In this review of Fixation #1, Taylor’s won a super-fan contest for her favorite franchise, “Blood Mountain”. But there’s also someone out to kill “Blood Mountain” fans…
Fixation #1
Writer: Amy Chase
Artist: Savanna Mayer
Main Cover: Suspiria Vilchez
Variant Covers: Savanna Mayer, Lauren Knight, Lisa Sterle
Page Count: 48 pages
Release Date: 9/9/2026
This review contains spoilers
In Vail, WA, we see a woman break into the main character’s house from “Blood Mountain” for some pics. Mid-selfie, however, a hooded figure creeps up behind her and murders her. But the scene has to be cleaned up ASAP because the series’ anniversary is fast approaching, and there’re a number of fandom-pleasing events planned.
A few days later, we meet Taylor, the superfan that had won a contest to come to the setting of her favorite book-to-movie adaptation and her best friend/plus one Karrah. They drive into town, go to a vampire-themed cafe and get coffee. While there, they have their first brush with the cast from the movies and it’s clear that people know of Taylor from the forums. She gets to speak with one actor from the films named Patrick.
The pair soon get to the house seen at the beginning. In the “Blood Mountain” series, it’s the home of Lucy Mallard, and they couldn’t be happier to be there. They’re given a schedule, and Patrick soon shows up with a pizza for them.
But they’re being watched, and their stalker manages to get past security, leaving them a message that’s soon just brushed off as part of the experience.
They go to the meet and greet, where Taylor reveals that these books had gotten her through some tough times. One of the actors, Miguel, shows up late and has a noticeably-bandaged arm. And while there, Taylor gets a threatening text.
Their schedule gets tweaked a bit after the discovery of a body, but they get to check out the high school from this series. So, that’s a win for them.
There’s a memorial for lead actress Summer’s stunt double, and we see a bit of drama between Patrick and Summer’s costar/on again-off again boyfriend David. Not only that, but after a threat made against Summer, parts of this winners’ experience are postponed.
As Fixation #1 ends, we get a glimpse of the hooded stalker, who has his sights set Taylor…
Just from the title alone, it’s pretty clear that a theme of this story is going to be “obsession”. On the one hand, we’ve got massive fans of a vampire franchise, and fandom tends to get a bit passionate. On the other, we’ve got this guy, going under the handle “Cain_unable” (love the wordplay with that, by the way) who’s out to kill these fans.
There are a few suspects for who it is under that hood so far. First off: Patrick. He’s in the shadow of the other actors of the franchise, seems to know a lot about the contest winner’s schedule, and he’d had a restraining order against him. Plus, he seems like a pleasant enough guy. But that might all also make him a bit obvious as a suspect.
Another one is Miguel, who shows up late to an event and his arm is bandaged. A reason for that may be covering up an injury obtained in a struggle for self-defense.
And finally, we come to David. He shows up to the memorial service, and tells Taylor that she’s better off devoting her life to something else, aside from the “Blood Mountain” series. Which sounds a bit like a motive for killing fans in the first place.
Of course, there are a couple other options that come to mind: either none of them are Cain_Unable or it’s more than one of them, Ghostface-style.
Either way, we’ve got the beginnings of a tense thriller on our hands. The characters are pretty interesting. I definitely find Taylor’s love for “Blood Mountain”, particularly the part where it’d helped her get through the hardest parts of her life, to be quite relatable. Everyone’s got their comfort read/watch material. One person might have a rom-com for that purpose, another’s might be some cheesy-as-hell B-movie that brings them joy. In the case of Taylor and everyone else the killer is targeting, it’s a paranormal romance with themes of accepting outcasts.
The artwork has a lovely painterly style to it, and it feels fitting for the story itself. And the lettering really helps to push the excitement of the fans, particularly when the text pokes out of the bubbles and fluctuates in size. I can practically hear the screaming and swooning just from looking at those.
Final Thoughts
Fixation #1 masterfully blends fandom and obsession in a beautifully-drawn story worth sinking your teeth into.
