WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HORROR COMIC?
Halloween is just around the corner and publishers have been releasing a ton of awesome horror books. I recently have read new releases like Tomb of Terror #1, House of Mystery Halloween Annual #2 and Constantine: Hellblazer City of Demons #1 and old favorites like The Walking Dead and The Marquis: Danse Macabre. It got me thinking about my favorite scary comics and what I think are the best horror comics. In celebration of all things creepy and spooky I want to ask all of our readers out there: What is your favorite horror comic? And in that same vein, is there a book that you always look forward to coming out around Halloween, like Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror or the DCU Halloween Special? Is there a book you read to put you in the mood for Trick-or-Treating? Who are your favorite horror writers and artists? Post in the comments section. We want to hear from you!
I will start the ball rolling. My two favorite horror comics are The Walking Dead and Hellboy. At least these are my favorites right this second, I am likely to change my mind tomorrow. I love going back through Sandman to get me in the Halloween spirit. There are too many horror creators that I love, but I am going to go with Steve Niles. I love his blend of humor and horror.
To tough to call, Shawn!!
Even flipping a quarter doesn’t help me narrow it down between Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella from the original Warren Magazines.
Folks, the two best horror comics of all time gotta be Black Hole and Drifting Classroom. Black Hole, Charles Burns’ masterpiece of horror, is a horror story that works on so many levels. It disturbs you both as you read it and long after you’re done. Every time I reread this book, I still get chills at the different kinds of horror that happen here both visual horror (man those grotesque mutations never stop disturbing me) to the more emotional kind aka the horrible things we do to each other in high school.
Kazuo Umezu’s Drifting Classroom is the kind of story that turns the intensity up to 11 and never lets up. It’s terrifying without being shlocky or resorting to cheap scares. I’ve heard it described as Mad Max meets Lord of the Flies, which is a very apt description, but it’s really more than that. Umezu has a way of dredging up all of the things you feared as a child and making those fears once again visceral. It’s about being terrified as a child but not having the comfort of adults because they’re not there either physically or mentally. Even if you don’t like manga, this book is worth reading.
Gotta agree with Danimal Morris…in my opinion, “Black Hole” is the best Horror graphic novel; in fact, it is one of the best comic books ever created. I am not exaggerating!
My all-time favorite monthly horror comic–without question– is John Constantine: Hellblazer
Sure, at nearly 300 issues, it is intimidating. Some creative teams have been better than others. And that God forsaken movie– starring Ted Logan from Wyld Stallions on Speed–didn’t inspire any new readers or skeptics.
But for anyone who loves intelligent and frightening horror comics, try any collection by Jaimie Delano (“The Fear Machine” is my fave!), Garth Innes (“Dangerous Habits” is a must read) and Warren Ellis (“Haunted” is bone chilling)
Brian Azzarello’s run is really, really good too, but it is not the best place for the novice to wade in.
The story arc is really long and it is twisted–really twisted. I mean too twisted for color TV. It is awesome.
Enjoy!
Hm. I’d never considered Black Hole as horror. It always struck me as a neat blend of teen movie and sci-fi. Like an adaptation of some lost drive-in B movie classic. But you’re right…it is horrifying in spots. If that’s the criteria, however, I’d likely put Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron ahead of Black Hole. That book gives me chills every time.
It’s hard to say what my favorite straight-up horror comic of all time is, but I will say this: I just read Boogeyman by Sergio AragonĂ©s and Mark Evanier. That, my friends, is prime Halloween reading. It wasn’t quite what I expected, as the titular character doesn’t even show up until the end of the book, but AragonĂ©s and Evanier use him as a great device to tell some intriguing little morality plays. It’s good, morbid fun for the whole family!
Does the store have any copies of Boogeyman in stock???
Hellblazer and Black Hole are definitely great choices, but for me the most consistently good modern horror comics have to be Hellboy, B.P.R.D., and the Marquis. The art is always top notch, and the stories have a healthy balance between intelligence and pure fun. Plus, Mike Mignola and Guy Davis have to be the industry’s best monster designers working today. Good posts, all!
Als, no. I checked today. I got mine at one of the conventions, but I just got around to reading it. The time was right!
Andy, we probably could order it for you if you want us to!
Great comments everyone. I love reading about your favorites.
Folks, Shawn didn’t ask for a debate on “best” horror comics, she just asked what your “favorite” was and while I agree that Black Hole is an incredible work, it never ceases to amaze me just how quickly posters will use every available forum to step onto their own personal soapbox.
I wouldn’t have thought of Black Hole as horror, either, but it was terrific. My favorite has to be Hellblazer; it’s certainly the one I’ve read the longest, and the only one I own the whole run on (except for a few recent issues that haven’t been collected). The Neil Gaiman “Hold Me” issue is my favorite comic, period. Scary and deeply moving at the same time.
There have been some great books listed (I’m especially fond of the early Warren material and THE DRIFTING CLASSROOM) but my all-time favorite horror comic is Junji Ito’s three-volume manga UZUMAKI, about a town bedeviled by…spirals. Yeah, spirals. It’s the only comic to give me nightmares.
I wrote a review of UZUMAKI on my blog, here: http://www.thoughtballoonists.com/2008/04/uzumaki.html [.]
And here’s a funny Jonathan Ross interview with Ito:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHmE-u5LR2o [.] (Be warned–there’s some spoilers in that video clip.)
Does Chester Brown’s ED THE HAPPY CLOWN count as horror? If so, that’s my runner-up.
Let’s look at it this way…. if Ed the Happy Clown isn’t horror, then what the heck is it? (Besides fabulous, that is..)
Horror is tough to pull off in comics. Since reading doesn’t engage as many senses as film, it’s hard to have the visceral impact of a sudden scare. A lot of books that could be categorized as “horror” cover a lot of genres. My first inclination when naming a favorite horror book would probably be Man-Thing…but if you read the Essentials, that book jumps all over the place. Hellboy and BPRD could just as easily qualify as action/adventure as it could horror. Stuff like Black Hole and Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron are even harder to categorize…
So I think THAT’S where the notion to debate a little here comes from, Chuck. And that’s part of the fun, TALKING about this stuff. Honestly, I never would have thought of Black Hole as horror; that was something of a revelation. Or realization. Whatever.
It would be pretty boring if this comments section was just a list of titles and creators.
For me it’s the old Creepy magazines. I’m also a big fan of Flinch, the short-lived Vertigo horror anthology from the late 90’s. There was a wide variety of stellar talent involved with that series. Joe Lansdale, Bill Willingham, Jim Lee, Frank Quitely, Richard Corben, Bruce Timm, Bernie Wrightson, Garth Ennis, even Roger Langridge. I don’t believe Flinch ever made trade, but the floppies are out there.