Gio is an ordinary school kid, who just so happens to live in an extraordinary house which hides dark secrets around every corner. After he is plagued by nightmares he and his best friend Drew experience first hand the horrors that lay in store for them in this chilling tale that does not hold back. A creepy setting which is made all the more frightening because it’s based off true events, and a relatable protagonist make Home a pretty entertaining read, and one you might not want to read at night. Don’t worry, we won’t judge you.
Plot
Home #1 is created and written by Kalani Caraballo, with cover and interior art by Frank Castro, and edited by Chrissy Torres and follows the story of Gio, and the horrors he faces whilst living in his family home which is more than meets the eye. Make no mistake this issue is not for the faint of heart and has its fair share of mature content with the opening being one of the most hard-hitting and shocking first pages I’ve read in a comic for quite some time. After the horror subsides, however, which it only does for brief moments, the pace switches up and we get to see the more grounded life of Gio, a regular student, and the issues main star. Seeing Gio at school, hanging out with his friend, playing games all allow for the reader to catch their breath and somewhat prepare themselves for the next big scare or paranormal incident. As the issue progresses we see more and more horrifying affairs with even Gio’s skeptical friend Drew know believing him all building up to a dramatic finale that leaves the door open for the following issue. Home #1 opens the series up nicely and establishes a strong horror-filled story that has some interesting developments hinted at in the first issue which have peaked my interests going into issue #2.
Characters
Home #1 only really focuses on two main characters those being Gio and his best friend Drew, although Gio’s family are present throughout the second half of the issue. Gio instantly seems likable and relatable. We see him deal with day to day school life and with his recurring scares, we see how they’ve impacted him with him missing baseball practice. His terror also made him relatable because we’ve all heard strange noises or caught a glimpse of something strange when we know we should be alone, even if we don’t want to admit it. He felt genuine throughout and seeing just how terrifying his nightmares were made me feel somewhat sympathetic towards him. Drew is almost the opposite of Gio, not really believing his friend and being slightly more outgoing and confident. He was more enjoyable than Gio for me and made way for some nice if only small comic relief to help ease the tension. By the end of the issue, both lads have shifted from where they were at the start with Gio finally being believed about the ghosts and Drew taking his friend more seriously after his own paranormal encounter. Aside from a couple out of place lines of dialogue I bought into their friendship and look forward to seeing them together again in issue #2.
As for the issues other characters we only really have Gio’s family, who are handy for some good exposition and two really nice scares but not much more than that, and the evil entity that haunts Gio’s house. There’s clearly some history to be learned there but for now, he is simply a very, very terrifying spirit.
Artwork
Home does a very interesting thing with its artistic choices because the entire comic is in black and white. The lack of color was something I initially didn’t like, however it did grow on me by the time I’d finished the issue. I still think certain parts of the story would benefit from a dash of color but the choice to leave it black and white does convey the same feeling an old, strangely enough, black and white horror film gives off. This is the style they want to go with and for the most part, it does work. As for the artwork itself, it’s fantastic with every single scare looking horrific in the best way possible.
Home is definitely an acquired taste, its stylistic choices and its mature content might not be for everyone but if your a fan of horror and you’re looking for a seriously scary comic, look no further. Its horror elements are what immediately stands out to me and thats what you want from a comic like this and an intriguing story and likable main characters go the extra mile to make this a really enjoyable read. Oh, and don’t worry if you want to leave the light on at night after giving it a read. I won’t tell anyone.
