Nailbiter, Vol. 8: Nailbiter Returns

Nailbiter #8

by Joshua Williamson (Writer), Mike Henderson (Illustrator), Adam Guzowski (Colorist)

JOSHUA WILLIAMSON & MIKE HENDERSON'S CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED HIT HORROR SERIES CONTINUES!

The Nailbiter's secrets turned a fun game from high school into a deadly war between serial killers! Sheriff Crane and Agent Finch must return to the destroyed Buckaroo to find the horrific Mastermind behind the bloodshed before it spreads!

Collects: Nailbiter Returns #6-10.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Mystery, Graphic Novels Comics, Thriller, Fiction

120 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2021

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: Subtly retcons, adding new lore, shifting the context of things from before, a sanguineous thriller but horror no more.

*Progress update

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

If a campy slasher flick and a telenovela had a baby, they would name it NAILBITER.



Once again Finch, Alice, and Crane team up with Warren (who has been locked up in Crane's basement) to ferret out a dangerous secret from Buckeroo's past.
Why is Warren in his ex-girlfriend's basement? <-- go read volume 7, you lazy bastard!



This time around we find out that Warren had a side piece in high school with the same psychotic tendencies our young Nailbiter was already showing.
Things happen. Spoilery things that I can't talk about.
I can say there are lots of missing eyeballs, an old game has been resurrected, and everyone is in danger.



A friend and I were talking and decided there's a Betty and Veronica vibe to this story that would make for an excellent crossover comic someday.
We're gonna buddy read that when it comes out - he just doesn't know it yet.



And that ending! <--game changer!

If you can't tell, I'm very thoroughly enjoying this and I can't wait to see what happens next.
But.
I think you really need to start these knowing that they're very much designed to read like a hybrid of a horror movie and a soap opera before you pick them up. There's been a lot of (valid) disappointment due to the characters and plot not making sense in real-world scenarios.

Recommended with stipulations!

[CS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bullet Review:

Gorrammit - this isn't half bad! What are people going to think of me! My reputation as a curmudgeony old harpy who is far too serious about what she reads will be ruined forever! I won't be able to leave my house, for all the booing.



Anyway, I didn't care for how Nailbiter proper ended, but this has been a lot more enjoyable. Basically, it's just a whole lot of murder with a teensy bit of incidental backstory put in - such as Penny, the "Veronica" to Warren's "Archie" and Crane's "Betty". There's a lot of gore, Crane and Warren in high school - if Nailbiter proper had been more like this, I think I would have liked it better.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

We finally return to Buckaroo and there is some good drama going on between them and then we learn of the Buckaroo Brawl, the game made by Warren and Shannon in their childhood and how a person named Penelope Hawke/Penny was involved in it and we learn of her past and her connections with Warren and what her parents did to her, and well her eyes. There are more revelations regarding her plans of how to destroy Portland and she just might have in the end. But then we get more horror scenes of whats happening to others and the fate of Alice and the final confrontation between Penny and Warren and her M.O. of eye balls is strange but then we have Warren confessing his love for her and everyone returns to their normal life, with Warren blaming those crazies on his copy cat until (spoiler) in the end he meets his son..from Penny!! Son of Nailbiter? Say What! This volume was crazy good and yeah there is no epic fight but its the psychological battles within and the horror of it all and then the revelations! The art is good too and the writing even better! The story continues soon!

[Valéria. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Povedala som to už predtým a poviem to znova. Každý, kto bol sklamaný z ukončenia šiestym bookom a celkovo z toho konca, kde sa nič poriadne nevysvetlilo, si musí prečítať Nailbiter Returns. Proste je to furt skvelé, vysvetluje to veci, je to krásne horové a krvavé a ja som furt nadšená. 4,5/5

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holy shit if I thought this story couldn't get anymore zanny it goes there.

So now we head back to where it all began and it starts off pretty fun. A roundtrip to find out why the hell there's copies of the butchers. But then we learn a little about the past, about a certain someone who basically is a witch type. Yes you read that right. Now very interesting to be honest, kind of stupid, and feels like it is just spinning its wheels now.

I mean the whole series feels a parody of itself where it began but hell if I don't enjoy reading the stupidness of it. But I can't give it higher than 2.5.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Isn’t quite as poetic an ending as the end of the first run (i.e. book 6), but managed not to screw this one up or have to rely on any cockamamie deus ex writer’s hack to carry this over the finish line.

Really love Williamson’s devotion to unredeeming characters - like, everyone gives the Nailbiter shit and never give him a break, even 8 books in. It’s glorious to see a writer not get sentimental about their anti-heroes.

The only hesitation I have is Williamson toying with the idea that Warren is a victim of forces beyond his control, whereas a serial killer who chose the life with some modicum of awareness he was damning himself - that’s a gorgeous story. That’s still one interpretation of where these glimpses into Nailbiter’s psyche are headed, but it’s not the only interpretation of the unreliable evidence we’ve leered at these past 8 books.

