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Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla lean into their shared storytelling strengths with the horror-fueled comic Night of the Ghoul.
Acclaimed comic book creator Scott Snyder continues to unveil a wave of new comic book titles published in partnership with ComiXology as part of his creator-owned imprint Best Jackett Press. Rounding out a month of new launches is Night of the Ghoul, reuniting Snyder with fan-favorite collaborator and co-creator Francesco Francavilla. While previous Best Jackett titles featured some creative deviations from the team’s usual style, Night of the Ghoul fits comfortably in Snyder and Francavilla’s horror-driven wheelhouse. Night of the Ghoul #1 delivers a memorable opening issue that promises to thrill and terrify readers moving forward.
Split across dual narratives, Night of the Ghoul follows a classic cinema researcher who tracks down an elderly influential filmmaker. The researcher finds the filmmaker on their deathbed in a remote hospice care facility at night. As the researcher asks the man about his legendary lost film, the “Night of the Ghoul,” it becomes clear that the supernatural horror from the Golden Age movie is more than just a nightmare on celluloid as the entire medical facility finds itself menaced by a ravenous menace. Clips from Night of the Ghoul are interspersed throughout the main story, showcasing a World War II squad stumbling across something hunting them in Europe.
With its themes of ancient, unknowable evil clawing its way back to the surface, Snyder is in command of the scary story he’s weaving with a confidence that’s been prominently noticeable in the opening salvo of Best Jackett titles. The Night of the Ghoul‘s opening issue has a noticeably deliberate pace but with enough menace to keep readers invested as Snyder deftly sets the stage for the story’s stakes to unfold. With the night only just beginning in #1, it’s clear Snyder is just warming up his narrative, whetting readers’ appetites for more.
Apart from the occasional fill-in issue or short story, it’s incredible to think that Francavilla and Snyder haven’t directly worked together on many projects since their Detective Comics run. When reading Night of the Ghoul, it feels like no time has passed between the two’s creative chemistry. Francavilla digs into the haunting, shadow-shrouded style that has endeared his work to fans all over the world. Night of the Ghoul feels a lot more personal than the majority of Francavilla’s past work, and that elevates the artwork even more — from stylized flashes of color to leaving just enough terror to the readers’ imagination as he steadily escalates the tension and scares. He deftly evokes archival footage artwork like grainy horror movies from yesteryear.
Best Jackett’s wave of October launches has paired Snyder’s with some of comics’ most acclaimed artists and ones he’s built a strong collaboration with previously. Night of the Ghoul serves up the scares that Snyder and Francavilla excel at, with enough storytelling swagger and personal investment into this love letter to classic horror cinema to make the perfect Halloween read. For fans of the creative team looking for an unabashed, lean, and deep dive into supernatural horror, Night of the Ghoul stands as perhaps the most memorable horror debut of 2021.
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