Writer: Dolan Waddick
Illustrator: Aurelio Mazzara
Inker: Gaetano Petrigno
Colorist: Gene Jimenez

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It should probably come as to no surprise to any onlookers that an impressive one hundred and sixty-three backers dared “to continue the descent into darkness” with issue two of Unholy Nightmare on the online crowdfunding platform Kickstarter in June 2025. Sure, Dolan Waddick’s script for the thirty-two page plot contains a few more quieter moments than the title’s previous outing, courtesy of a somewhat romantic interlude between his two central characters back at the Recluse’s secret hideaway. But for the vast majority of this comic there’s still plenty of pulse-pounding action to keep the audience absolutely riveted; “Couldn’t I have gone to jail? Did I deserve to be shot repeatedly?”

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly however, many a bibliophile will also most likely find Lieutenant Magnum’s fiery introduction as the highlight of this book, rather than Jenny and her spiderlike partner-in-crime, with the absolutely no-nonsense Chicago Police Officer dominating every panel in which he appears. Of particular interest is the sheer sense of energy and humour the man adds to an already fast-paced car pursuit down the back roads of Gary, Indiana, with his heated rebuke of a rookie cop who gets their vehicle stuck in a traffic jam genuinely delivering a laugh-out-loud moment.

Furthermore, Waddick manages to provide every one of this publication’s considerably-sized cast with plenty of unique personality, including a wonderfully penned bald-headed priest who is as quick to throw a painful punch straight to the jaw as he is to amusingly curse using almost every expletive under the sun. Such individuality really helps draw the reader’s attention to each of Vlad’s mysterious minions, and should easily make them eager to peruse a much-desired third instalment of this title once its release is announced.

Similarly as successful as this comic’s writing though is its artwork, with Aurelio Mazzara, inker Gaetano Petrigno and colorist Gene Jimenez doing a fantastic job of bringing all the grim-faced ghouls contained within the narrative to vibrant life. Indeed, this book is absolutely packed full of some truly memorable visuals, such as Magnum’s aforementioned descent into a red-faced rage, or the Recluse’s awesome-looking arachnid-mobile sending the local police cars flying into the hard shoulder as it plunges bonnet-first into the murky depths of Lake Michigan.

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[PREVIEW ARTWORK – CLICK TO ENLARGE]

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The writer of this piece was: Simon Moore
Simon Tweets from @Blaxkleric ‏
You can read more of his reviews at The Brown Bag

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