Which I guess is an even bigger fuck you to those of us readers (or our weaker instincts) who would rather a definitive interpretation of what’s gone on and why. So I’ll have to give it again to the creators for giving us a plenty-ambiguous lens into these characters (and thus, ultimately, to ourselves).

Spooktober buddy read leftovers with the Shallows

[Brylliams · Rating 4 out of 5]

An alright ending to this miniseries. But WTF was that cliffhanger?

[Sem · Rating 3 out of 5]

DOES NOTHING EVER END ANYMORE, WHY IS THIS GETTING A THREEQUEL

[Jessaca Willis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just realized this wasn’t the first of the reboot 😅 so maybe I will like it more once I read the previous volume!

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diving right in after finishing the amazing Volume 7, Volume 8 increases the lore by adding a game created back in the Nailbiter's high school days. Turns out that the copycats (including a Nailbiter copy) are using this game to gain "points" for their murders, competing to see who the greatest Buckaroo Serial Killer of all time is!
Where is Volume 9? So nice to see these characters back in action.

Recommend.

[Alex | | findingmontauk1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well... I guess I am turned off a little by the retcon approach with another character or two and "powers" and all that. It... just felt forced and did not really vibe with the whole series for me. I think I will read more if any come out or a spinoff happens... but I prefer the way the original 1-6 ended as opposed to these 2 "Returns" volumes. But still entertaining!

[Vaikhari · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plot : 2/5
Art : 3/5
Humour : 2/5
Characters : 3/5
Overall rating : 2 /5

For such an appealing start the ending felt so bland?? Like I don't even know what I feel about it. Will write a better review when I gather the fucks to give about that grotty plot twist.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great volume, I can’t wait for the next one!

[Christina Boulard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t love this one as much as the rest.
However, I would like more now, please.

[Averi Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok this better have another one, the cliffhanger and it says to be continued. Ugh. I want to know how it ends. So interesting. Really gory. So if you like gory in series, this is for you.

[Jon Hewelt · Rating 2 out of 5]

A little more fun than the original series, a little more off the rails. Still a little heavy-handed on the good v. evil thing, but being shorter, the pacing's better.

[Jourdain · Rating 5 out of 5]

End with Alice and her mom going on a road trip in the RV, the detective is with his family, Warren is getting exonerated from his crimes due to the fake nailbiter, his long lost son from penny shows up at pennys family home that warren is rebuilding. Penny died, she was the one responsible for all the fakes coming back.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Review is for the entire series (8 collected volumes as of this date) read in a batch

I stumbled across the series, went in blind, and mostly enjoyed it. The last two volumes feel tacked on, but are not so offensively money-grabby as to diminish the overall rating to much.

[Jamie Connolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the nailbiter series. This second volume of the second round of books is a little too over the top for my liking but I'm still happy to see new content with these characters.

[Brian Rosenberger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nailbiter Vol. 8: Nailbiter Returns
Image Collects issues 6-10
Rules of the Game

Returning to Buckaroo in a RV, the occupants are the caged, fake Nailbiter, Warren the real deal Nailbiter, his family - daughter Alice and her mother, and Agents Finch and Grey. The history of the Buckaroo Brawl, just a drinking game then and a real-life murder game now, is discussed.

Fake Nailbiter chews his way to freedom, gets shot but still manages to flee. Alice and Warren pursue, ending up at the house of Warren’s former lover Penny. What? Flashback of Penny attacking one of the other players, gauging his eyes.

Cut to the present. Penny appears with a crew of Butchers. She turns on the fake Nailbiter. Bye-bye eyes!

Like any good villain, Penny reveals her grandiose plan. “…thousands of Portland citizens are going to unlock a part of them they never knew existed.”

A blood toxin will rain down on them. “Making them live their nightmares in the Sun. The violence and horror will unlock their true selves.”

More flashbacks concerning Penny, her parents, and Warren. And then eyeball licking. Yuck! You’ve got to draw the line somewhere.

Penny’s plan hits obstacles, namely Warren and a syringe to the eye. Finch and Alice help too.

Nice speech by Warren about his two female lovers… then he chomps on Penny’s fingernails.

Shocking last panel. To be continued…

Decent story overall. Some new twists to the Nailbiter history.

Like most sequels, I think the original story is stronger material. The more it stretches, the more diluted it becomes. Still, fun to revisit familiar faces.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

“We have a fake Nailbiter and the real Nailbiter just chilling in the back of some battle-RV as we drive to actual Buckaroo with your supposedly dead ex-it's-complicated-in-an-eye-patch to investigate.”

Buckaroo, in the state of Oregon, has a claim to fame that no town would ever want. It has been the birthplace of no less than 16 serial killers.

After the destruction of the town and the death of the Nailbiter and the Master, Crane, Alice and Finch have moved on with their lives and are trying to move past the awful events that they witnessed.

