SPECTREGRAPH #1 / Script by JAMES TYNION IV / Art by CHRISTIAN WARD / Letters by ADITYA BIDIKAR / Published by DSTLRY

For years, a large mansion has sat on the coast, just north of Los Angeles. It was the abode of one Ambrose Everett Hall – heir to a steel fortune and a student of the occult. For decades, many other rich dilettantes have wondered about the mysteries of the Hall House. Why did he build it? And what lies inside?

Now, Ambrose Everett Hall is dead and his house is on the market. The answers to many questions, perhaps even the ultimate questions of life and death, are waiting inside. Yet what is waiting outside to get in may prove even more terrible…

My expectations were high going into SPECTREGRAPH #1 and I was not disappointed. I rarely am when I’m reading a James Tynion IV comic. Tynion is one of the great masters of modern horror. This first chapter is perfectly paced, establishing the mystery of the Hall House through the eyes of the unfortunate realtor who is tasked with exploring it. Like a big house, there are multiple levels to the horror and psychological terrors far greater than your usual ghost story.

Christian Ward depicts all this with his usual skill and subtlety. The images are slowly distorted as things get strange, further adding to the tension of the text. The use of color is also noteworthy, with sudden shifts to punctuate the action.

If you like horror, you will love SPECTREGRAPH. Its only failing is my sneaking suspicion it may read better in a single sitting than as a monthly periodical. However, on reflection that thought is born more of my desire to keep reading rather than any pacing problem on the part of the creators.

SPECTREGRAPH #1 releases on April 24, 2024.