Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Nailbiter #5

Nailbiter, Vol. 5: Bound By Blood

Rate this book
Buckaroo, Oregon, has given birth to many infamous serial killers, but the worst was the Nailbiter. And now...is it possible he has a daughter? Could Alice's search for the truth about her parentage lead her to the origin of the serial killers? A new tale of bloody horror by creators JOSHUA WILLIAMSON and MIKE HENDERSON! Also collected for the first time, the NAILBITER story from the NAILBITER/HACK/SLASH crossover special! Fans of WYTCHES, OUTCAST, and THE WALKING DEAD will enjoy this thriller drama!

Collects: Nailbiter #21-25 and the Nailbiter/Hack/Slash short story.

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 2016

9 people are currently reading
440 people want to read

About the author

Joshua Williamson

1,484 books451 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
642 (31%)
4 stars
955 (47%)
3 stars
358 (17%)
2 stars
67 (3%)
1 star
8 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
Profile Image for Anne.
4,751 reviews71.3k followers
November 14, 2021
Only one volume left!

description

There's a crossover issue with Hack/Slash which I assumed would be a fun issue but ultimately pointless. Not so! You actually come back to what happens in this issue, so pay attention.

description

Alice ends up in the middle of a bloodbath after finding out that Crane and Warren are her parents.
The identity of the creepy dude with the horns is revealed.
PLUS MORE!
We're moving into the last phase of the story and I'm pretty freaking hooked.

Recommended!
Profile Image for Ivan.
511 reviews323 followers
November 2, 2016
At this moment this might be my favourite ongoing series from Image comics which is saying something since the have more than few good ones.

In volume 5 we finally get some answers as plot slowly unravels and things are starting to heat up. Only problem with this kind of series is that half a year wait between collected editions ( at least for us who don't read individual issues) is killing a lot of suspense.
Profile Image for Chad.
10.4k reviews1,060 followers
December 22, 2017
Alice is targeted by the horned butcher and his identity finally revealed. This is like Lost though. For every answer that gets revealed, three more raise their ugly head. And then some wacko out of place element shows up, like a polar bear on a tropical island. We get our first glimpse at the master, so maybe this thing is entering the third act?
Profile Image for James DeSantis.
Author 17 books1,203 followers
February 5, 2017
I didn't love this volume despite some big jumps in story.

Okay I think I just felt a little "bored" reading this one? Maybe because the begining effects are starting to feel off but Nailbiter just isn't capturing with moments like it did in the first few volumes. I especially didn't like Crane in this volume and she's usually my favorite character. Also the Hack/Slash crossover felt pointless, even when it did connect back to the main story.

However I liked getting the reveal of who was behind the black mask. I also loved seeing Alice finally make advancements in her story and she's becoming more interesting. The ending leaves it up to finally face off against the "master" soon and that does get me excited.

Overall a decent volume but nothing amazing. I had higher hopes for this one. Still a 2.5-3/5 though.
Profile Image for Rituraj Kashyap.
204 reviews40 followers
November 25, 2017
This is getting really frustrating. Everyone who comes to know about the truth says that it will change the world. But before they can share it with others, they either get killed or go crazy. Some even decide not to share it, for inexplicable reasons. Also, I hate the character of Nicholas Finch. Just because you're an information extractor (read 'torturer') with a temper does not mean you'll go around punching anyone you don't like. I'm not even sure anymore if he's the main character.
Profile Image for CS.
1,215 reviews
August 18, 2017
Bullet Review:

Here are the answers - PSYCH!! Wait until next issue for the REAL answers!!!

How did this get 6 volumes?!
Profile Image for Subham.
3,078 reviews103 followers
April 3, 2021
This starts off with a fun encounter between Warren and Mister fatal in the past and it happens in some ferris wheel and where Warren meets this girl named Cassie and Vlad and its a fun one but informs the current story about how Warren on finding out whatever happened to Alice and how she is related to him, jumps and goes to her while he and Finch are returning to this town. Then we have the whole plot of investigations by Shannon and Finch and we learn so many things like the secrets of this town and then the death of Dr Glory, the teaming of Warren and Alice, them going to school and the revelations of who this butcher in black is and a fun face off, more revelations and finally that shocking ending with Alice changes everything! This series was bloody perfect and the final arc setup is quite well done, as the MASTER finally enters!
Profile Image for Norman.
398 reviews20 followers
September 23, 2016
I really liked this arc. Not too crazy about the whole biological sci fi stuff that gets introduced here but quite a good read.
Profile Image for RG.
3,084 reviews
June 17, 2018
Great stuff. Coming to a conclusion but hopefully some twists with the reveal. Highly recommend this series!!
Profile Image for Jonathan Maas.
Author 31 books367 followers
June 10, 2017
An impactful end - for now, at least - to an exceptional series. Though the horror is brought up to a ten, everything else, from art to the plotline, is a 12/10, so it's worth it. Exceptional series! Garth Ennis/Warren Ellis level.
Profile Image for Marianna Neal.
557 reviews2,266 followers
November 19, 2016
I just loved this volume! My previous concerns about not getting closer to the mystery reveal are no longer valid - volume 5 really gave the readers a proper look behind the curtain, even though there are so many more questions to be answered after this. Great balance of character building, action, and that mysterious and murderous atmosphere I love this comic book series for!
Profile Image for Jessaca Willis.
Author 31 books258 followers
November 16, 2016
Finally, bis of the story begin to unfold! This installment was everything I wanted. It had back story! And we finally got to glimpse some of the Buckaroo secrets, even if they are still vague. It kept me on the edge of my seat.
Profile Image for Michael (Mai).
879 reviews105 followers
December 4, 2016
Another good installment. It kind of reminds me of LOST how it's all wrapped up in intrigue. I hope it doesn't just keep spinning with no end in sight like LOST did. I think the story could be wrapped up in one more volume.
Profile Image for Mori.
198 reviews41 followers
February 6, 2017
I NEED VOLUME 6 YESTERDAY.
Profile Image for Zedsdead.
1,375 reviews83 followers
November 22, 2021
Things get turbulent, melodramatic, and silly in v5. Another incarcerated Butcher is released to return to Buckaroo, and the Nailbiter partners with Hack/Slash's Cassie and Ivan in a nifty flashback crossover. We're given a number of abridged reveals.

