Halloween is approaching. As the days grow shorter and trees change color with the onset of autumn, the encroaching dark looms large. Costume stores, candy sales, and TV horror programs already have tapped into the Halloween spirit, but one of the best ways to celebrate is diving into spooky comics.
While comics have always excelled at telling bone-chilling horror stories, this year has had some unforgettably terrifying new series. Whatever else you do this October, you should pick up at least one of these books, as these unforgettable reads are bound to haunt your thoughts long after you put them down.
10 Nocterra Is LITERALLY The Darkest Comic Of 2021
Writer Scott Snyder has made a name for himself writing major DC comics like The New 52’s Batman run and Dark Nights: Metal (both drawn by his long-time collaborator Greg Capullo). Earlier this year, he released Nocterra, the first comic from his creator-owned studio, Best Jackett Comics, published through Image Comics.
With artists Tony S. Daniel and Tomeu Morey bringing the story to life, Nocterra is quite literally one of the darkest comics around. It is set in a near-future world where night never ends. Any living creatures who spend too much time in the darkness are transformed into terrifying monsters, forcing the few human survivors to choose between a life in artificially lit cities or driving along the blackened roads, trying to outrun the horrors lurking in the dark.
9 The Nice House On The Lake Brings Isolation To The Apocalypse
Apocalypse stories are a dime a dozen (and those dimes are worthless in the wake of society's collapse). The Nice House on the Lake takes a unique spin on the genre by focusing on twelve friends who are vacationing together in a beautiful lake house when the world ends. The book uses social media and isolation to emphasize the horror and helplessness of loss, tapping into an existential ennui that echoes the worst moments of life in quarantine.
The comic, which is part of DC's mature Black Label imprint, is scripted by current Batman-writer James Tynion IV and drawn with hauntingly emotional art by Alvaro Martinez Bueno, all enhanced by Jordie Bellaire's eerie evocative color palate.
8 The Swamp Thing Pushes DC’s Plant Elemental In New Directions
Swamp Thing is one of DC's most iconic horror characters. In fact, most mature mainstream comics today can be traced back to Alan Moore's run of Saga of the Swamp Thing in the early 80s, which paved the way for comics like The Watchmen and Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.
Writer Ram V and artist Matt Perkins collaborate on The Swamp Thing, a story about the newest Levi Kamei, the newest person to become imbued with plant-like powers that make him the Guardian of the Green. This book explores both the mystical and scientific nature of Levi's powers as he is plunged into a world beyond his comprehension.
7 The Picture Of Everything Else Updates The Story Of Dorian Gray
Set in Paris during the late 1800s, The Picture of Everything Else opens with two ne'er-do-well bohemian artists who have earned a reputation as thieves. Meanwhile, murders sweep through the City of Light as a mysterious killer known as the Paris Ripper is on the loose. One of the artists stumbles upon the killer's secret: that he can kill people by painting their portraits.
Written by Dan Watters and drawn by Kishore Mihan, The Picture of Everything Else builds upon Oscar Wilde's classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. The comic was technically released in 2020 (and not 2021), but seeing how its first issue came out in the last week of December, it's worth including here.
6 Abbott: 1973 Is A Dark Supernatural Noir Set In 1970s Chicago
Written by Saladin Ahmed and drawn by Sami Kievela, Abbott: 1973 is the sequel to their original comic Abbott, as well as a great jumping-on point for new readers. The book follows Elena Abbott, an investigative journalist living in Chicago in the 1970s who recently uncovered the supernatural origins of a threat targeting the Black community.
Working alongside her ex-girlfriend Amelia and her ex-husband James, Elena was able to stop one of the people responsible for unleashing dark forces, even as she discovered her own powers. Now, she and Amelia try to work things out while Chicago prepares to elect its first Black mayor, but the destructive supernatural forces at work are not done with the city... or with Elena.
5 Carnage: Black, White, & Blood Is A Macabre Anthology About Marvel's Most Murderous Symbiote
Carnage has made a big comeback this year. The serial killer symbiote made an appearance in the new Venom film, but he also starred or featured heavily in a number of new comics. The most innovative of these is Carnage: Black, White & Blood.
This is an anthology series of shorter stories by some of Marvel’s most talented writers and artists, each of whom has an original story to tell about one of the most sadistic symbiotes ever conceived of. The name refers to the fact that the comic is drawn in black and white with blood-red colors popping off the page, emphasizing the horror of the gory crimson carnage.
4 I Breathed A Body Imbues Influencer Culture With Body Horror
There are few examples of body horror that feel more relevant--and more terrifying--than I Breathed A Body by Zac Thompson and Andy MacDonald. When a controversial online influencer begins a bizarre transformation that strips them of their very humanity, their social media manager turns the event into a spectacle to be live-streamed.
The plot explores the blurred lines between body, mind, and technology, even as the comic blurs genre the lines between horror and science fiction. This comic brilliantly examines how big tech and social media can rob people of their humanity, and the many ways that people are helpless to stop it.
3 Shadowman Expands Valiant’s Lore With Cosmic Horror
Valiant had a meteoric rise after their relaunch in 2012, quickly becoming the third biggest comic-book superhero universe. The 2021 Shadowman comic by Cullen Bunn and Jon Davis-Hunt is one of the best Valiant comics in years and is a great jumping-on point for new readers.
This book takes its protagonist, Jack Boniface, through a series of dangerous encounters that push him to reexamine his role as the Shadowman, the person tasked with protecting the living from spirits and other paranormal threats. The story begins as a voodoo-inspired ghost story, but at its best, it delves into cosmic horror, pushing not just Jack—but the entire Valiant Universe—into untread territory.
2 The Autumnal Is A Haunting Suburban Gothic About A Single Mother Returning Home
One of the best folk horror books to come out in recent years, Daniel Kraus and Chris Shehan's The Autumnal explores the hidden forces haunting a small town. Its protagonist, Kat Somerville, is a single mother and ex-rocker trying to raise her daughter Sybil. When Kat's mother dies, she returns to the hometown she ran away from when she was just a child.
This is an idyllic suburban community nestled in the woods and known for its beautiful autumn foliage. But its middle-class happiness conceals dark secrets that the townsfolk have whitewashed over. There is a force lurking in the woods, one that the people of the town refuse to talk about, and one that has its eyes on Kat and her family.
1 Stray Dogs Is A Dark Genre-Bending Masterpiece
There is no book out there quite like Stray Dogs. The comic's tagline is "Lady and the Tramp meets Silence of the Lambs." And that incredible premise just begins to scratch the surface of this eerie original story, which has been widely praised by some of the biggest names working in comics today.
Written by Tony Fleecs and drawn by Trish Forstner, the comic follows Sophie, a dog suffering from amnesia who wakes up in a strange home surrounded by dogs she does not know. The other dogs seem friendly, but Sophie doesn't know what happened to her human or how she ended up in the custody of her new human owner. People will be talking about this comic for years to come.