Hornsby & Halo #16 — Peter J. Tomasi Brings the Deadtones to Town
The Deadtones have landed in Warwick, and things are getting weird. As Rose and Zach try to figure out if the monster-rock band is friend or foe, the rest of the town starts turning into their worst selves. Peter J. Tomasi and Peter Snejbjerg serve up a chaotic, character-driven slice of horror.
There is a special kind of energy that comes from a story that feels like a long-overdue reunion. That’s the pull of Hornsby & Halo right now. We’re deep into the run, but this feels like the moment where all the weird threads of the town’s underbelly come together. If you’ve been riding along with Rose and Zach, you know the stakes have always been personal. Now, they’re loud, they’re musical, and they’re in town.
The setup here is pure chaos. The Deadtones, a monster-rock band that sounds like it crawled out of a nightmare, have hit Warwick. Rose and Zach are trying to navigate the ambiguity of the group—are these allies or enemies? It’s a tricky dance, especially because the rest of the town isn’t exactly helping. People are starting to morph into their worst possible versions. And when your parents are already con artists, seeing them amplify that trait is a special kind of horror.
Peter J. Tomasi has a knack for grounding the supernatural in the deeply human. He makes you care about the family dynamics, even when the family is falling apart in increasingly grotesque ways. Paired with Peter Snejbjerg and John Kalisz, the visuals have this gritty, textured feel that makes the horror feel tangible. It’s not just about the monsters; it’s about the people reacting to them, and the people reacting to each other.
This issue is a great place to dive back in if you’ve been away, or a fantastic reminder of why this series works so well. The tension is high, the art is striking, and the mystery of the Deadtones is just beginning to unravel. It’s one of those books that feels essential in the current lineup.
As for the variant cover by Snejbjerg and Kalisz? It’s got that classic, moody aesthetic that just begs to be framed. If you’re grabbing this for the story, grab it for the art too. The shelf looks busy on this one, so just a heads-up that these tend to move fast. It’s one of those drops that feels like it’ll be missed before you even finish the first chapter.