Nailbiter #17
Previously in Nailbiter #16
One of the many things I love about this series is the way it can maintain the mystery in a way that doesn’t feel forced. Don’t get me wrong: I really wanna know the secret of the Buckaroo Butchers, but I’m enjoying the ride way too much to rush it.
This issue begins a new arc, and while the location may have changed, Williamson, Henderson, and company still deliver the chills and gore we’ve come to love.
So.much.gore.
It’s three weeks after the events of the last issue and a serial killer in Atlanta, dubbed The Devil Killer, has already claimed seven victims, torturing them and then setting up their corpses to look like devils. A tip leads to the arrest of a man named Daniel, who ran despite his claims of innocence.
Back in Oregon, Agent Barker finds she’s been taken off the Buckaroo case and will not have access to Carroll for questioning. This disappointing news is delivered with as much finesse as “them’s the breaks,” and triggers another homicidal daydream in which Barker imagines slaughtering her fellow agents where they stand.
She’s sent to Atlanta to interrogate Daniel, and realizes she may not be done with the Buckaroo case after all. Barker goes to the one other person she knows with Buckaroo experience: Finch.
Speaking of Buckaroo, Warren may be gone, but there’s still plenty of sketchy shit going down. Crane has been suspended for lying about (and losing) Warren. This doesn’t stop her from investigating Dr. Glory (Remember: Warren warned her about him.) after he shows an interest in Alice’s condition.
Nailbiter #17
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Plot - 9.5/109.5/10
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Art - 10/1010/10
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Dialogue - 10/1010/10
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Back Matter (letters, additional material, previews, etc.) - 10/1010/10
Summary
So Warren “paid his dues” - which looked a lot like being tortured - and then headed to Georgia. Is he on the heels of the Devil or is he the killer? I’m sure it’s the former, and whether or not Daniel is the Devil, the killer definitely has ties to Buckaroo.
Henderson’s just showing off his ability to create visceral panels here. Barker’s hallucination at the office is one of my favorite sequences from the series. What makes these scenes so intriguing is that even though you’re waiting for them to happen, they’re still a shock when they occur. Take the fact that they’re happening at all and add Dr. Glory’s involvement, that suggests some kind of drug which triggers homicidal fantasies that are eventually acted upon, right? That seems too simple though.
The reader letters were a lot of fun. It’s cool seeing what other fans of the series are into. Reminds me of the community we’ve built here at Project Fandom. In my next review (issue #18), I think I’m gonna take a stab at casting the Nailbiter movie/series I want.
