I’m thinking more time is needed for the comic to find its bearing. I think it’ll get the chance as a sequel was mentioned on the last pages. So, count me another mostly satisfied customer. 3.5 out of 5 stars. 

I was going through my Kickstarter projects list when I found this one that I didn’t receive in the mail. I thought I had received it but apparently I did not. Thankfully Mr. Carroll is a helpful creator and he was able to zip me over a copy. See, creators? Always help your customers!

Fangernails is a supernatural adventure comic set in modern-day New Jersey. She is an Atum- a kind of protector (I think) of the spirit world. To make a little chedda, Eni teams up with her cat Khem, a ghost named Savannah, and her sister Mercedes to run Fangernails Supernatural Investigations. She’s a teenage ghost hunter with wings.

In this case, she gets a call about a leprechaun sighting in the suburbs and flies out there. The leprechaun isn’t there but a man is- a Reaperator. Think of him as a member of an anti-KKK task force. Anyway, Eni is now tasked with protecting the pot of gold the leprechaun/twa man left for him, since he’s getting up there in age. Can Eni keep the pot of gold safe or will the twa man has something to say about this?

If you’ve read any of his other comics you’ll easily pick up on some of the references to other settings. Even Planet Alkebulan gets a shoutout here. I think it’s a good touch because it sets up an expanded universe, even if the settings are very distant and hardly related.

And now we must talk about the art. I’m not sure why my copy was so pixelated. Perhaps I got sent a screener? Anyway, I didn’t find the art particularly compelling and that’s a problem. It’s not as much as a problem compared to the art in Alkebulan but there’s a noticeable drop in quality compared to The Antagonists and Malika. I’m not familiar with Shoo’s work but I feel like his backgrounds were better than some characters in some scenes. This kind of story can carry subpar art though I consider subpar to be the wrong word for this comic. The art doesn’t ‘pop’ at you compared to glossier and more modern comics but the framing and the focal points worked really well. Therefore, it’s more in the decent category rather than subpar.