Advance Review: The Thing on the Doorstep - Part 1

Funding now on Kickstarter is this latest offering from Blue Fox Comics - The Thing on the Doorstep - Part 1

Arkham Asylum, 1933, Daniel Upton inexplicably shoots his lifelong friend Edward Derby in the face, killing him instantly. What would drive Daniel to perform such an horrific act? Who was Edward Derby, really? And is he, in fact, dead?
Follow the harrowing story of a doomed friendship and delve into the mysteries in this classic Lovecraftian horror, where nothing is at it seems!

Adapted by Simon Birks, with art and colours by Willi Roberts, and letters by Rob Jones.

Wow!
After finishing off reading this first part I immediately want to read more. It is a fantastic beginning to a chilling story and this first part lays the groundwork for what is to come.

From the first few pages, we get the ending, but the build to what is to come is the crux of the story. This was well placed though and adds to the excitement of the following pages as we want to know what lead to this bloody finale!

The build-in of this issue is excellent. There are some genuinely close moments between the two main characters, charting from their initial meeting to their parting after the wedding. The closeness between them is really well told, with some nice back and forth moments between them as we see them grow from children to men. The addition of other family members makes this work well and adds to the layers of their relationship. As one gets married, the other eventually does too, and this is the catalyst of the story to come.

There are some well-done horror moments here too, with the fate of the librarian laid bare as we get a glimpse into what Edward is looking into, and the art works perfectly in these scenes with some brilliant pacing between the panels. These are shown in the hypnotism scene and through the eyes of a child later on.

This is an excellent read and gripping until the very end. It draws you in and doesn't let go - I felt a groan when I got to the final page as I wanted to read more.