Plot points:
Profile Image for Jon Hewelt.
487 reviews8 followers
August 1, 2022
Reviewing this after I finished the series.

Liked the story so far, but this is the volume where things started to go off the rails, and not in a good way.

Throughout the run of Nailbiter, characters keep alluding to bigger secrets and why they can't talk about them "right now". At first, it happened sparingly enough to overlook, but in this volume especially, there was so much "intrigue" happening that it was hard to ignore, and the sheer number of secrets delayed resulted in a lot of clunky dialogue.

The writing, in general, suffered a lot in this volume as the plot became more convoluted. I get that the creators are trying to have a conversation here on the nature of evil, on what makes a killer a killer, but the road to get to that conversation has become increasingly ungraceful.

It's a shame, really. The premise of a town spawning 16 serial killers lends itself to a lot of goofy, gory, schlocky fun. And there's still moments of that here. But as the series wraps up, it starts to take itself more seriously, and loses a lot in the process.
Profile Image for Mike.
1,587 reviews149 followers
November 19, 2021
Keeps on plowing ahead, doesn’t feel like it’s spinning it’s wheels to stretch out the sales volumes. Instead we get a big reveal of details behind the Big Bad and his plans, backstory, motives. Not all is revealed (identity, grand purpose) but it made me double-take - like, how are we getting this close to the truth with still three trades’ worth of story left to tell?

Makes me a little suspicious actually, that this isn’t the real problem in this town. Are we being played, misdirected? Is there some bigger subplot yet to be revealed?

Me asking this many questions is a good sign I’m engaged enough to force my way through the effort of reading (did I tell you how much effort reading even comics is for me?) to get to the end of this series.

But first, a word about the crossover…

A crossover comic with Hack/Slash sounds a lot cooler than it actually is. I tried real hard to get into Hack/Slash when it was big, and I found it was just tedious. Once the initial gag was played out, it was a whole lot less self-aware than it could’ve been - and it brought that same energy here, giving us a couple of guest star murder vigilantes without any hint of what to do with them to elevate the story.

Buddyread with Anne of South Carolina
Profile Image for SpookySoto.
1,176 reviews137 followers
January 29, 2018
Rating: 3.5/5 Very good 😁
Emotions:Interest, anticipation, curiosity.
Recommended if you like : Graphic novels, thrillers, serial killer stories, dark stories .
Would I read something else from this author? Yes

I liked this volume because it gave a lot of information about the town’s serial killers and the story advanced a lot. Can’t wait to read the conclusion.

I highly recommend this series.
Profile Image for Kate.
1,468 reviews63 followers
September 19, 2017
The aftermath of the revelations of the previous volume come to a head with Warren trying to help Alice, and meeting the Master. We also meet a few more Buckeroo butchers and some potential ones. We almost get an explanation for everything but not quite, which is fine and dandy by me. I am going to be so sad to be reading the final volume next but I also can't even wait.
Profile Image for Adriana.
3,539 reviews42 followers
June 9, 2017
Not as intense as the previous 2 books, but the plot continues to slowly and spectacularly unravel.
I can't wait to find out the secrets Buckaroo is hiding.
Profile Image for Sooraya Evans.
939 reviews64 followers
August 10, 2017
A secret revealed right at the very end of the previous volume gets explored further, with more focus on the Nailbiters daughter. Now, there's also a 'Master' conducting some kinda weird experiments behind it all. So, I don't think it's gonna be supernatural cause here.
Again and again, characters keep saying "if the world ever found out the truth..."
Out with it already!
Profile Image for Borja.
512 reviews132 followers
September 22, 2017
Aunque se ha "estandarizado" un poco en su forma de proceder, sigue siendo una gozada de tebeo. Queda solo un tomo por delante...
Profile Image for Alexis.
1,551 reviews48 followers
March 7, 2023
Soooo. . . This is getting weird(er). I'm not sure that I like the explanation for the killers, though it is certainly different. I'm also not sure I like the relationship between Crane and Alice. It's too close for what it is. I still like Warren, though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.