• Night of the Ghoul #1
    Night of the Ghoul #1
    Artist:
    Francesco Francavilla
    Colorist:
    Francesco Francavilla
    Cover Artist:
    Francesco Francavilla
    Letterer:
    AndWorld Design
    Price:
    4.99
    Publisher:
    Dark Horse Comics
    Release Date:
    2022-10-05
    Writer:
    Scott Snyder

Horror movies have evolved to incorporate computer graphics and fake gore. But there was a time when light and shadow danced together to create Gothic horror of epic proportions. Great names like Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, and Max Schreck became synonymous with their onscreen personas, haunting the dreams of the masses. Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla's latest endeavor pays homage to the horror movies of yore with a twisted new tale that curses the living world with a walking nightmare. A Dark Horse Comics publication, Night of the Ghoul, has recently landed a movie deal with 20th Century Studios with Rob Savage attached to direct.

Night of the Ghoul #1 collects the first and second issues of the series, taking the reader from a late-night ride to an assisted living housing to the wartorn trenches of World War I. Forest Inman is a big retro horror movie fan who has taken his son along to meet cult classic director T. F. Merrit, who is currently living under a pseudonym in a hospice. Inman confronts the withering old burn victim about his unreleased movie, Night of the Ghoul, a film poised to be just as legendary as Frankenstein or Dracula. Merrit reacts violently to the mention of the name. Slowly, the former director opens a can of worms, revealing secrets about the film's antagonist and the reality of his captivity that can put Inman and his son in grave danger.

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Night of the Ghoul #1 Hospice

The best way to describe Night of the Ghoul #1 is to relate it to an onion. Not because of the layers in which the story unfolds but because of the spiraling storytelling that invites readers to dig deeper and deeper into the dark mystery as the situation itself spirals out of control. Writer Scott Snyder forgoes flashbacks by dividing the narrative structure into present-day and fragments of an old reel, painting a clear picture of a past that has allowed a restless evil to seep through the cracks of history. Snyder is careful not to reveal the real monster behind the story, always using tricks or glimpses to maintain a claustrophobic and tense atmosphere.

Francesco Francavilla is the mastermind behind the overwhelmingly dark aesthetics of Night of the Ghoul #1. The bold hatching lines claw out from underneath his colors. A master of vintage poster style art, Francavilla turns up the horror to an eleven with simple lighting tricks taking inspiration from the classics. The artwork shines in the portrayal of garish, disfigured faces and finds solace in the agitated and harrowing expressions of its prisoners. He distinguishes between the past and present using a muted sepia tone to remind readers of the historical affairs afoot and of the book's main theme -- movie magic!

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Night of the Ghoul #1 The Ghoul

Night of the Ghoul #1 raises the bar for comic books in the horror genre simply by following the rules established by old thrillers. Snyder knows that the real scare is not the monstrous designs but the feeling of an insidious presence at every step of the way that keeps the audience enthralled and invested. The story twists and turns, keeping that feeling in mind, using cliffhangers as the ideal scare tactic. Night of the Ghoul #1 is poised to be something special, and with a silver-screen adaptation on the horizon, the franchise is destined for a cult-classic appraisal.

Night of the Ghoul #1 was originally published on ComiXology in Oct. 2021 and was first reviewed for CBR by Sam Stone.