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Home Sick Pilots #11-15
Home Sick Pilots Vol. 3: Three Chords And The End Of The World
At long last, it’s the Home Sick Pilots- in a walking haunted house- vs the Nuclear Bastards- in a mech fueled by the sins of the nation. A battle of the bands to end all battles... And probably the world as we know it.
DAN WATTERS (Arkham City: The Order of the World, COFFIN BOUND) and CASPAR WIJNGAARD (Star Wars, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt) return for a third volume of bloody action, busted guitar pedals, and ghosts.
COLLECTS HOME SICK PILOTS #11-15
DAN WATTERS (Arkham City: The Order of the World, COFFIN BOUND) and CASPAR WIJNGAARD (Star Wars, Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt) return for a third volume of bloody action, busted guitar pedals, and ghosts.
COLLECTS HOME SICK PILOTS #11-15
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 26, 2022
5 people are currently reading
120 people want to read
About the author
Dan Watters
418 books142 followersDan Watters is a UK based comic book writer. His first book, LIMBO, was released through Image Comics in 2016. He has since written THE SHADOW at Dynamite Comics, and ASSASSIN’S CREED and WOLFENSTEIN for Titan Comics.
Currently he is writing the relaunch of LUCIFER for Vertigo’s Sandman Universe, as well as DEEP ROOTS for Vault Comics. Deeply rooted in London Town, and firmly of the Devil's party.
Currently he is writing the relaunch of LUCIFER for Vertigo’s Sandman Universe, as well as DEEP ROOTS for Vault Comics. Deeply rooted in London Town, and firmly of the Devil's party.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
June 22, 2022
5 five stars for the whole run.
It was an awesome series from start to finish.
Go read it and listen to some punk rock.
It was an awesome series from start to finish.
Go read it and listen to some punk rock.
July 15, 2022
When I realised that this was going to be the last arc of Home Sick Pilots, I was very disappointed - I thought there was a lot more story to tell, and I didn't think they'd be able to wrap it all up in a satisfying manner in five issues. And yet, here I am, pleasantly surprised at just how well it all shakes out.
There's only one ghost left to complete the House, even as the Nuclear Bastard attempts to smash it to bits. There are final confrontations on all fronts here, both the physical, the metaphysical, and the emotional, and right up until the last few pages we get resolutions to stories and answers to questions, even ones we might not have asked.
It's a bittersweet ending, I'll admit, but the longevity of the ideas presented is apparent in the epilogue that takes up the last few pages of the final issue. Even when the ghosts are dead and buried, the Home Sick Pilots will live on.
Fifteen issues never feels like enough for a series, especially when Image basically lets you tell your story however quickly or slowly you like as long as you make sales. But Home Sick Pilots works as a story in three acts, even as much as I'd like it to have been longer. Rock on, my dudes.
There's only one ghost left to complete the House, even as the Nuclear Bastard attempts to smash it to bits. There are final confrontations on all fronts here, both the physical, the metaphysical, and the emotional, and right up until the last few pages we get resolutions to stories and answers to questions, even ones we might not have asked.
It's a bittersweet ending, I'll admit, but the longevity of the ideas presented is apparent in the epilogue that takes up the last few pages of the final issue. Even when the ghosts are dead and buried, the Home Sick Pilots will live on.
Fifteen issues never feels like enough for a series, especially when Image basically lets you tell your story however quickly or slowly you like as long as you make sales. But Home Sick Pilots works as a story in three acts, even as much as I'd like it to have been longer. Rock on, my dudes.
January 8, 2025
A satisfying conclusion to the story arc that did a good job of wrapping up most of the dangling bits I was wondering on.
September 4, 2022
This ruled. Watters packs a lot in here and makes the world feel bigger than ever, but it rarely feels bloated or clunky. It's a less action-packed volume, which is a good choice for the finale as it lets the story focus on wrapping up its various thematic and narrative threads. The execution isn't perfect, and I don't know if all the emotional resolutions are fully earned. But I admire the shots it takes enough that the almost-there delivery still resulted in a satisfying conclusion, in my mind. I would've happily read another volume, which is always a good feeling to end a series with, especially if there's wiggle room for a sequel.