However, when Crane is attacked in the shower by none other than the Nailbiter, it seems that leaving Buckaroo doesn't mean leaving the past behind.

Following the attack a number of the Buckaroo butchers appear to rise from the grave to play a deadly game of winner takes all. Needing help, Alice and Finch turn to the original Nailbiter, who was being kept in an underground cell by Finch.

The only way to solve the mystery is to return to where it all began!

The pacing is a little off in this 'reboot' of the series, finishing again with an open ending which doesn't appear to have led to further stories. 4 stars.

[Jamie Nimitz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed with the ending of this series (and honestly, the latter half of the issues).
I understand Williamson was meant to continue on with the Son of Nailbiter series, but regardless the main plot of the story - what has caused there to be so many serial killers hailing from Buckaroo - became incredibly convoluted and felt directionless/redirected due to lacking a driving idea at times.

In volume 5, there’s a line that “if the world ever found out the truth...it would change everything...it's so much bigger than just buckaroo...This has to stay a secret."

That really didn’t turn out to be the case. It’s still unclear what created the Buckaroo Butchers (it wasn’t the gene since many tested didn’t have it, and also probably not the eyeball formula since it’s not clear that all were injected with it…).

The ultimate puppeteer/villain had such a short & shallow backstory consisting of the strife of “rich parents” that it was unsatisfying & unbelievable.
That said, it was still better (art, core characters, flow) than some other comics I’ve read ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horror sequels are tricky. Almost every single one fails to live up to the hype and almost every single one winds up tarnishing the legacy of its predecessor. I wish I could say that Nailbiter Returns is the exception that proves the rule, but sadly — it only reinforces what horror buffs already know to be true.

From the get go, this series felt half baked and rushed. It never managed to find itself and just like the vast majority of horror sequels, it trades genuine fright and moments of terror for bizarre plot twists that are just plain hokey.

I want to believe that Joshua Williamson is just being meta—that in reality, he and Mike Henderson conspired together to make Nailbiter Returns bad on purpose so as to create some kind of meta commentary on the trope of the horror sequel. But as much as I tell myself that, deep down I know it’s just wishful thinking.

All I can say is that I hope that this time, “To Be Continued” is nothing more than an empty promise.

[wbforeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel conflicted the art and the story are still really good and it doesn’t feel like a retread, but I kind of feel that after volume six story was over nailbiter didn’t need to keep going. This book also does my cardinal image frustration rule cliffhanger that might not get resolved granted I think they’re more likely to actually finish. It has been two years since this book came out, so we’ll see but I don’t find this one as egregious as other image cliffhanger endings because they wrapped up the story that was told in the set up return volume one and the cliffhanger was basically, an open invitation to keep the story going so we’ll just have to see if this team comes back to finish it.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listen, I can see how this isn't for everyone. I love the ridiculousness of this series, and how the return of it didn't cheapen at all. It's still insane. Warren is still wonderfully charming despite being a really horrible person! To the point there is a panel I actually had to go "oh yeah. No sympathy for Warren. He is evil."

My only complaint is that this arc felt hella rushed. Having heard why, I get it! COVID is the worst. But I am looking forward to seeing where it goes next. And can Warren learn how to fucking use a condom? Another kid? I'm not surprised. I'm just disappointed.

[Alex Sarll]

Read because I was hoping they might pull it back around, and because I'd already bought these issues in the same Comixology sale as the first half. But no, it's absolute drivel. Every sequel cliché is here - in particular the previously unmentioned figure whose absence from the original is implausible if they're as important as all that, and the need to go bigger and grosser which mainly feels dumber. The afterword claims that the next sequel will take the series back to horror; it will do so without me.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having never been a fan of this series, I don't know what I expected at this point. Admittedly, I did enjoy the first half of the "Nailbiter Returns" series, as I felt that the lean into the goofiness worked for the series. I've always struggled with how Nailbiter leans too heavily on the campiness rather than actual horror, since that is a tough line to toe. Ultimately, this volume also felt too silly to take seriously, and the set up for potentially more to come didn't help with my enjoyment of this.

[Paul Allard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horror comic series continues, engaging stuff.

This is a review of issues 6 to 9 only, supplied to me by Image in exchange for an honest review. The “gang” return to Buckaroo for answers regarding the resurgence of the serial killers. This involves a lot of flashbacks as well as the usual quantity of gore. The characters are interesting and the plot moves along at a good pace. It’s a worthwhile read but read the previous volumes first.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

The big bad of Nailbiter's return is revealed and its very intriguing however their plot is somewhat too silly. This was definitely full of cringey moments, in a good way. Williamson is having a fun time in this world to say the least. The ending keeps my mind racing on what will happen next. Henderson's art was spectacular here and a perfect fit for the series. Overall, a good read but I would have liked it to be reigned in a bit more.