I’m running the risk of sounding like a broken record but “Nailbiter” #8 is another absolutely superb issue. This book is consistently outstanding and it shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon, which is a blessing.
WRITTEN BY: Joshua Williamson
ART BY: Mike Henderson
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: Dec 3, 2014
Reviewed By Torin Chambers
We’ve been with these people for 8 months now and it shows. We have an excellent sense of who these people are, what drives them, how they see themselves, and in turn how the world around them sees them back. Our care for their safety and wellbeing is at an all time high, which makes life or death situations altogether more immediate and visceral.
Williamson is on track to cover as many phobias as possible over the course of Nailbiter’s run. He’s done body horror, cannibalism, fire, stabbing, and now this month we’ve got bees thrown into the mix. That also means another potential serial killer/at the very least an incredibly unhinged individual. We open on a sight that should intimately familiar to any psychopaths out there: cutting off the wings and pulling out the stinger of a bee with an x-acto knife and tweezers.
Well at least it’s all set to the tender humming of “I’m bringing home my baby bumblebee,” that keeps it at a special level of unsettling. The especially cryptic dialogue that follows may initially come off as a madman’s ramblings but don’t take it lightly. There’re a couple other hints throughout the issue that make it almost sound like he’s really onto something. I’m sure we won’t understand the implications fully for some time.
This issue does an excellent job of juggling Finch and Crane in separate situations that don’t intersect. They’ve spent most of the series in more of a buddy cop capacity, so it’s super interesting to see them go about their own business. Finch especially because his scene would have gone down infinitely different if Crane was present. Without Crane to act as a moral compass of sorts for Finch, he’s free to dig even harder and get his hands dirty. Warren also gets a lovely moment this issue but that’s his extent of involvement.
“Nailbiter” is the pinnacle of horror in comics right now, it’s also a tense thriller, an emotional drama and it’s got a wicked sense of humor. The complete package any way you look at it, even under a tree this holiday season.
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Torin Chambers is a rad dude from the nineties who does film stuff or something. Thomas the Tank Engine is his favorite transformer. Find him on Twitter @TorinsChambers