Long thought to be an urban legend in the underground music scene of Redondo Beach, Poser is back to carve a gory slash through the heart of the Los Angeles South Bay!

I’m not much of a horror fan. My enjoyment of the genre is limited to some very specific films and comics but as a whole, it has never been my thing. So, I’ll admit I was a bit nervous diving into the first issue of Poser written by Matt Miner. Miner delivers a comic with some familiarity to it (a little bit of a I Know What You Did Last Summer vibe) but more than enough to make it stand out from the pack. The setting Miner has placed this slasher comic is in the punk rock music scene, something that already makes it stand out from the sleepy town or isolated area these sorts of stories stick to. But, Miner also knows the genre building up the characters and giving us various headfakes already as to who the killer might be. In that way Miner plays with tropes and creates something new at the same time. The setting, the characters, it’s all a little different. We don’t have the typical jock, cheerleader, nerd set up.

Poser plays with things more than enough to keep us on our toes while also sticking to what works in the genre so well. There’s the sudden appearance of a person who’s wearing a similar outfit to the killer. There’s the opening that puts you at ease at first building tension to a cathartic scare. And there’s brutal killings already brought to “life” by Clay McCormack.

I’m not a fan of horror and absolutely not a fan of over the top gore, but McCormack’s deliver of each death is done in such a way that it’s both gory and humorous just over the top enough to make one laugh. That balance is key for me as far as enjoyment and I’m well aware that will vary with each reader. The characters too have a great design from McCormack who adds lots of detail to each so that we can learn even more about them without spending valuable pages teaching us.

The comic is a great one blending horror and music together. There’s a download code for the original soundtrack to Poser with music by Joel Grind. Published by Waxwork Comics, this isn’t too surprising but it’s a nice combination and hopefully we to see more of this combo of music and comics down the road. If you like horror, comics, and/or a little punk, Poser #1 is a solid start that takes some traditional horror cliches and has some fun with them to keep the reader entertained.

Story: Matt Miner Art: Clay McCormack
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy

Waxwork Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review