CREDIT: Lion Forge Comics
Rating: 4/5 – All the Cliches from the 80s and 90s Slasher Flicks!
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
With Night Trap from Lion Forge Comics, writer Cullen Bunn has channeled all the cliches and tropes commonly seen in horror films from the 1980s and 1990s and has launched an all new series. Psycho killer…check. Teenagers up to no good while vacationing at a summer home…check. Gruesome death scene…check. It’s all here, and although the story so far doesn’t break any new ground, it’s an entertaining read that covers that familiar ground effectively.
After we witness a flashback to the “slasher” of the story set in the very recent past, we’re then introduced to the group of teenagers that will most likely be picked off over the course of future issues. There’s the good looking one that’s infatuated with her jock and jersey wearing boyfriend, the tagalong guy who’s looking for love, and Kelly who seems to be the main character of the story, and seems to be carrying some baggage. Bunn isn’t afraid to embrace the typical and because of that, it’s easy to enjoy despite you having seen all this before. Artist JB Bastos does a really nice job with the art and except for a few places where the backgrounds and surroundings look too plain and sterile, he provides enough depth, shadows and details to make the art stand out. The colors by Robby Bevard aren’t all dark adding to that campy feel.
I’m hoping that the slasher’s personality or lack thereof is explored a bit more than it was in this first issue, but I’m confident that Bunn will flesh him out in future issues. Bunn has proven he can write a solid villain, like he did in the Sixth Gun. I’m on board for at least the next couple issues and love the slasher genre Bunn and Bastos are playing in with Night Trap!
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
https://comicspectrum.com/ Covering the full spectrum of comics culture
Follow ComicSpectrum: 
ComicSpectrum Comic Reviews 