Night of the Ghoul

Product Information

Night of the Ghoul began releasing in October. The story centers around a film sharing the same name as the comic. This film was destroyed in a fire, left unseen. However, the film has been rediscovered, and while damaged, it still has a lot of story left to tell. Crossing between the film's events and the events of the present involving the film's director, this horror comic is a must-read series. Why only 3 stars then? While it was a good horror tale I thought it was going to be brilliant. It became less of a surprise and the ending was such a popular horror trope that it felt like it didn't belong.

This series has a lot of promise. Yet, there is a niggling familiarity to it that I currently can't put my finger on. I certainly haven't read this before and it isn't anything like the previous Snyder comics and graphic novels I've read. Maybe it'll come to me as I delve further in. Kurvafix tohle je dobrý jak chleba a i kdyby další issues stály za uplný nic, tak první bude pořád jedno z toho nejlepšího, co jsem v rámci žánru kdy v komiksu četl. I enjoyed the 2 narratives that slowly came together. I liked the art which was very evocative and scary with just the right level of horror and I thought the writing really strong.The writing gets sloppy and incorrect, the dialogue gets cliche and revolves around characters explaining big exposition points that they shouldn’t even be aware of. It really falls off hard in the second half with an anticlimactic ending. This opening issue finds a father and son travelling through the night to hospice of sorts. They are hunting for the infamous T.F. Merrit, writer and director of the infamous horror film, The Night of the Ghoul. A film that was lost to a fire shortly after it's first screening. Forest and his son convince the staff to allow them to see T.F. Merrit, going by a different name, under the guise of being insurance agents there to review some final details about Merrit’s insurance, now that he is at the end of his life. When Forest finally meets Merrit, he tells him everything he knows about him and the admiration he has. Merrit agrees to tell Forest the true story about The Night of Ghoul and how everything around them is not what it may seem.

I don’t think I can praise Francavilla’s art enough. He captures the eerie, unnerving, and suspenseful feeling that horror movies give you as a little kid, and even as an adult. I don’t mean the slasher, or almost comedic violence kind of horror movies. I mean the ‘what’s in the shadows’ or ‘around the corner’ feeling of dread. It’s the lovecraftian terror of not knowing what you’re even afraid of that’s ever present Francavilla’s art and is what makes Night of The Ghoul so delightful. His colors are striking, vivid, and muted when needed, providing you that classic horror movie poster feel that much of the magic comes from. In any event, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at his art. The more comfortable he has become with his brush, the chunkier and less self-conscious his line has become, the freer his composition and the more assured his set pieces. He’s quite an ambitious artist, and he’s still getting better. Everything he draws just looks good. What more do you need to know?

Boží scénář je doprovozenej skvostnym artem a ještě lepším coloringem. Stejně jako scénář pokukuje po dobový stylizaci ale zároveň nekopíruje a je svěží.

Between the incredible Clear — which I gave a perfect 10/10 — and We Have Demons which both came out earlier this month, Snyder is on a roll. Night of the Ghoul has a lot of elements that feel familiar, but also new all over again. It features a World War II story told via the lost film which the main character details and may in fact be a cursed object. There’s a clear love of classic horror movies at work here too, which permeates the main character’s dialogue as he questions a very old man. Much like Snyder’s other works out this month, there’s nothing else like this in comics right now. Please, settle right in everyone! But first! A warning for pregnant women and the faint of heart, you might want to leave the theatre now... Because the film you are about to see--a film by me, T.F. Merrit -- is possibly the most horrifying story ever put to celluloid! And why? Because it's all true! It happened to me, you see. And now...it will happen to you too! May I present... Night of the ghoul!The premise has ingredients of what you want from a Scott Snyder comic, from his aforementioned tropes to reuniting with Francavilla, who also made a name for himself on another horror title, Afterlife with Archie. The story also taps into an important period of horror cinema in the 1930s, where the Universal Monsters such as Frankenstein and Dracula thrived. Originally published online in six issues as a ComiXology Original (and eventually physically released as three oversized issues by Dark Horse), it becomes apparent that Snyder is overly serving the premise, which becomes the main fault of the series.