The first rule of The Horror Show should be, “Don’t talk about The Horror Show,” because it’s one of those things you need to experience for yourself. Written by James Maddox, illustrated by Todd Beistel, and hosted by Broken Icon Comics, The Horror Show is a short, one-shot comic that is funny, clever, and scary. Should you wish to delve below the spoiler tag, I’ll state up front that the comic is available for free at the Broken Icon store or can be downloaded directly through this link.

There’s something about black and white that makes horror more effective, and The Horror Show demonstrates this aptly with a gorgeous looking grayscale that harkens back to the feel of old horror films but introduces splashes of color (You guessed it, mostly red.) that highlights certain aspects of a scene and manages to be all the more disturbing for it being the only color to stand out. The character models are great, well detailed, with a motion and a life to them, and the perspectives used in this comic produce some tight storytelling, again, in a film-like manner.

SPOILERS BELOW

The comic is free, so if you’re still reading, you know what you’re in for. The Horror Show has many twists and turns to the story that make this comic a perfect one-shot. The twist from people in a cabin in the woods to a zombie attack to the reveal that the zombies are fake, and so on all provide these great bumps that kept my brain working, anticipating, and trying to predict each shift. It’s a neat way to subvert expectations, but despite the fact it’s continuous, the comic’s formula doesn’t become stale. I found the ending delightful as it served as commentary on how the modern day views supernatural creatures and what might be going on instead.