Wijngaard's art is as terrific as ever, and he might deliver some of his best work to date in these pages. The spectacle isn't quite as bombastic as it's been in the past, but he gets to draw some wonderfully eerie visuals that are just as colorful as they are deeply unsettling. Watters' story is a great hook, but it's Wijngaard who arguably made this series. Despite some choppiness, all three volumes are a lot of fun to read and get a lot of mileage from the wild-and-wacky genre mash-ups the series is built on. I'm happy I stuck with it to the end and would not say no to more stories in the world that Watters and Wijngaard's blood and punk-rock-fueled imaginations created.
Wijngaard's art is as terrific as ever, and he might deliver some of his best work to date in these pages. The spectacle isn't quite as bombastic as it's been in the past, but he gets to draw some wonderfully eerie visuals that are just as colorful as they are deeply unsettling. Watters' story is a great hook, but it's Wijngaard who arguably made this series. Despite some choppiness, all three volumes are a lot of fun to read and get a lot of mileage from the wild-and-wacky genre mash-ups the series is built on. I'm happy I stuck with it to the end and would not say no to more stories in the world that Watters and Wijngaard's blood and punk-rock-fueled imaginations created.
September 4, 2024
Ended on a low, story could have been so much better if they had just let the characters go on a journey rather than trying to reference everything back to the ‘punk’ movement that was barely even relevant back in the first volume.
They force in some American political stuff towards the end and tbh I just switched off.
I wanted to read a fun ghost story about two groups of friends. What I got was a writer who kept telling me punk was kl and the government is bad and there isn’t much you can do. Meh.
They force in some American political stuff towards the end and tbh I just switched off.
I wanted to read a fun ghost story about two groups of friends. What I got was a writer who kept telling me punk was kl and the government is bad and there isn’t much you can do. Meh.
August 14, 2022
Pretty much just a direct continuation of the second Volume, but one that manages to tie everything together with a beautiful little bow at the end.
Art is beautiful as always, and I will not stop recommending this series to anyone I think would like it.
Art is beautiful as always, and I will not stop recommending this series to anyone I think would like it.
October 17, 2022
A really satisfying conclusion and the art is still my favourite in a comic series ever.
December 22, 2024
This series really needed another trade or two. It started to feel rushed through in the second trade, and this one even more so. In the Vertigo days, it would have been given at least 30 issues, and the biggest problem with the series is you can feel that potential bubbling up between the pages. This series was haunted.
That said, it’s still very much worth a read. It’s a bizarre and novel idea. The art is fantastic.
That said, it’s still very much worth a read. It’s a bizarre and novel idea. The art is fantastic.
August 9, 2024
Buen final, y se sintió la nostalgia (muchísimo).
Al principio estaba dudando, pero cada página estaba un poco mejor :')
Al principio estaba dudando, pero cada página estaba un poco mejor :')
July 20, 2022
Yep, I'm rounding up all three volumes (read as digital floppies) into one review. What can I say? I'm a flawed person, or just too lazy/frustrated trying to track down the TPB because I will not, except in very rare instances review a single floppy.
In some small ways Watters treads paths explored by British authors Alan Moore (Swamp Thing) Neil Gaiman (a little in early Sandman). The back roads of American Horror. Watters takes the haunted house story and expands on it in ways I would not have imagined. I mean a couple of punk rock bands get into a fight, challenge each other to go into a haunted house, and well..
The house is really haunted. By multiple ghosts, and Watters does a decent job of giving at least a little depth to the various charcaters (even the house).
In some small ways Watters treads paths explored by British authors Alan Moore (Swamp Thing) Neil Gaiman (a little in early Sandman). The back roads of American Horror. Watters takes the haunted house story and expands on it in ways I would not have imagined. I mean a couple of punk rock bands get into a fight, challenge each other to go into a haunted house, and well..
