Our Final Halloween #2 – Review
Well. Just when you thought, given that Halloween was 6 months ago, that it might be safe to emerge, Mike Garley is back at it again with Our Final Halloween #2.
The sequel to the 2018 digital only horror comic is due to hit kickstarter imminently.
I was surprised but delighted when Mike told me that a sequel was in the works. Our Final Halloween had been intended as a one shot, but given the way things ended, that story was ripe for continuation. If you read my review of #1 then you know how much I enjoyed the 80’s flavoured horror thrill ride, so it’ll be no surprise that I am really excited about this one!
This review will contain some spoilers for #1. You have been warned!
Previously…
On Halloween 1983 a young boy was killed by a monster from another world.
On the one year anniversary of his death, his brother David, and his four closest friends – Kayla, Tark, Claire and Alexis – attempted to summon that monster in an attempt to exact revenge. But despite their best efforts they weren’t ready for its tricks, and after it covertly killed Claire, it masqueraded as her in a devious bid to escape.
Now David, Kayla, Tark and Alexis are left with another death on their conscience, blood on their hands, and a new deadly enemy on the loose, and it’s all their fault…
So what happens next?
The second instalment of Our Finale Halloween opens with our protagonists dealing with the immediate aftermath of that night and how they plan to move forward. It’s well handled, with the group assembling for the first time at Claire’s funeral. There’s a little more humour in this issue, as well as lot more intrigue. There’s a page near the start that had me absolutely howling. You’ll know when you get to it. And you’ll probably think twice about a certain foodstuff for a while afterwards, I know I did!
Thereafter ensue a couple of nifty time jumps, bringing our protagonists (and us) closer to the next Halloween.
It also brings them back to the house where it all began. That’s where things start to ramp up in intensity and things get really trippy. A mysterious encounter at the house sets our intrepid foursome on the next stage of their journey. Cue a seriously intense sequence that is massively enhanced by Mike Lee-Graham’s incredible art and colours. It’s such a total contrast to the more subdued first half of the comic which makes it even more impactful.
If you read the first issue you’ll be familiar with Lee-Graham’s sparing but tonally perfect colours. He ramps that up even further in #2.
My only complaint with this second issue that it felt too short, despite clocking in at a healthy 24 pages. After an initial slow build-up there’s this sudden break-neck acceleration in the story and then…it stops. There are two more issues to come before this tale is complete, but I am nothing if not impatient when left hanging like this. Our Final Halloween #2 deserves to be a runaway success and hopefully the next issue won’t be too far behind.
The two Mikes have teamed up with the brilliant Jess Taylor to create brand new, wrap-around covers for both issues. You can see #2 above. The redesign for #1 is here
Kickstarter
Our Final Halloween #2 is live on Kickstarter now. There are a bunch of cool tiers, including ones for those of you who were smart enough to back the OFH#1 Kickstarter last year. I’m leaning towards getting an original sketch from the superbly talented Mike Lee-Graham. Make sure you get on this one, because Our Final Halloween #2 is a comic not to be missed!
