Zeb Larson reviews Nailbiter #6…
It’s a serial killer!
Nailbiter #6 takes some chances and breaks with the formula by giving us a slow-paced issue that’s meant to develop Sheriff Crane and Alice. That can be a risky approach in a mystery, where so much of the narrative pressure rests on giving the audience clues as well as the occasional dismembered body. To me, though, it shows that Joshua Williamson is confident in the story and characters that he’s created. His confidence pays off for us as readers, as we see slightly deeper into Crane and Alice, while still raising questions about Alice’s endgame. I will discuss some spoilers up ahead, but I don’t want to give away all of the action. Read on at your own discretion.
This issue takes place largely through Alice’s viewpoint. Finch is entirely absent, as the FBI agent who showed up last issue has effectively locked him down while Crane is busy with the media. While sitting in a diner, a very pregnant woman named Mallory shows up and asks Alice where the murder store went. Mallory has a particularly deranged plan, which is saying something for this comic: she wants to have her baby born in Buckaroo so that he will become a serial killer and make her famous. After attacking a doctor, Crane and Alice go looking for her to try and help her. What follows is weirdly touching, even as it raises more questions about what’s going on with Alice.
The whole plotline sounds silly in light of everything else that’s going on, yet it’s not hard to imagine that a place like Buckaroo would attract some fairly disturbed individuals. Mallory’s not a bad person, and her zaniness makes for a lot of welcome black humor in this issue. Mike Henderson is really good at making a person look deranged in a funny way, and when Mallory imagines her life as the mother of a serial killer, complete with a touching yet bloodstained high school graduation photo, it’s hard not to chuckle. This sense of humor is so critical to the series and helps it to stand out from however many other boilerplate serial killer stories.
I mentioned above that we see slightly deeper into these characters, and the emphasis is “slightly.” While I liked this issue and thought it was entertaining, it didn’t exactly tell us a lot about Alice or Crane. We’re still left with the question we had from last issue about Alice’s mental state, apart from the fact that she’s as lost as we are about what she is. She wants to be a good person it seems, but it’s entirely possible that the Nailbiter was the same Likewise, we learn very little about Crane here, apart from the fact that she doesn’t have a really positive relationship with Buckaroo and wants Alice to get out. Wait, didn’t we already know that? Oh well. If I have any pet theories going forward for the series, it’s that Crane sees some of the young Nailbiter in Alice and wants to try and save her.
The next issue promises to be a juicy one, as Brian Michael Bendis is the guest star…literally. That’s right, Brian Michael Bendis shows up in Buckaroo wanting to right a comic book. Well, in terms of Oregonian comic writers, he’s our best bet (I can’t resist shouting out to a citizen of my former home). Here’s looking forward to issue #7.
Zeb Larson
Originally published October 1, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
