I grew up on a steady and potentially very unhealthy diet of comic book horror anthologies (big shout out to the short-lived UK weekly title, Scream!, which caused more than one sleepless night!) and horror movies on glitchy VHS rental tapes. I have had a lifelong fascination with monsters and jump scares, having grown up at a time when it seemed that every kid was watching horrendous, hilariously inappropriate stuff mostly with, but sometimes without, the knowledge of their parents.

Video Nasties, as they were referred to back in the early 80s, were everywhere, with some even being banned from availability by the general public for home use altogether. This first issue of new indie horror anthology, Comic Nasties, pays homage to those lurid, forbidden films; this first issue tells two tales of terror that are best not read at bedtime.

First up is The Curse of the Skulls, in which a pleasant camping trip soon turns creepy, before becoming very deadly indeed.

The second story is Silverback, which tells the story of an out-of-control Ugandan gorilla, whose violent temperament may not be quite what it seems.

The Curse of the Skulls is very well written by series creator Daniel Blanchard, and it has an increasingly oppressive, creepy atmosphere that builds up to boiling point before exploding. Jonathan Jordan’s art does a great job of feeling naturalistic, even when things truly go south, with the titular skulls being particularly well rendered.

Silverback is a bit more of a pulp-style story, and feels a lot more action-based. Though Blanchard writes again, here the art is by John Sowder, who has a somewhat cartoony feel to his illustrations. It perfectly suits the more overtly lurid subject matter though, as well as its more dynamic action scenes. The emotions of the people (and animal) in the story are very clearly on display too.

Self-published by Daniel Blanchard, Comic Nasties Vol. I is very well produced (the cover even cleverly combines the subjects of both stories making a single, superbly eye-catching image in the process) and is an excellent read for horror fans; it goes just far enough with its scares, remaining entertaining throughout. It features a nicely paced and eventful pair of stories; hopefully there’s a Vol. II (and more!) on the way.

You can buy Comic Nasties Vol. I digitally or in print here. Many thanks to Daniel Blanchard for sending me a digital copy of Comic Nasties Vol. I for review purposes.

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