"Our Final Halloween #3" Comic Review

You've heard stories of kids daring each other to spend the night in a haunted house? Well, in Our Final Halloween, a group of friends did just that...only one of them didn't come out alive. She's been replaced by a Deadworlder and she's the first of an army of others ready to invade our world on Halloween. Time is ticking.

Our Final Halloween blends a few different horror sub-genres together into a cornucopia of terror. It deals with trippy interdimensional demons, zombies, and good old-fashioned slashers. The one constant is the solid character work. Writer Mike Garley has established these friends in a very believable fashion. We're invested with them and their lives. Their personalities are genuine and they feel like people you'd want to hang out with. This makes the things they experience all the more horrifying.

Time is a key factor of Our Final Halloween, as we know that we're counting down to October 31st and that's when this will all come to a head. This is weaved into the story in creative ways. It's carved into the body one moment or we get a glimpse of the kids' calendars, all giving you an idea of how close we're getting to the fateful day.

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Artist Michael Lee-Graham is an absolute star with Our Final Halloween. There's a visceral quality to the imagery in this book. It cuts deep, whether that's the quiet moments between the kids as they're figuring out what to do next or the heart-stopping terror of fighting the undead. This makes for a nice contrast, as it normalizes the characters while raising the stakes of the monsters waiting to tear them apart.

The color work is superb, showcasing bright, vibrant shades, like something out of an old exploitation film. It's like the entire story takes place during twilight as the sun is setting not just on this adventure (as this is the penultimate issue of the series), but possibly on the lives of these characters. The sky is full of eye-popping yellows and pinks that add an unparalleled energy to this book.

Letterer Mike Stock rounds out the creative team with some solid work. The dialogue is handled well, but the sound effects really stand out. This is especially true when the dead rise. Their moans spread across the page in a haunting fashion.

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I truly have no idea where this story is going and that's part of the enjoyment. The book keeps you on your toes, wondering when the next horrifying element will pop up, possibly killing one of these poor kids. Despite that, they soldier on, determined to stop this evil from consuming our world.

Our Final Halloween is a tense ride counting down to what should be the best day of the year. My only complaint with this series is that it's almost over. There appears to be quite a lot to explore in this world and we're just scratching the surface. It's probably for the best as I'm terrified of what we might uncover if we kept digging further.

The creators of Our Final Halloween are currently running a Kickstarter campaign to fund the release of this issue.