Written by John Lees
Art by George Kambadais and Adam Cahoon
Letters by Jim Campbell
Published by Vault Comics

“Calling all scary movie fans!

Scotland, 1994.

Eighteen-year-old Thumper Connell still has an imaginary friend: the masked killer from his favourite slasher film. Thumper is obsessed with horror and always has been. He fills his time with scary VHS rentals and hanging out with his fellow fans, The Murder Club. But everything changes when his local video shop acquires one of the notorious films known as “video nasties” – films so scary, they’re the target of the British Moral Decency League’s crusade to ban and burn. But it’s only a movie, right? It’s all just imaginary, isn’t it?

A story about the perception of evil, the power of genre, the love of fandom, the need to create art, oh, and crap-your-pants TERROR!”

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Prepare to get your horror world rocked. The Nasty is a love letter to horror movies and fans alike as Thumper Connell finds out firsthand that legends surrounding movies sometimes come true. Everything about this story is pumped full of nostalgia and slasher movie goodness that will keep the pages turning so quickly that you might just burn a hole in the comic.

While George Kambadais’s art does not immediately elicit the feeling of horror, it is exhilarating and brilliantly bright. It is the brightness that captures you and brings you into safety before you experience the horror that lies within. From my familiarity with Kambadais’s work, it appears that Adam Cahoon brings more of the darker horror elements into the comic which really twists the brightness seen in Kambadais’s art. The depictions in this comic of the 1990s bring back a level of nostalgia for those that grew up during that time and really hit you hard with that feeling of wanting for the cultural zeitgeist of that time period. Jim Campbell rounds out the creative team with impeccable lettering as always.

Since I’ve been reading indie comics, I often gravitate toward horror comics. This makes no sense to me at all, because I’ve never been a fan of horror movies or shows. Since I’ve been getting into horror comics, I’m slowly starting to realize how good the genre is in all mediums. The Nasty has me so ready to go watch a ton of slasher-type movies now and be able to live in the scary times ahead. The relationship between Thumper and his imaginary friend/serial killer ripped out of a slasher film, Red Enis, is so interesting to watch develop and to not only see how it helps Thumper along but to see how Red Enis gets held back from his serial killer tendencies. Of course, things get creepy and escalate now that Thumper is older and imaginary friends don’t usually stick around this long.

If you’re a fan of slasher movies, creative plot twists, and 90s nostalgia, you need The Nasty in your life. I’m super hyped to read more of this awesome story from a creative team that is leveling up with each new comic they work on.

Rating: 9/10

The Nasty #1 is out April 5, 2023!