Recent Reads: Nailbiter, Maple Falls Massacre, and More

Posted on by Dustin Domingo

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It’s been ages, dear readers, and how I missed you all! In particular, this world of horror literature, and me writing about it. Fret not, for those who missed me! I come bearing gifts of recommendation for not just the usual reads but also a bit of an exploration into the art of illustration.

Nailbiter Vol. 1 by Joshua Williamson, et al (ISBN 9781632151124)

You know, I thought it was time for a change and I’ve always wanted to get into graphic novels/comics/manga. I feel like many great horror stories within that realm have been untapped because I haven’t taken that leap. I remember I did try to dip my toes into all that and got so far as the Nailbiter series. I used to have a hard time getting into comics because I found it difficult to appreciate the art while also focusing on the speech bubbles. Gosh, I’m exposing how much of a noob I am when it comes to this but I suppose this preamble is necessary for the stuff that I’m about to write about Nailbiter.

So there’s this town where the world’s worst serial killers come from. A detective disappears just as he’s about to be on the cusp of discovering the secret. It’s up to his friend, the local cop, and an ex-serial killer to find out what happened.

That’s what I’ve gathered based on my own read anyway. The back of the volume likens the series to Twin Peaks and Se7en, which is interesting and I do get that vibe. So as I was saying, I did get into this series before but I lost interest when I sort of fell out of love for comics because I was reading them digitally, which hurt my eyes. With physical copies, it helps ease the experience. Being bitten by the comic book bug after getting 30 Days of Night on DVD, I dug out my copy of Nailbiter: Vol. 1 and went to town. How I missed this.

Now, I’m more of a book and movie person so I’m merely approaching the material from a fairly inexperienced reader’s standpoint. However, I thought the plot was well and intriguing. The art style was consistent and seemed to fit the material well. I find that comics is a medium free from the restrictions that govern movies and the restrictions that come with just reading text from typical books. What I’m saying is it can freely get graphic and I’m just both amazed and horrified with the stuff on display here. I would love to get more recommendations for more horror comics/graphic novels/manga after this because this is some great stuff!

Nailbiter Vol. 2 by Joshua Williamson, et al (ISBN 9781632152329)

On to Nailbiter Vol. 2, we get the good stuff that we got in the first volume. There are some interesting developments in this one that push the story forward. The initial mystery we opened up with keeps getting complex and expansive. There are interesting morality plays here with some of the baddies’ motivations here as well as an appearance by a mysterious figure.

Speaking of appearances, a renowned creative in the comic book space makes a special guest appearance. It kind of took me out at first but I thought it was fun. It was meta and it never lost the tone that the series is going for. We finish the volume in an interesting place. It goes back to the morality thing that I was talking about earlier. Things are getting twisted up in here and I have a feeling it’s going to get messier and messier.

Maple Falls Massacre by Daniel J. Barnes (ISBN 9798500280626)

This book came from my 13th-month pay haul from 2023! I wanted to treat myself for a hard year’s work so I got a bunch of books and this was one of ’em. Daniel J. Barnes is a new author for me but I’ve seen his presence in the horror book social media atmosphere so I thought I’d give him a try. What grabbed me first off was the red on the cover and the title, Maple Falls Massacre! I love me a good slasher and that immediately brought me to that space. The official synopsis is all vague-like so I don’t want to say too much. The book quickly reveals what’s happening but seeing what’s happening is part of the fun.

What I will say is that there’s a remote Canadian town and a local legend comes to life during the snowy season. Is it a monster? Is it a mountain man out to get everybody or is it something else entirely?

I love me some mystery concepts in horror. I love movies like Barbarian and Malignant where it’s all scary and gory-like but there are still surprises within the story. I think Maple Falls Massacre sort of taps into that way of storytelling that really appeals to me, and yes, it is bloody violent. I did just find it a bit of a struggle to find attachment to the younger characters as a lot of them seem like cannon fodder for the evil lurking, save for the quintessential final survivor. That said, I feel like that’s what the book was going for and there are aspects to these characters that I liked seeing. They’re all a tight-knit bunch of different types of people and the author does a good job of making them sort of stand out than what their tropes would usually entail.

I did love the sheriff character, Patrick Russell. He’s sort of an audience stand-in being a newbie in town and we learn new information as he does and he gets a lot of quirks and amusing events happen to him that are fun to read about.

I think that’s what one needs to keep in mind going into this book. It’s fun! It’s very reminiscent of old-school horror with what I’m assuming is an English touch, based on the way some characters talk and how some things are spelled. That’s not a knock on the book. I like them! It gives the book a distinct identity.

Let Me Out by Emmett Nahil and George Williams (ISBN 9781637152362)

Next, I went and read Let Me Out by Emmett Nahil and George Williams. This is a graphic novel and continues my exploration of illustrated storytelling. I stumbled into this one when looking into more underrated authors within the LGBTQ+ atmosphere. I dove into this one straight away after Maple Falls Massacre and I don’t regret that decision though I am left wanting more.

First off, the art is gorgeous, and beautiful. I think this helps it stand out too — at least from the usual art styles I see in comics. This one is softer and evocative of innocence, which pretty much fits our main characters here.

The story is set in 1979 as the rise of Satanic Panic sets upon a community. Shady law enforcement uses this as a cover-up for some real shady stuff that they have going on, pinning a string of death on a group of queer teens.

One would possibly want to take caution before jumping into this one as its portrayal of open and accepted homophobia and transphobia is displayed here. As a cis gay man, it sends shivers down my spine to have a glimpse of what people like me and those within my community had to face. There’s some supernatural danger here in this book and they sort of pale in comparison to the horrors that humankind is capable of against its own.

Earlier, I said the art style fits this narrative and that’s true. Aside from portraying innocence, it also does wonders as a juxtaposition to the graphic events that occur within the book. The book culminates into a bloodbath and sadly, I am left starving for more as the book starts as a bit of a slow burn, then there’s a violent explosion in the final act, and then some things are left unresolved. However, I did notice in the first few pages that this is Volume 1 so it appears we can expect more from this world, which I will be looking forward to.

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Our Own Unique Affliction by Scott J. Moses (ISBN 9781738658565)

I can’t even begin to describe my experience with Scott J. Moses’ Our Own Unique Affliction, a tale of a vampire on a journey of bloody reflection. It’s novella length so it won’t take too long to read but there’s a huge amount of thematic depth packed in there that, while can be overwhelming at times for my pea-sized brain, it also spoke to me a lot. The prose is very poetic and the characters truly speak their mind with all the aches and pains that they’re going through. The book is sort of slice-of-life in the way that we are taken into what seems like a typical routine for our main character, Alice Ann. Little did she or I know that recent events would become much more pivotal to her journey of discovery. It is a tragic one but also all the more meaningful when she and her sister, Hannah Grace’s stories are revealed. I didn’t find my bones chilled or spine tingled in the usual way that horror does but I believe this is an excellent example of another way horror can be consumed.

There are segments of the book where it all gets trippy and I kind of liked that part even if I got lost in it because it served as a way of telling us our characters’ backgrounds but also it takes us where our character is at mentally.

In the end, this was a pretty interesting, bleak, yet still hopeful read.

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And this has been another round of Recent Reads for y’all! I hope you found something to add to your growing TBR lists, or if you’ve already read these, then I’m glad to know you’ve got an interest in awesome horror literature. ‘Till next time, kiddies! 

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