Grimm Tales Of Terror #9 Review: The Bogeyman

One family suffers from nights of lost sleep as Ben is haunted by the wicked whispers of the Bogeyman, in Grimm Tales of Terror #9.

Grimm Tales of Terror #9
Written by Troy Brownfield
Artwork Eric J
Published by Zenoscope

Grimm Tales of Terror #9: “The Bogeyman” is one of those horror books that forgets why we’ve cracked the cover. It is a slow burn tale of a young boy, Ben, who can’t sleep because he is visited at night by the universally known monster, the Bogeyman. This is, of course, introduced to us in the traditionally mundane manner of the boy waking up only to be reassured, then put back to bed by his father.

His father Scott is an air traffic controller who manages to work for twelve hours in one sitting and still have enough energy to look under the bed, twice, for the bogeyman. This sounds like the beginning of what should be his characterization in this story, but it’s about the end of it. Much like Ben’s mother whose name we’re never privy to, his family merely serve as plot devices to coddle him in the beginning of the story, and slowly lose their cool, and/or fail him as the story progresses.

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That is what creates the most glaring tragedy in this book. From the teacher, Miss Silver, to the school psychiatrist, to even the disembodied voice of the Bogeyman, we’re never introduced to a character that holds the slightest bit of interest.

Without characters we care about, all we are left with is the mystery of the Bogeyman and whatever twists our creative team has in store for us. Most of that is already destroyed by the existence of the comic and its lack of characters.

This is a horror comic, so the Bogeyman must either be real or be the construct of a delusional mind that will eventually act out. This might have been an interesting debate if the only interesting scene (Ben watching his teacher and all the other students transform into monsters) hadn’t been a nightmare.

So when we get to the finale, what should be a horrifying moment comes off gratuitous and silly. The comic starts slow and never gives us the pathos we need for there to be any payoff. This Grimm Tale of Terror reads more like a Grimm Tale of Insomnia, or better yet, an outline for what will hopefully become a much more terrifying tale.

Related Story: Grimm Tales of Terror #8 Review: The Monkey’s Paw

The Bottom Line: Grimm Tales of Terror #9: “The Bogeyman” is an example of what happens in any anthology series that does not star the same creative team from month to month. It’s a predictable, slow burning comic with nothing new to offer and no characters to mourn.

Grade: I wouldn’t go home with this comic, even if it were free.