Nothing But Horror Within And Without: Reviewing ‘The Neighbors’ #3

Often the scariest things in life are those that come from within. Either within ourselves or the circles of relationships. Spooky monsters and the unknown are scary in their own right. There is something far more terrifying about the realm of personal horrors though.

Everything about The Neighbors rings this more personal level horror bell.

Sure, there are unknown supernatural things at work, but overall the horror is in this family circle. Oliver faces the horror of the world at large after transitioning. Janet struggles with Oliver’s struggles while also trying to protect her child. Little Isobel is being put through some really horrific paces. Then there is Casey, at the center of the horror, having been altered or swapped in a very sinister fashion.

One of the key elements to crafting a horror story is the visuals that set the tone. Deep characters and world-building are key too but it’s the visuals that strike us first.

We fully feel that horror here because Letizia Cadonici’s style screams horror and darkness. At the same time, it easily and perfectly captures other emotions and the human experience through a variety of close-ups and other well-chosen panel styles. It’s a style that is very loose feeling in how it flows, but clearly tightly planned with depth.

Much of the darkness and enclosed feeling coming from the pages is natural, using the panels and setting. Sprinkled into the mix are some supernatural or unknown elements that help really heighten the fear. Plenty of shadows are incorporated right into the panels to make sure we never feel comfortable. Even in the brightest of spaces.

This is also where Alessandro Santoro comes into play. Color-wise this world has a very toned-down, almost washed out in some spaces, color palate. Plenty of splashes of slightly brighter color can be found when the moment calls for it. It has a heavier and almost grounded feeling overall. Such a feeling keeps us the reader feeling like this is a more realistic situation, even with the underlying supernatural.

No matter the washed-out or slightly brighter colors, again, shadows are everywhere. Darkness is precisely mixed through the pages, while feeling like it’s randomly creeping through. One of the best uses is how, together, Santoro and Cadonici make sure that darkness and Casey are partners. She slips and slides through the shadows, using them to her advantage to showcase her darkness or to hide it.

There is literal darkness around this family but also darkness amongst them.

Concepts and plot are of course part of storytelling and are often important. Without great character work though they are just hollow concepts. It’s characters and their emotions, their interactions, their thoughts, and more that get us invested. In just three issues Jude Ellison S. Doyle has me completely invested in these characters.

These are not franchise characters of some big known corporate IP situation. No, these are fresh original characters but ones that are fully fleshed out. They feel completely real because their personal issues and personalities are real and very relatable for some of the audience. We know nothing so far about whatever is the supernatural elements in play here and it doesn’t matter. We could get more issues just dealing with these characters and how they interact with the darkness around them, and it would be great.

When characters are so compelling that the story plot can easily take the back seat/back burner, to me that’s the mark of great writing. Characters and their worlds are what keep most of us in a story and keep us coming back if things are ongoing.

Overall artwork and colors show us these characters and their world, setting the tone. We can see and feel the emotions through them here and get a sense of all things. Lettering is the last component that is so important to bring it all together. Through this work, we can hear the world in a way that lets us feel things even more. Becca Carey handles that with this series and does such an amazing job.

Just little things like changing the style or size of font/bubbles, placement, or bits of color make a difference. Not only can we accurately hear the voices in our heads, but it’s also visually exciting. It would be easy to just put standard words and bubbles everywhere and call it a day. Great letterers, though, are always taking things multiple steps further. Because they are artists as well. Carey is a great letterer.

The Neighbors #3 is now available from BOOM! Studios.