We all have those moments of regret, thinking we should have said something to someone who has passed away, wishing we could visit them one more time. Wail explores just this in a unique way.

Spoilers below

Wail is a one-shot horror comic created, written, and drawn by Richard Fairgray. It’s not so much a traditional horror as one would think but lands firmly in the real-life psychological horror we go through when someone we love dies. The story jumps between past and present in a beautiful manner while remaining cohesive, so readers know fairly early what the tale is about. It’s a wonderful homage told in memory form, reliving moments from the two characters’ lives together, something we go through when we either lose someone or find out we may not have as much time with them as we thought.

Emotion is heightened throughout with a melancholy in every panel that’s hard to describe. Something in the way the art is drawn impresses upon the reader the severity of the loss while imploring them to reflect on their own lives and their loved ones. At the end of the comic, Fairgray explains the art as wanting it to “…look like a memory…” and “…capture the look of old photographs or home video.” That is the best way to portray the artistry, and it accomplishes just that. When the comic reaches for the supernatural, it’s still just as gorgeous as the rest and enhances the rest of what you read, see, and experience.

Though Fairgray explicitly states at the end that he believes in ghosts, readers don’t have to for this comic to resonate and knock them back into their feelings.

The Kickstarter campaign ends on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 9:06 a.m. Pacific time.

Creative Team: Richard Fairgray (Creator, Writer, Artist)
Publisher: Blue Fox Comics
Click here to visit the Kickstarter campaign.