The house is really haunted. By multiple ghosts, and Watters does a decent job of giving at least a little depth to the various charcaters (even the house).
November 8, 2022
This series is so cool. As the ghosts of the James House and the Nuclear Bastard battle each other across the landscape of America, a quest for one remaining ghost will reveal the final secrets which threaten to undo everything the Home Sick Pilots have struggled to protect.
Brimming with punk rage and the desperation of youth coming of age in a chaotic world of existential angst, the finale to Home Sick Pilots looks at the changing of eras, the violence of nations and families, and the ghosts that get shoved beneath the surface. The series is glorious punk rock defiance tempered with the reality that youthful dreams sometimes shatter under harsher realities. It's a boldly exciting paranormal horror adventure that also has a lot to say about the world we live in.
Brimming with punk rage and the desperation of youth coming of age in a chaotic world of existential angst, the finale to Home Sick Pilots looks at the changing of eras, the violence of nations and families, and the ghosts that get shoved beneath the surface. The series is glorious punk rock defiance tempered with the reality that youthful dreams sometimes shatter under harsher realities. It's a boldly exciting paranormal horror adventure that also has a lot to say about the world we live in.
August 22, 2025
Reviewing all three volumes since I read them in a mad sprint.
This was such a fun space. Punk teens who are extremely moody in a really pretty art style with ghosts and a haunted house mech, I mean truly my first thought hearing what it was about was, "how the hell is this not something I wrote?" Followed by the joy of getting to sit back and enjoy it.
It comes in hot, lives loudly, and doesn't outstay its welcome. If anything, I can really only knock it for getting a little heavy in the exposition here for characters I was less interested in than the main set, though that's really just preference. And also preference, I wish I had more time in here. I could go another two volumes.
This was such a fun space. Punk teens who are extremely moody in a really pretty art style with ghosts and a haunted house mech, I mean truly my first thought hearing what it was about was, "how the hell is this not something I wrote?" Followed by the joy of getting to sit back and enjoy it.
It comes in hot, lives loudly, and doesn't outstay its welcome. If anything, I can really only knock it for getting a little heavy in the exposition here for characters I was less interested in than the main set, though that's really just preference. And also preference, I wish I had more time in here. I could go another two volumes.
Read
May 18, 2023The moments when you feel the weight of the world pressing down on you. What poltergeists might achieve if they didn't always seem to think so small. America as ghost story. And how one punk band hunted down a haunted toilet seat to try to save mankind. I wasn't entirely sold on this series at first, but having completed it, I think that was on me. This was a fabulous exercise in taking genre fiction's ability to reify themes, and then seeing how far you could push that, creating something entirely absurd yet nevertheless dark and moving too. Because what's dark and moving if not a haunted house with legs?
July 17, 2024
The final volume gets 5 stars (the previous two got 4 stars) for nailing the ending. Especially the last issue in here was perfect.
So all in all this is a great story, which does take a few moments to get going. This mix of punk, horror, mystery and 'fighting robots' is very refreshing. The protagonists are sexy, the design of the monsters/robots is awesome and the tone of the book fits just right.
The artwork is killer, the covers are amazing, what's not to like?
Recommended!
Small rant at the end: These five issue collections are tedious (don't even get me started on single issues!), why is this not an all-in-one book? Who benefits from these thin and incomplete volumes?
So all in all this is a great story, which does take a few moments to get going. This mix of punk, horror, mystery and 'fighting robots' is very refreshing. The protagonists are sexy, the design of the monsters/robots is awesome and the tone of the book fits just right.
The artwork is killer, the covers are amazing, what's not to like?
Recommended!
Small rant at the end: These five issue collections are tedious (don't even get me started on single issues!), why is this not an all-in-one book? Who benefits from these thin and incomplete volumes?
