Comic Review: A Town Called Terror #1

Publisher: Image Comics

Writer: Steve Niles

Artist: Szymon Kudranski

Letterer: Scott O.Brown

With well-known horror works such as 30 Days of Night on his resume, any new Steve Niles horror title is worth taking a look at. A Town Called Terror #1 is likely already on the radar of horror fans, but is it worth checking out for those who aren’t as big into scares?

The first few pages of A Town Called Terror #1 might lead to readers believing that this is some kind of body horror comic. After the introduction is complete though, the plot goes in a different direction. Henry gets kidnapped from his home, being forced to return to where he grew up to take care of some old family business. Meanwhile, his wife Julie is left alone, forced to pick up the pieces and find out what happened.

Aside from the opening scene (Which could have been more grotesque), this issue actually isn’t too horror filled. It certainly has some suspense, but the script feels more like an action series. It’s easy to see A Town Called Terror #1 as “The action hero is kidnapped by a shady organization to finish a job.”

Fortunately, comics aren’t just scripts. Szymon Kudranski handles the art for this series with a style that makes everything unsettling. The moody, gray shading paired with ominous oranges and reds makes action-filled scenes feel like horror-filled ones instead. Everything has the look of classic horror movies throughout. The lettering by Scott O. Brown only adds to Kudranski’s chilling presentation. 

It says a lot that the artist and letterer are able to completely change the tone of the comic with their work. Outside of the ominous art style, there actually isn’t anything special in this debut issue. There is certainly the potential for it to be something great, but it’s hard to see where this is going. The characters have almost no depth, and we only know a few details about the presumed villain. The knowledge of the villain doesn’t even feel like knowledge at all since it just leads to more questions. There is nothing wrong with the slow-burn approach, but unless the aesthetics captivate the reader, this issue severely lacks a hook. 

I do at least appreciate that Julie seems to be playing a significant role in this series, since I was originally concerned that she would be quickly removed from the story to push the protagonist forward or something. There aren’t any refrigerators for now.