Halloween Team by All-New All-Awesome Comics is a title I enjoyed on GlobalComix. So I was pretty thrilled to get the request to review it by the creator. Even though I’ve never really watched any kid occult detectives growing up. But that just adds to the quality of this series, because I didn’t need to.
Meet The Halloween Team
Tommy Taylor was the founder of the titular group and still looks back on those memories in his dull day job. As an adult, he’s having trouble trying to find fulfillment. He just can’t seem to bond with his coworkers; he’s not the dude bro type anyway.
The rest of his grade school friends had went their separate ways. Josh became a teacher at their high school, Chuck became a (retired) pro-wrestler and married his teammate Ruby, while Casey went to New York as a full-time occultist. So Tommy doesn’t have a lot of friends to confide in. Until he meets a woman through his company’s dating app. She’s one of the few people this introvert can feel comfortable opening up to. So when she goes missing with only a message to put his team back together left behind, readers can feel Tommy’s drive. It’s not just to get a love interest and past glory back, but to fight the loneliness. All the while showing how important the old days really are.
Nostalgia At Its Best
Danny Baram writes about how nostalgia is a source of inspiration. Most of the characters took careers inspired by their time as the Halloween Team. I mean Josh works with the teacher who supported them while studying magic on the side. All while mentioning that the “good ol’ days” still have some mundane drama. That’s probably best seen with Casey who drifted apart from everyone, especially her best friend Tommy, because she had to go through some issues. But even after moving away, she could never leave that part of her life behind, becoming an occult detective as a result.
Tommy himself accepts that things can never be the same; not the past, or his present. It’s why he had so much trouble trying to reconnect with some of his closer friends. He tried to move on like how he imagines some of the others did. But it felt something was missing, preventing him from actually moving forward. So seeing the talks with Casey comes with a sense of satisfaction, to finally say what’s been holding them back.
Make Memories With The Halloween Team
Matt Shults’ art makes several moments feel important in the long run. Take the scene when around a campfire when Tommy defends his date as a real person for example. He’s opening up to people who are empathetic enough to listen, despite their doubts. Casey meanwhile is standing behind him in the dark while opening up how Tommy’s love interest might’ve vanished. She’s assuring her best friend that she believes him, but her panicked look says Casey’s hiding something too. This fills the reader with a sense of anticipation for the twist ending of the saga.
Reflective Reunion
What makes Halloween Team a great story is its focus on character, weaving a narrative structure around them. So if anybody got on board because it evokes nostalgia for Ghostwriter or So Weird, they can enjoy it with casual readers. You know people like Stranger Things fans, even the ones who notice commentary on nostalgia. All while having something to look forward to continuing. Final score: 8.5/10.