Reviews 

“Brynmore” #1

By | June 30th, 2023
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

Horror comics are interesting. They’ve been around almost as long as superheroes and almost as popular. Despite their reputation and the fact that horror comics helped cripple the industry in the 1950’s (look up EC Comics testimonial before the Senate subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency if you want a history lesson), they’ve experienced quite the revival over the past couple of decades and a big reason why horror comics are so popular these days is due to the author of today’s comic: Steve Niles.

Niles is probably most famous for his fantastic take on vampires in the excellent “30 Days of Night”. Let’s see if his newest vampire comic “Brynmore” #1 can live up to his reputation.

Cover by: Damian Worm
Written by Steve Niles
Illustrated by Damian Worm
Lettered by Taylor Esposito

From the creators of The October Faction, Steve Niles and Damien Worm, comes a new horror tale, Brynmore! Recently divorced and sober, Mark Turner has returned to his hometown looking for a second chance. He’ll rebuild the old church into a new home… if the locals let him. But Turner Island has a secret, one tracing back to when it was named after Mark’s ancestors. Who, or what, is Brynmore?

Mark Turner had everything going for him in his life. He had a loving family, a thriving construction business, and seems to have come from a pretty important family who founded a settlement on a small island off the coast of North Carolina in the early 1700’s, which was rather unimaginatively named Turner Island. Unfortunately, a nasty booze addiction crippled Mike and he lost everything except his family name and a bit of land on the island. Now, Mike has returned to his childhood home in an attempt to heal and rebuild his life, even if the locals don’t remember him very fondly.

In short, Michael Turner is the perfect horror protagonist.

“Brynmore” #1 is written by Steve Niles, who as stated above is something of a legend in horror comics circles. Niles wastes no time showing the reader how to set up an effective story by creating a relatable protagonist with plenty of flaws. Mike Turner is a man whose demons aren’t exactly literal and he is very clearly suffering. Niles does a great job of showing that the main character is capable of incredible violence and he is still very clearly struggling with his alcohol addiction, but he’s kind and trying to be better in order to get his family back and play nice with the locals. Speaking of the locals, Niles also does a very good job of establishing Turner Island as a community that likes to keep to themselves, but isn’t afraid to welcome their neighbors, for better or for worse. Everyone on the island is a blood sacrifice waiting to happen, and at the very least Niles has made it so that the reader will miss them when they’re gone.

With all the attention that Niles devotes to Mike Turner’s backstory and world building in “Brynmore” #1 it doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for actual horror, and that is a bit of a problem. To be clear, establishing the protagonist as a deeply flawed individual who is clearly still dealing with quite a few metaphorical demons is important, but it means the comic doesn’t get to the supernatural, creepy stuff until the very last page. There’s a very brief mention of a “Turner curse” that seems to affect Mike’s family, but outside of a quick sentence it’s never brought up again. Also, while the town is properly isolated from the rest of civilization and presents plenty of opportunities for chaos and carnage, it’s just there. Not a lot of effort has been made to combine the Turner family history, Mike’s personal problems, and the town’s history together to see how they interact and while there are plenty of opportunities in future issues, it would be nice to have seen it all getting set up at the beginning. Also, for a comic titled “Brynmore” there is no mention of that word in the entire book, which is very confusing a bit disappointing.

Continued below

The artwork for “Brynmore” #1 is provided by Damian Worm, and it is gorgeous. Worm does a great job of capturing the beauty and slower pace of small town America, especially a town that’s isolated and inhabited by people that enjoy a quiet, peaceful country life. The landscapes are gorgeous and it’s all enhanced by fantastic colors that make every sunset in the comic an occasion. As for the people themselves, Worm has an interesting style that’s pretty evenly split between realistic and cartoonish. On one hand, the characters have realistically proportioned facial features and proportions while on the other hand, the details look very linear and simplistic. This allows Worm to show a keen grasp of emotion and action, which makes key character moments and conversation engaging and meaningful. Also, while the first issue’s lack of horror elements don’t really affect the quality of the art, the cover and last panel teases some really creepy and legitimately scary imagery.

“Brynmore” #1 is the classic first act of a horror story. It establishes the setting, the characters, and shows the audience how relatable and tortured the main character is and the struggles they’re going to have to face when it all goes sideways. It may feel a bit disappointing due to a distinct lack of actual horror, but this is a Steve Niles comic and it does tease a lot of bone chilling thrills to come.

Final Verdict: 7.6- It’s a great character piece and does a good job of establishing characters that we want to either root for or cheer when they get eaten, but it appears to be saving all the fun weird and scary stuff for later issues.


Matthew Blair

Matthew Blair hails from Portland, Oregon by way of Attleboro, Massachusetts. He loves everything comic related, and will talk about it for hours if asked. He also writes a web comic about a family of super villains which can be found here: https://tapas.io/series/The-Secret-Lives-of-Villains

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