Review – Be Not Afraid #1 (BOOM! Studios)

June 7, 2025

3 minutes

Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Jude Ellison S. Doyle
Artist: Lisandro Estherren
Colouring: Francesco Segala w/ Gloria Martinelli
Lettering: Simon Bowland
Release Date: 4th June 2025

I’m a huge fan of horror comics, but I can’t help but feel there’s something of a dearth of genuinely unsettling ones on the shelves right now. Thankfully, BOOM! Studios has just what the doctor ordered in the form of Be Not Afraid, a chilling slice of Southern Gothic horror from author Jude Ellison S. Doyle and artist Lisandro Estherren that promises to deliver “equal parts feminist rage and folk horror”, so let’s dive right in, shall we?

The first issue introduces us to Cora, a teenage girl whose angel-faced son Jordy arrived fully-formed and unmistakably evil to the core. In the seventeen years since, chaos and destruction have followed in his wake, with frogs boiling in their skins as he walks by and dogs attacking each other in a blind rage at the merest sight of him. Everything he comes into contact with in the small town of Enoch is corrupted or damaged in some way, save for Cora herself, who instead finds herself living with a strange blend of fear, disgust and chilling resignation about the creature she has brought into the world.

Doyle does a fantastic job of setting the scene over the course of this opening chapter, giving the reader ample opportunity to be genuinely disturbed by Jordy’s existence. Even the nature of his birth, disappearing from the womb and appearing in the shadows as a smiling, dungaree-clad cherub (see preview below) is so unsettling it almost requires a double-take to fully grasp what’s going on. I also love the job he does establishing Cora and her well-rounded reaction to the world she finds herself living in, tied to this monster and forced to play the ‘mother’ role to a creature she is clearly terrified of.

Estherren’s horror chops are well documented, including a stellar turn on Southern vampire yarn Redneck alongside Donny Cates, and he paints a vivid picture of the bleak town of Enoch in his distinct, evocative style, packing the pages with with jagged edges and creeping shadows. His depiction of Jordy himself is also pretty much perfect, with his unmistakable good looks and curly blonde hair being offset by the piercing stare, haunting smile and striking wardrobe. This is a great-looking book, and the colourist duo of Francesco Segala and Gloria Martinelli do an equally strong job of keeping everything dark, dusty and claustrophobic throughout.

The final pages shine some light (literally) on young Jordy’s conception, adding some much-needed context to his existence and introducing a new character whose involvement seems poised to provide the main narrative thrust of the series moving forwards. As I said above, I’m a sucker for horror comics that crawl under your skin and stay there long after you’ve put them down, and that’s exactly what we have here. Highly recommended if you like your horror to linger with you.

Rating: 4.5/5.

[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]