This is it! The final issue of one of the best horror comics ever made.
Nailbiter #30 (Image Comics)
Observations
- Flashback: Old school Edward Warren chomping at the bit.
- Present: New school Edward Warren in serious trouble.
- Yeah, I don’t think putting a leash on Agent Barker is going to work for anybody.
- Oh snap. No wonder the Mystery of Buckaroo had to remain a secret.
- Warren pretty much set himself up for that one.
- One last snack for the road…
- Never thought I’d feel that way about Agent Barker again :(
- Dang, Finch is looking good these days.
- Hair dye may be overrated, but a loving family most definitely isn’t…
- …and neither is taking a gun into the shower.
- HOLY CRAP.
The Verdict
In a series that was filled with moments that literally made you gasp, it’s fitting that Nailbiter ends its run with one, as well.
Don’t worry though—this wasn’t some lame cliffhanger that leaves you feeling cheated and confused. Joshua Williamson does leave a couple of plot threads dangling out there to (hopefully) be picked up again one day, but the big question—what is the secret of Buckaroo?—is finally answered. We also get some great resolution to the series’ many themes, particularly that of nature vs. nurture…and it’s not quite the answer you might expect.
As always, Mike Henderson’s art is great, particularly on the issue’s many splash pages and two-page spreads. The final pages represent a perfect collaboration between him and Williamson: A beautiful, terrifying, and bloody sequence of events that manages to pay homage to a major horror franchise while also blazing its own badass trail.
Were there a few things I wish the creative team had delved into a bit more? Of course. But those lingering questions felt much more tantalizing than frustrating. I know that sounds paradoxical (or just plain stupid), but when a mythology-laden series like this one makes good on answering its biggest question (along with a slew of other great reveals), they’ve earned the right to keep a little mystery in their back pockets in the case the series ever returns—and let’s hope it does, too. As good as the overall narrative was, Nailbiter’s strength was in its fantastic characters. The ones who managed to survive the series provided us with one hell of a good story…and they just might one day have a little more to tell.
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