask. Nailbiter Returns #8 finally pulls back the curtain like a messed of Wizard of Oz as we learn who’s behind the return of the Buckaroo Butchers.

Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson continue their at times over the top horror sequel amping things up by the end of the issue giving us reveals and motivations. Like so many horror sequels the motivations and plan is taken to 11, a somewhat ridiculous level and reason.

Williamson and Henderson are having fun with the issue delivering their usual comedic styling along with the horror. This isn’t one that’s meant to scare as much as laugh and entertain. It’s not a campy horror, there’s gore, but it’s hard to take things seriously. It’s tone is defined by laughs and ridiculous (in a good way) imagery.

Blood flies, eyes are gouged, and the heroes trip balls. It’s all done in a style and way that it’s hard to not laugh at. Like a Tarantino film, the violence is so over the top it’s meant for laughs.

Henderson and Williamson are joined by Adam Guzowksi on color and John J. Hill on lettering. The group lets the blood fly with glee. The series as a whole has featured art that’s popped and this issue delivers eyeballs that do too. Nailbiter Returns #8 continues the acid-inspired hallucinations playing it for humor and takes us to the past giving us a bit more history into the characters. There’s a lot packed in the issue and the art is no exception as there’s so much subtle storytelling with just the visuals.

Nailbiter Returns #8 is the big reveal of who’s behind the current game of murderers and we get the master plan which is… very horror sequel. There’s a goofiness to it all that’s hard to not sit back and just enjoy. The series continues to play with expectations and delivers entertainment with every issue.

Story: Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson Art: Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson
Color: Adam Guzowski Letterer/Design: John J. Hill
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics

I’m not generally a fan of the horror genre. The films and shows I enjoy tend to be more on the comedic end of things. They act as both a love-letter and send-up to what’s come before. Nailbiter in some ways did that, while it’s sequel Nailbiter Returns absolutely does that. Nailbiter Returns #5 switches things up a bit more taking the over the top game of killers into the point where the heroes are on the hunt.

Sheriff Crane is back! But now she’s sporting an eye-patch and has a very Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2 attitude. It’s time for our crew to switch up the game and begin to hunt the killers!

Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson have been nailing this series delivering a story that plays with tropes and expectations of this type of story. This isn’t just victims running from slashers, there’s also a bit of Scooby-Doo mixed in as well as everyone attempts to figure out what’s going on.

Nailbiter Returns #5 spends a lot of time focusing on Sheriff Crane and where she’s been. We find out how she survived and how she went underground in a fantastic sequence that once again “uses the rules” of the genre against itself and in that way has fun and honors what has come before.

We also get hints as to a bit more of what’s going on with the Buckaroo Butchers. That’s all mixed with the usual humor that this series is known for. Yes, there’s lots of blood and violence but there’s also a goofy aspect to it all. A killer is defeated by offering fingernails to chew or a trope of the killer running at the victim with arm raised with knife screaming. There’s just a style to it all that takes it from “scary” to “fun.”

That goes beyond the art but also the coloring by Adam Guzowski and lettering by John J. Hill. The use of black, white, and red is great never going over the top to be distracting with the amount of blood present. But, there’s enough to make it feel cartoonish in a good way. Hill’s lettering adds screams to pages and scenes that add to the atmosphere of it all. Like so much, it’s also over the top and full of energy that makes it all… fun.

Nailbiter Returns #5 continues the fun ride which takes a turn as our hunted heroes are now on the warpath. The series up to this point felt like a who’s who of serial killers hunting victims to up their body count. We’re at the part of the story where the game has turned with our heroes standing up and now hunting the serial killers. This isn’t a traditional outsmart the killer and survive, this is much more Terminator than Elm Street. It’s an infusion of a fun aspect that should make this series even more over the top and unpredictable.

Story: Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson Art: Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson
Color: Adam Guzowski Letterer: John J. Hill Design: John J. Hill
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics

Nailbiter Returns #2 is a hell of a second issue with twists and turns, some of which are completely unexpected. With a story and art by Joshua Williamson and Mike Henderson the second issue just surprises all over. With Sheriff Crane missing, Agent Finch takes her daughter Sharon to see the Nailbiter.

But, where things could easily go Silence of the Lambs, Williamson and Henderson inject a lot of humor to it. Warren has been locked away in a secret prison just passing his time. What has he been doing and why is he here? Finch and Warren explain it all and the trio together really take what could easily been a queezy concept and keeps it kind of light. Warren spins a tale that would be an awesome one-shot while Finch justifies his decision and recounts what he knows. It feels like a “cards on the table” type moment.

But, where things go from there is where it’s really intriguing. Williamson and Henderson flip the script in a way with two Buckaroo Butchers stalking a couple as their next victims and from there the comic gets really shocking as the rug is pulled out from under the reader. It’s really impressive and really entertaining. It also ups the action and pacing of the comic as it compacts expectations.

The art by the duo is fantastic with the addition of Adam Guzowksi on color and John J. Hill handling the lettering. The Warren scene which is just individuals standing around (lets face it a lot of this issue is) could easily be boring. But, the team delivers an expressive nature about Warren which both makes for interesting visuals but really enhances the fact this person has had little contact with the outside world. The art really stands out for the Nailbiter as his energy pops off the page and though he’s a killer… you kind of like him.

The series is fantastic and having fun with tropes and expectations with it being a sequel to a horror story. Like the best, Nailbiter Returns #2 plays with things keeping the readers on their toes and not expecting what to happen next. It creates an excitement and energy about it that’s a hell of a lot of fun to read and experience. It’s a sequel I didn’t know I wanted but two issues in, beyond happy it’s here.

Story: Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson Art: Joshua Williamson, Mike Henderson
Color: Adam Guzowksi Letterer: John J. Hill
Story: 8.5 Art: 8.5 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – TFAW – Zeus Comics