The Graveyard Club: Fresh Blood #1 Is Old-Fashioned Horror Comic Goodness (Review)

R.L. Stine is one of America’s most well-known horror authors.

While there are some who would say that Stephen King is better, Stine’s Goosebumps series is a cultural icon. Stine has written over 300 books, and many of his works have been adapted to television and movies. Stine’s work runs the gamut of horror, with books for children and for adults, something many other horror writers don’t do.



Stine is a fan of comics, having written several over the years, and announced The Graveyard Club last April. The Graveyard Club: Fresh Blood #1 is the latest chapter in the series focusing on a group of teens in the town of Grave’s End. It’s a welcome return, with a deep scoop of old-school horror comic charm.

The first thing that struck me about the book — other than a feeling of keep these particular teens off my lawn, the true sign of aging — is how much fun this issue is. The foursome of Patti, Trip, Rhonda, and Parker is immediately entertaining, the perfect little group of teen heroes for this kind of story. A lot of the dialogue feels like it’s out of an old Marvel or Archie horror comic, a heaping helping of horror cheese that gives the book a charm it wouldn’t have if this was a more hard-edged horror style.

The book presents some interesting mysteries, with the disappearance of Parker and Rhonda’s fathers being the central bit leading to the reveal of one of the dark secrets at the center of Grave’s End.This is classic outcast storytelling, which has its strengths and weaknesses. There’s a lot of teenage shenanigans, with the foursome coming up with interesting ways to have fun.

These are the rebel kids, but instead of making them into sad little nerds, they give as good as they got. This is sort of a problem — the foursome sometimes seems to take their revenge against their targets a little too far — but it also makes for a lively comic. The main plot is pretty interesting, and really made me wonder what exactly the kids had found in town.

All in all, Stine does a great job with the characters and the plots, keeping the reader’s attention throughout the book. This is a long comic, but it’s paced well-enough that it never feels as long as it is.RELATED: R.

L. Stine Confirms Even More Fear Street Movies Are on the Way (Even After Prom Queen)The art by Carola Borelli and Francesco Segala, with assistance from Gloria Martinelli, is the MVP of the book. Borelli’s style lends itself very well to the story, capturing the right atmosphere for this little horror tale.

Her linework is sensational, and she does a great job with the characters. It can be hard in comics to render anyone younger than an adult and make them look their age, but Borelli’s detailed art does a great job. These are teens, not just younger adults, and there’s an energy to them that jumps off the page to the reader.

Her monster design is pretty great, and she’s able to put you right there in the town. The backgrounds have a nice amount of detail to them; Borelli doesn’t skimp on her panels. Borelli’s art is great through and through, and a big reason that is the colors from Segala and Martinelli.

Color is very important to establishing atmosphere, probably more important than the pencils honestly, and the coloring on this book is out of this world. Grave’s End is supposed to be a spooky place, and the color washes on the scene do a great job of giving anything indoors the right kind of atmosphere. For example, when they go into the pharmacy so Patti can apply for a job, there’s a bluish color wash to the scene.

It captures the feel of artificial lighting and gives the scene a feeling of menace that wouldn’t be there if the book had more natural coloring. This extends across the book; the colors in this comic are very important to establishing the mood and they constantly succeed. YA horror has to use different tricks to get across its vibes, and the coloring is a key part of why The Graveyard Club: Fresh Blood #1 looks so sensational.

YA horror can have its problems, but very few of them are apparent in The Graveyard Club: Fresh Blood #1. Stine is a master of this kind of storytelling, and this issue sees him flex some familiar muscles. While the story itself isn’t perfect, it’s pretty entertaining, and it keeps fans hooked and wanting to know what’s going to happen next.

The art is the key factor to the entire equation. It’s spooky and atmospheric, wonderfully detailed, and brings the characters to life perfectly. This is YA horror done right.

Rating: 3.8 out of 5Published by BOOM! StudiosReleased on April 30, 2025Written by R.L.

StineArt by Carola BorelliColors by Francesco Borelli and Gloria MartinelliLetters by Jim CampbellThe Graveyard Club: Fresh Blood #1 is on sale now.The post The Graveyard Club: Fresh Blood #1 Is Old-Fashioned Horror Comic Goodness (Review) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

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