Night of the Ghoul (2023)

by Scott Snyder and Francesco Francavilla

Back in 2022 I started exploring "comiXology originals," original comics published by comiXology. Amazon has now purchased comiXology, so maybe you would have to call them "kindle originals," but it's all the same. Night of the Ghoul was a standout single from the bunch, and that next day I binged the rest of the series.

I'm saying goodbye to Amazon Prime, and as a result wanted to give the sendoff that Night of the Ghoul deserved. I re-read it again this week, and it's a hell of a suspense/thriller/horror comic, utterly sold by the words from Snyder and the atmospheric paints by Francavilla. Once I picked it up again, I just had to read through it all that night. It carries this feeling of dread that's so enthralling as a reader.

It's about a father and son who masquerade as insurance auditors for a dying old man in what looks like a hospice facility. Only, that old man is responsible for the greatest horror film never released, and the father is hellbent on completing the missing parts of that horror film.

Alongside this "A" story are various black-and-white clips from that film, "Night of the Ghoul," a post-World War II story about a ghoul that may have conceived all of the great horror tropes. The ghoul is this lanky, dead-eyed creature that feeds on necrotic material, and the idea is that it begat the blood plague that created the legend of vampires, and a brain-eating infection that created the idea of zombies. The ghoul in this movie is "the one true monster," what a delicious idea!

Scott Snyder is a genius at retcons, whether it's writing vampires into American history itself, in "American Vampire," or rewriting the history of Gotham City. Night of the Ghoul is no different, and every chapter dives deeper into the mythology of the ghoul. You're left wondering who's on whose side, whether it's the hospice facility, the original filmmaker, all the way down to the ambulance in the sixth and final issue. It's a creature feature masterpiece brought to life on the printed page. From the dread manifested to the climactic creature battle, it has everything you want in a horror experience. Comic books aren't exactly known for their horror stories, but it ought to be known for this one.

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