Night of the Ghoul #01

Night of the Ghoul #01

ComiXology Originals 2021

Written by Scott Snyder

Illustrated by Francesco Francavilla

Lettered by Andworld Design

A dazzling work of horror, intercutting between the present-day narrative and the story of a lost horror film.

They say that Art Imitates Life or is it Life Imitates Art, of the truth something else entirely? This is something you’ll ask yourself after you finish reading this introductory issue. Forest and his son Orson open up the issue as they travel to see someone and this someone remains a mystery until Forest meets him face to face. Here is where the next twist in the story takes place. As a matter of fact this story is so hard to pin down as to what is real and what isn’t because there are so many decidedly wicked twists and turns. Once things get underway however the twists and turns only seem to ramp up as the real reason for Forest's visit and the old man’s story begins. This has all the earmarks of a classic horror film and with the way that Francavilla brings the words to life it takes on that appearance as much outwardly as it is inwardly. As this all conspires to tell a story that you don’t want to end as it grabs a hold of you and holds you tightly within its dark embrace.

I’m a huge fan of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter does wonders in bringing the characters to life. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story within a story within a story the more we wish it would continue.

I am very much enjoying the way that this is being structured and how we see the layers within the story begin to emerge and grow. I’m really impressed with how the layers open up different avenues to be explored and how they all run in this parallel course to each other just waiting to converge. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably achieved.

The interiors here match the mood, tone and feel of the story so incredibly well. There is no mistaking his style here and he’s got so much god given talent that it’s a pure joy to see on the pages. The creativity and imagination that we see on the pages is wonderfully demonstrated and seeing the old man’s visage is another layer of the onion that is this story. How we see backgrounds being utilised throughout the book enhances and expands the moments are beautifully rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masters eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours, or simply the black & white with shades of gray and sepia, being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a phenomenal eye for how colour works.

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I marvel at the dichotomy of straightforward and complex storytelling that is happening within these pages. With this being the third story thus far from Scott I think it might actually become my favourite and not only because it is a horror story but because the feel of the book is much different than what I’m used to seeing from him. There’s this passion, verve and chutzpah that shines through and it feels more like that labour of love, a story long suppressed that’s finally being set free. The writing is bloody brilliant and the characterisation is eerie yet calm and the way the interiors seem to heighten the emotions and feelings just ramps up how we view this tale.