While awaiting trial for murder, government interrogator Nicholas Finch receives a call from his friend FBI agent Charles Carroll concerning the town of Buckaroo Oregon. A town famous for having spawned 16 of the nation’s worst serial killers. Carroll is convinced that he has the key to figuring out why Buckaroo has produced so many deranged murderers, but he needs Finch’s help. Upon arriving in Buckaroo, Finch is introduced to a cast of strange and intriguing characters: Sheriff Sharon Crane, a tough but fair small town cop, teen outcast Alice and Raleigh Woods, owner of Buckaroo’s “Murder Store”. Soon Finch realizes that his friend has gone missing and grisly new murders in town take center stage. Do these new murders have something to do with the one that got away, local resident and acquitted serial killer Edward Charles Warren, also known as The Nailbiter? Or is this someone new?
After searching for a new horror comic series to get into, I thought I’d give Nailbiter a try and wasn’t disappointed. Horror is a difficult genre to pull off. Frankly, the best horror comes from interesting ideas and characters and Nailbiter delivers on both of these. Sheriff Crane is a compelling main character as are the supporting cast of townies. How do these people deal with the fact that their little town is kind of a freakshow? Some choose to ignore it, some embrace it and some try desperately to make sense of it all. The concept of a town known for birthing 16 serial killers is an intriguing one. Are these killers made or are they born? Neither of these questions get answered in Volume 1, although some interesting threads get raised. Is it a conspiracy? Is it something to do with the bees? Regardless, the plotline and characters were enough to inspire me to continue the series.
If I have one complaint, it’s that I wanted more from the character of Finch. There really didn’t seem to be much there aside from a guy with a short fuse. He was okay, but he really works best when he’s sharing scenes with others. However, this is still the first volume and I am willing to see how they develop his character further.
Regarding the subject matter, Nailbiter doesn’t linger on the violence for too long. Artist Mike Henderson shows you what he needs to but I never found the violence to be overdone. However, we are dealing with serial killers here, some with flamboyant costumes and proclivities: The Book Burner has the best mask, but The Whistler has the creepiest backstory. With this kind of material blood must be spilt and heads do indeed roll. Honestly, if you’re a fan of Hannibal, Twin Peaks or The X-Files, you should give Nailbiter a try.