There is something beautiful about butterflies and it’s not just their physical appearance, but the sign of the season changing from summer into fall. This transformation can be stunning, but in the case of Nectar by writer Jeremy Robinson and artists Annapaola Martello & Francesco Francini it becomes evermore terrifying.
An island village off Salem, Massachusetts, is inundated by a strange species of butterflies that spread the Dancing Plague and have a very particular taste in nectar… human blood.
The beauty of the transformation of a butterfly from caterpillar to pupa to adult butterfly is a spectacle to be seen, but it doesn’t take long in the debut issue of Nectar for this to feel like something a bit more sinister. While not a ton happens in the first issue, we do get the birth of inundation of these butterflies and a foundation an atypical thirst of the insects.
Nectar premiere issue has an elegance and beauty within in the panels and pages, while also an unsettling suspense and tension. Those in the village are unsuspecting of this abundance of butterflies leading towards a horrifying outcome on the horizon. Butterflies don’t typical bite, but when it comes to Nectar things aren’t as they may seem.
The pacing of this first issue seemed a bit slow and while it does lay a foundation for the terrifying story, not a ton takes place over the first 20-something pages. The threat of these butterflies is hinted, but the tension is only minimal. It’s hard to gauge how the series will progress, only hoping for a much more impactful second issue.
Martello’s artwork is dark and brooding juxtaposed to the beauty of the butterflies. An unassuming insect with a deadly taste for blood waiting in the shadows. The overall vibe of the illustrations by Martello & Francini and colors by Steve Canon is unsettling, a visual you’d expect from a horror story set in Salem, Massachusetts. The artwork makes this comic shine, even in the dark.
Nectar #1 lays the foundation for what’s to come with these beautiful, yet thirsty butterflies on an unsuspecting village. Robinson, Martello, and Francini craft a unsettling and suspenseful horror story within a beautiful transformation.
Nectar #1 hits local comic shops on March 4, 2026 from Vault Comics.
Nectar #1 Preview