October 28, 2025
What’s the purpose of this series? What’s it really about? What is it trying to say? Honestly… not much. But it’s a vibe. The punk culture and aesthetic feel so kinetic and real, but every instance when the supernatural world intersects (and attempts are made to explain it) the whole story feels weighed down by weaker world-building. The ending fits somewhere between lazy and appropriately hopelessly angsty in the spirit of punk rock.
I’m still crazy about this creative team and will continue to follow them. Ultimately, file this series under frustrating only because of the vast potential for greatness it actually had that it couldn’t quite deliver on.
I’m still crazy about this creative team and will continue to follow them. Ultimately, file this series under frustrating only because of the vast potential for greatness it actually had that it couldn’t quite deliver on.
January 11, 2025
Well, the teens battled it out in ghost-powered kaijus again, this time for good. The final volume really kicks up the "Ghosts of America" narrative that comes across as practically common nomenclature, but it's never fully unpacked or examined—seemingly more for motivation in the moment, supercharging what the furious dead are capable of en masse. Fun series. Only one I've read with a haunted house that could fight. Hard to beat that. Every time it was shown in full view, I wanted to cheer. Go, teens! Go, ghosts! Go, oblivion as nirvana!
August 11, 2022
As a series it goes so much deeper than it’s horror and aesthetics, it has somin to say and says it with a shout and heart to it. Really adored this run. Focused, on message, super cool, and wrapped up at the end. Doesn’t shy from anti-right wing messaging, always pretty art, never boring panels, the text is well balanced and the trade covers all being so consistent is an added bonus. Love this run.
August 21, 2023
A satisfying ending (although the logic of ghosts cooperating to create giant kiaju 'walkers' is still pretty absurd, but consistent through all 3 volumes) as the Old James House battles Nuclear Bastard, seemingly defeating it, whilst sowing the seeds of its own destruction as the remaining ragtag protagonists work together to finally defeat the malignant spirit of the Old Man....
I have to say that the art by Caspar Wijingaard was the main reason that I read HSP right to the end...
I have to say that the art by Caspar Wijingaard was the main reason that I read HSP right to the end...
December 10, 2022
You gotta love a comic series that bases its style around 1990s punk rock. Home Sick Pilots has some bizarre and creative plot points- a sentient, walking house, powered by ghosts?- but it's a powerful, emotional story, and the art is wonderful, particularly the color work, which is just full-on 90s neon. I loved this series and it should absolutely get more attention.
December 29, 2022
3.75 | The ending felt a little rushed, and I wish I had gotten to know more about some of the other ghosts in the house more. I also sometimes felt like the heavier historical/political themes could have been addressed in a slightly more subtle way. This series was definitely outside of my comics comfort zone, and I’m glad I read to the end!
September 7, 2023
Home sick pilots closing volume delivers on much of the promise of the initial issue, tying the mecha stylings of the series into the 90s punk vibe that was the signature of HSP. The conclusion leaves no dangling threads, wrapping everything up from a character/plot perspective whilst keeping things tight thematically. This has been a great series all round.
January 11, 2023
Clearly the emotional finale, but it's been sitting on my shelf for so long I stopped caring for any of the characters. Maybe I'll reread the series at some point and find out whether I care about the emotional finale.
July 28, 2022
Beats you over the head a bit hard with the ghosts of America deal, but it wrapped the story up nicely.
August 2, 2022
Home Sick Pilots makes me want to hang out with friends and listen to music, which is the best compliment to a graphic novel I can think of.
5 stars whole series!
5 stars whole series!
August 5, 2022
It is fun when big stuff fight.
September 21, 2022
This series is my ideal mix of conceptually kinda silly and actually really smart, so so so good. love a haunted house and this world and its ideas are so unique, I loved it
October 25, 2022
A little rushed at the end but satisfying
November 29, 2022
I thought that this volume series was interesting. There were some things that I could've done without but overall I wanted an ending that wasn't sappy. This didn't disappoint.
December 19, 2022
Punk, ghosts, mecha kaiju, cool art
December 21, 2022
This whole series was such a fun read. I totally enjoyed the epic end, it was amazing. The end was really beautiful!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews