I had the privilege of reading Don’t Ever Blink #1 which was written by Brian Hawkins, illustrated by Richard Kemp, and lettered by Guido Martinez. The graphic novel is currently being funded on Kickstarter and it is going to span for five issues.

The comic’s synopsis is “about a woman who survives a harrowing and horrific ordeal, the massacre of her fiance and his family while at a family get-together, but not without her also being scarred for life in more than one way; Tinsley Marissa Grace is found alive but her eyelids have been sewn together — a calling card of a killer that has eluded the local authorities for years, a killer that they thought was long gone.”

Regularly, I do not read too many horror comics nor do I consume anything horror. Well, the closest to horror I do read or consume is the Walking Dead (both the comics and TV show) or Bruce Campbell’s Evil Dead but that is as far as it will go for me. However, when I came across Don’t Ever Blink, I decided to give it a read.

When reading the comic, we are taken to the scene where Tinsley is recalling the events of her fiance family’s massacre to Detective Randall Johnson. The massacre takes place at the Wilcox Plantation and Tinsley is surrounded by bodies of her family. In the scene, it seems that Tinsley may have killed her fiance and family. Even as Tinsley narrates these events, it is not clear how things went down. Furthermore, we do catch a silhouette of the killer who knocks Tinsley out.

After being shown these recollecting horrific panels, we are taken to a half-splash of Tinsely’s eyes literally sewn shut. That is when the story begins.

We learn that Randall and his partner Detective Vicki Lopez have been on the case involving the killer for awhile. However, the killer had not ressurfaced for over a year until Tinsley becomes the latest victim.

As I read the comic, one of the most disturbing scenes, for me, involves a kid being chased by Detective Lopez. We learn that the kid is a follower of the killer and he somehow knows Tinsley. As I read that scene, I had an eerie feeling that this killer was no one to mess with. There is also another scene that involving the kid at jail which he uses his blood to give Randall a horrific message which ends with the titular words “Don’t ever blink.”

The illustrations done by Kemp definitely complimented the narration done by Hawkin’s writing. This comic was full of closure in which it forces use to use our imagination to piece together what might have happened. In other words, the illustration and art in Don’t Ever Blink places us in a role of a third detective working alongside Randall and Lopez.

Finally, the lettering done by Martinez also gives depth to the horror. One of the notable uses of the lettering was seen as Tinsley is seemingly killing her fiance and we also see it in the jail cell with the blood-written letters on the wall ending with the titular words.

I have no doubt that as the next four issues come, we will learn more about the detectives, Tinsley, and the killer. Is Randall’s marriage in the rocks due to his job or the case? Who’s the kid and his connection to the killer? And most important question of all, who’s the killer?

Even though I am not a huge horror enthusiast, I am looking forward to reading this comic more. And even if you are not into horror, you might be in noir like me. But whether you are into horror or not, I would give this comic a read since it will leave you guessing whose really pulling the strings.

For more information on Don’t Ever Blink, you can check out the link to the kickstarter here.