Playful Haunting

A team of young paranormal investigators is called to look into a haunting. When they arrive, they meet the owner of the property and a ghost-hunter-style character, and from there, things take a playful turn.

Fangernails is a light, all-ages comic that blends mystery, humor, and a bit of the supernatural. It’s not something I’d normally pick up, but it surprised me, in a good way. The book follows three young female leads (one of whom is a ghost) and a talking cat. The team focuses more on helping ghosts resolve problems than fighting them outright.

Scooby-Doo Vibes

The tone reminds me of a mix between Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Scooby-Doo, and Mike Tyson Mysteries. There’s an easygoing charm to the story.

The art does the job well, and the pacing works. The writing keeps things moving without getting bogged down in heavy exposition, or wasted scenes; each moment, even the comedic ones, serves the story with setups and payoffs. It’s not a story to take too seriously—there are ghosts, vampires, and talking animals—but the writer hardly breaks the internal rules, and that keeps the world grounded in its own way. And the humor, while not constant, landed a few light laughs. The Ghostbusters nod was a nice touch.

Art & Pacing

The artwork fits the tone of the book. It gets the job done and mostly supports the story’s pacing well. Some scenes could be laid out more clearly, and there are a few moments where I wasn’t sure what was happening in the panel. But these are minor bumps in an otherwise solid presentation.

The story is self-contained, which I appreciated. At the same time, being a one-shot issue means there’s not a lot of room for deeper character development. As a second issue, there’s a sense that I missed a few things, but nothing that kept me from following along or getting up to speed. But that’s expected from a story following a format of shows like Scooby-Doo, where character growth is slow and episodic. The ending felt a little rushed, almost like it was getting clapped offstage. And there’s one plot point I still question. But none of this was enough to drag the book down entirely. The book never overreaches; it sticks to its tone and knows what kind of story it wants to tell.

Final Thoughts

This is a charming, family-friendly read that doesn’t overstay its welcome. I’d recommend it for young readers or older readers looking for something light and fun. It’s especially great for fans of Archie, Scooby-Doo, or lighter books with Black female protagonists.

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