From Hugo Award–winning writer Sarah Gailey and artist Haining, new series Neighbourhood Watch is a thrilling murder mystery, pitting two different communities against each other.
Published by BOOM! Studios, Neighbourhood Watch is written by Sarah Gailey (Just Like Home, The Echo Wife) and illustrated by Haining (Gotham City Sirens, Absolute Flash). Set in two communities, the Will Haven Gated Community and the neighbouring Open Arms Collective, the series begins by depicting the day-to-day lives of our central community members. One of which is community leader Jill Hewett, who’s also the wife of a respected police officer.
One day, when Jill Hewett is found dead — seemingly by a gunshot wound — in a tunnel that connects the two communities, her body is found by a member of each community: the VP of the HOA and the Kitchen Steward of the Collective. At first they blame each other, and a divide is set between the communities. Why would each of them be skulking around in a dark tunnel anyway? But also, they both appear to be close to Jill, with a personal connection to the murder. With both of them keen to solve the case, they investigate together.
The first element that stood out to me about this issue was the different styles to represent the two communities: the Will Haven Gated Community with the neighbouring Open Arms Collective. Artist Haining works it really well. There’s something very subtly Romeo & Juliet about it, given the two contrasting communities, brought together.
After issue #1 I cannot guess who the murderer is, which is testament to a clearly tightly-woven narrative. I could guess, but I certainly don’t know for sure.
This debut issue gets very soapy at times, which is fine, but it demands patience from the reader. It favours world building and establishing its two communities. We meet each character, get caught up in their individual dramas, daily routines, and so on. It’s not a first issue that’ll blow you away. It sets the scene and begins the mystery. I wasn’t too taken at first, but the moment the narrative switches to the murder, and our two central characters from each community are bought together to investigate, I was fully invested.
Neighbourhood Watch #1 goes on sale April 8, 2026.
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