(Art Courtesy of Aaron Pittman)
Halloween season is upon us!
Most of us spend our days watching old horror movies and eating ridculous amounts of candy. This month I have been re-reading a bunch of horror comics to get into the Halloween spirit.
Comics as I've stated before are a very vast art form capable of telling any kind of story. There is no shortage of spooky and scary comics that are just as good, and some times better than horror films and novels.
These books are perfect to get into the Halloween spirit and to just get into some cool comics!
So without further ado, I give you COMICS!
Hellboy
By Mike Mignola and Others
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Image courtesy of Dark Horse Comics
One of the first comics that really made me take them seriously and realized their potential as serious art was Hellboy. You probably have seen the movies or even read some of the books but Hellboy is the perfect read for Halloween as it's chock full of zombies, vampires, mummies and even giant pig monsters! It's mixture of folklore, horror, humor and action is unmatched. It has been going on for years and there are tons of collections available that feature both long running stories and short stories that are easy for anyone to get into, both young and old.
Best Bets
Hellboy: The Chained Coffin and Others
Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom and Others
Hellboy, Vol. 10: The Crooked Man and Others
Beasts of Burden
By Evan Dorkin and Jill Thompson
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Image courtesy of Dark Horse Comics
Beasts of Burden is definitely one of the most unique and fresh horror comics in years. Focusing on the town of Burden Hill which is plagued with ghosts and ghouls and all other sorts of spooky, paranormal happenings. Protecting the town is a rag tag group of stray pets. Sharply written by Evan Dorkin and beautifully brought to life by Jill Thompson's gorgeous art. It's funny, scary, engaging and full of wonder.
While it may get a little scary at times, It's perfect for readers of all ages.
Upside Down: A Vampire Tale
By Jess Smart Smiley
Published by Top Shelf Productions
Image courtesy of Top Shelf Productions
Upside Down: A Vampire Tale is a story about Harold a young vampire who lives inside of a piano. He loves candy, and his adventure begins when he has to go to the dentist. Full of magic and monsters and mad scientists. Upside Down is perfect for both younger children and everyone else. Funny, and most importantly spooky!
Swamp Thing
By Alan Moore, Stephen Bissette, Rick Veitch, John Totleben and Others
Image courtesy of DC Comics
Swamp Thing was originally created by Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson in the '70s. Sometime after the original creators run, a young writer named Alan Moore took over the writing duties. He eventually went on to write such prolific books as Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell along with countless others. As a long time fan of Moore's, I honestly believe Swamp Thing is some of his best work and some of the best horror comics of all time. Moore's approach to horror is much more deep-rooted (no pun intended) and dreamlike and existential. He writes insane concepts in the book that shouldn't make sense but the combination of his powerful writing and the amazingly beautiful art by Bissette and others brings the ideas to life. It ran six volumes and I cannot recommend them enough.
American Vampire
By Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque
Published by DC Veritgo
Image courtesy of DC Comics
People have seemed to be getting tired and running out of ideas with what do with vampires in movies, novels and comics. Somehow Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque came out with American Vampire almost out of thin air. Heck he was able to get one of the biggest horror writers of all time, Stephen King, to write some of the first volume and ended up writing a better story then him! Now he is one of comics biggest names as he continues his fantastic run on Batman. American Vampire is consistently great, and seems to keep getting better and better. So far there are four volumes of it collected and all come highly recommended.
Ghostopolis
By Doug TenNapel
Published by Scholastic
Image courtesy of Scholastic
Ghostopolis is a great story about ghosts and the afterlife. Beautifully drawn and written by Doug TenNapel. The art is bright, vibrant and animated. The story pops off the pages and it's perfect for younger kids and everyone else!
Criminal Macabre
By Steve Niles and Others
Published by Dark Horse Comics
Image courtesy of Dark Horse Comics
Criminal Macabre is the brainchild of one Steve Niles. Niles has basically brought horror comics back to the forefront again after the smashing success of 30 Days of Night, which he wrote and Ben Templesmith illustrated. Since then he hasn't slowed down, in fact he has been working like a mad man for years. Criminal Macabre is bare bones horror noir at it's best. It's the story of Cal McDonald who is a private detective who investigates vampires, werewolves and all sorts of other spooky stuff.
It's been recently relaunched as an ongoing story that is illustrated by Christopher Mitten and is available in tons of different collections also a few prose novels and short story collections.
Best Bets:
Criminal Macabre Omnibus Volume 1
Criminal Macabre: The Complete Cal McDonald Stories (Prose)
Hopefully these books will bring you some spooky times and maybe even give you nightmares! As always, all these books and more are available at your local comic shop! If you aren't aware of the closest comic store check out this site!
Stay spooky and read more comics!
