Some horror concepts scare you because of what they show you. This one scares you because of what it makes you think about every time you look in a mirror afterward. I just wrapped up reading all five issues of In Bloom, and I have to say, this one hits differently.
In Bloom
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Writer: Michael W. Conrad
Artist: John J. Pearson
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Release date: December 2024 – June 2025
The Minds Behind the Mutation
In Bloom is written by Michael W. Conrad, and I’ve actually read his other horror series, Plague House, so I can say with confidence this isn’t a one-off for him, the guy knows how to build a world that’s deeply unsettling while still staying grounded in real human emotion. Plague House follows a trio of ghost hunters investigating a house where a decade-old family murder took place, and it turns the haunted house formula on its head by making the house itself, not any ghosts inside it, the real threat. Beyond that, Conrad has also written for DC’s Wonder Woman, Batgirls, and Nightwing, plus stories featuring Godzilla, Dracula, and Boris Karloff, and his own creator-owned work includes Tremor Dose, Double Walker, and Neptune.
The stunning art is by John J. Pearson, who I’ve also read on The Infernals, and his visuals there are just as intense and disturbing as what he brings to In Bloom. The Infernals follows the son of Satan deciding which of his three deeply flawed children will inherit his empire before he dies, essentially Succession crossed with the apocalypse. Pearson is an Eisner Award winner with additional credits on The Department of Truth, Blue in Green, Razorblades, and Mindset, and it shows, his linework here is textured, unsettling, and disturbing in the best way. Together, Conrad and Pearson created something in In Bloom that’s part horror, part sci-fi, and part deeply human.
What Is In Bloom About?
After the mysterious event known as “the bloom,” people begin to transform. Some develop new physical traits, some seem to change from the inside out, and others claim to connect with strange new intelligences. It’s not a virus or a disease, it’s something stranger. Something more permanent. Agent Spears is brought in to investigate a series of murders where every victim has one thing in common: they’re all bloomed. While society struggles to adjust to this new reality, strange cults form, families make impossible choices, and even entertainment adapts. What starts as a murder investigation ends up being a much bigger story about transformation, connection, and whether being human still means the same thing.
What Got Under My Skin
The concept alone is what pulled me in first, the idea of humanity slowly shifting into something else entirely is scary in a quiet, creeping way that stuck with me between issues. This is body horror, but it never feels like it’s reaching for shock value, there’s real emotion running underneath it, especially in how the main character wrestles with what happened to his wife and daughter. I found myself thinking about that thread of the story long after I put each issue down.
What really won me over, though, is the worldbuilding. Little details like families “giving away” their elders to be destroyed, or reality TV shows built entirely around bloom mutations, make this world feel fully lived-in instead of just sketched out for the plot’s sake. One highlight for me was a genuinely hilarious and horrifying show called The Bloom House, where contestants get immunity in the competition if they’ve mutated enough. It’s dark humor at its absolute finest, and it’s exactly the kind of detail that tells you the creative team thought this world all the way through. The panels of bloomed bodies are the kind of images I know I’ll be thinking about for a while, and the ending genuinely landed for me. Without spoiling anything, the final issue is heavy, emotional, and earns every bit of that weight.
A BOOM! Studios Staple
BOOM! Studios has quietly become one of our favorite publishers to keep an eye on, and In Bloom is a great example of why. If you’re looking for more from them, we’ve also covered Vicarious, a sci-fi psychological thriller about a burnout who gets pulled into a world where the rich pay to live vicariously through others’ bodies; Lawfull, an urban fantasy where every lie or misdeed slowly transforms you into a monster; and Blink and You’ll Miss It, a genre-blurring horror mystery about a woman who returns to her hometown and starts slipping backward through time. Not all horror, but all worth your time if you like BOOM! taking big creative swings.
Final Thoughts
In Bloom is weird, gross, fascinating, and honestly kind of beautiful. If you’re into horror that makes you think as much as it makes you squirm, this is one to check out. The trade paperback will be out in November 2025!
FAQ
Is In Bloom worth reading? Yes. It’s smart, unsettling body horror with real emotional stakes underneath the transformation.
Do you need to read anything before In Bloom? No. It’s a standalone five-issue miniseries with no required reading beforehand.
Who is writing and drawing In Bloom? Michael W. Conrad writes the series, with art by John J. Pearson and letters by Pat Brosseau.
Is In Bloom a one-shot, miniseries, or ongoing series? It’s a five-issue miniseries, running from December 2024 to June 2025.
When is the trade paperback out? The collected edition is out November 2025.
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