Oni Press’ new queer horror graphic novel Let Me Out delivers exactly what it sets out to. It’s a dark, bloody, trope-defying tale on the terrors of corruption and bigotry, and the daring hope that comes with friendship and found family. Let Me Out – from writer Emmett Nahil (Leatherwood) and artist George Williams (Croc and Roll) – is a brilliantly demonic twist on the very real history of the 1980s “Satanic panic.” The queer emphasis of Let Me Out enhances the horror of the book in light of the ongoing fight for trans and queer rights in modern times, proving how tragically far we still have to go.
While Let Me Out first started out as Kickstarter from Nahil and Williams, independent publisher Oni Press quickly picked the graphic novel up, and the resulting product is a gorgeous, glossy paperback with stunning art and captivating storytelling. Let Me Out offers a lovingly diverse cast of queer and POC representation, presenting an intersectional lens of queer oppression, police violence, and family dynamics that are much needed in comics. While the opportunity for queer analysis in Let Me Out is rich and deep, it is also important to highlight just how enjoyable, hilarious, and heartwarming the story is for a casual reader. Like many beloved horror stories, Let Me Out is grounded in an emotional tale of friendship, identity, and inner strength.
WARNING: Light spoilers ahead!
Oni Press
Let Me Out focuses on a group of queer and trans punk outcasts living in the suburbs of Columbiana, New Jersey, forced to fight back against society’s assumptions about them while surviving the horrors of suburbia. Mitch, Lupe, Terri, and Jackson are misfit best friends who do everything together, like going to Terri’s punk rock band performances, messing around at the grocery store where Lupe and Terri work, and trying (and failing) at keeping each other out of trouble. The love these four friends have for each other is just as palpable as the rage, sadness, and overwhelm they all clearly feel at being visible outcasts in a small conservative town, one that refuses to allow them to live in peace.
Feeling at times like a punk, queer grown-up version of Stranger Things mixed with the campy horror of Jennifer’s Body, Let Me Out is a true delight for fans of horror and conspiracy theories. Columbiana is home to some troublingly corrupt police and shady government agents, who are using the town as a source for demonic experimentation, which the core group of friends soon gets caught up in. Specifically, after the disappearance and subsequent death of Pastor Holley’s wife Kelly, FBI agent Garrett partners with Columbiana’s local Sheriff Mullen to frame a patsy for Kelly’s murder… and Lupe is the convenient trans punk who is targeted.
Oni Press
Part of what makes Let Me Out so enthralling is that it takes place during the 1980s when America was on the terrifying precipice of the “Satanic panic,” a modern-day resurgence of the 17th century’s infamous witch trials. The Satanic panic was a “moral panic” that swept the nation, prompting over 12,000 false cases of “Satanic ritual abuse,” particularly in schools and by the government. Just like in Let Me Out, the real “Satanic panic” often targeted youth associated with the punk music scene, leading to police raiding punk concerts just like Terri’s. Of course, in the world of Let Me Out, Satan is a very real entity, and the government really is enacting deals with the Devil and experimenting with demonic summoning.
Similar to James Tynion IV’s acclaimed horror series Department of Truth, the terrifying Let Me Out asserts that some conspiracy theories are 100% real… and should make you very, very afraid. After a disgusting run-in with her boss, Lupe is on the run from the police, and Garrett and Sheriff Mullen use this as the perfect excuse to frame Lupe and her friends for the murder of Kelly Holley. This starts the misfit youths on a journey of demonic possession, family betrayal, and fighting back against their oppressors. Emmett Nahil, a queer mixed Arab-American, has said that he hopes to “bring fun, flawed, and interesting characters of all kinds” into the speculative fiction he writes, and his nuanced depictions of Mitch, Lupe, Terri, and Jackson are a powerful testament to that desire.
Oni Press
George Williams, an English trans illustrator whose work often focuses on themes of found family and queerness, brings his best to Let Me Out, whose art and coloring is so devastating and beautiful that it becomes difficult to put down. Williams creates such evocative expressions on each character’s face that their emotions roll off the page, with his depictions of repressed rage and radical tenderness creating particularly breathtaking panels throughout the comic. His design for Satan is somehow terrifying yet oddly adorable, making the Devil into a campy Baphomet-like creature that pairs perfectly with Nahil’s almost light-hearted attitude toward Satan and its possession of Mitch and the others. Williams’ lettering is also unique, and effective, and greatly enhances the ambiance and vibe of the entire story.
Let Me Out is a beautiful and depressing representation of the everyday and systemic struggles that diverse trans and queer folks face, both in the past and in the present. Trans rights are under more attacks than ever in 2023, and many conservative Americans are falsely using queer people as the scapegoats for very real issues that should be addressed. Let Me Out mirrors the current narrative and experiences of trans people, particularly the violence aimed at BIPOC trans women and others who hold intersectional marginalized identities. Terri’s betrayal at the hands of her father, Mitch’s constant misgendering at home, and Lupe’s lack of familial support all paint a picture of why chosen and found family is so vitally necessary for queer people.
Oni Press
Thankfully, Let Me Out does offer an uplifting (if not bloody) vision of radical queer love and found family, highlighting the importance of solidarity and kinship in the queer community. Mitch, Terri, Lupe, and Jackson are an inspiring chosen family, ride-or-die besties that risk it all to protect their own, which reflects the many real-life chosen families that exist in diverse queer circles. As a spine-tingling treat, Let Me Out ends with a “…The End?” meaning there is a very real chance that the terrifying, hilarious, and beautiful world that Emmett Nahil and George Williams have created could very well come back, giving us further adventures of Satan and Columbiana’s very own queer misfits.
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