Comixology delivers more year-round horror than any other digital comic app out there. Many of the titles listed here are ones I read long before discovering Comixology. They were also some of the first I downloaded. This is just a quick list of 10 horror comics I could think of off the top of my head.
The Nocturnals. Dan Brereton’s paintings bring to death some of the most superbly beautiful characters this side of a Ray Bradbury story. The Horror family is the center of these stories. Doc Horror, Polychrome the wraith, the synthetic hellstorm known as Firelion, the amphibious gunfighter Starfish, the gangster bandit Raccoon and the starry eyed human-lizard hybrid Komodo. The last two members of this strange family are my favorite. Doc Hammer’s daughter Halloween Girl and her bodyguard the undead scarecrow Gunwitch. Come join the family on their arcane adventures in The Nocturnals.
DC Comics gave author Scott Snyder and artist Rafael Albuquerque an undead playground in American Vampire. Telling the stories of many different vampires throughout the history of America. From the Old West, to Hollywood’s heyday of the silent film era, out to the infancy of Las Vegas and even the times of World War 2. Vertigo Comics is the perfect publication for the untold tales of vampires in America.
There is a name you will see on this list a few times. I could write an entire article on the top 10 Steve Niles books. I’m not going to talk 30 Days of Night. Everyone should know that comic book and the film. Instead here are three of my favorites. Very Big Monster Show. This is very lighthearted fare for Steve Niles, who originally saw this as an animated feature. It’s the story of a boy named Theo who discovers the original Universal monsters hiding out in mansion. Horror movies have changed without them and they feel they have don’t belong . Who is Frankenstein compared to Freddy Krueger or the Mummy compared to Michael Meyers? Theo is out to show the world who the real monsters are.
Pieces For Mom is a tale of a sons love for his mother. Even when his mother is a zombie. Eleven year old Mike has to scavenge the post-apocalyptic world to keep his undead mother fed. This is an incredibly dark tale written by Steve Niles and brought to very colorful light by the art of Andrew Ritchie. You might not be able to make it to the end but, if you do, you will never forget it.
The last comic book by Steve Niles, on this list, is one of his many collaborations with the great Bernie Wrightson. Dead, She Said is a hard boiled detective noir tale. Except Detective Coogan is unlike any other detective. He has recently returned from the dead and is trying to solve the case of his own killer. Raymond Chandler meets Tales From the Darkside in the wholly original tale from two of horrors greats.
If you know anything about horror and comic books you know the title From Hell. This absolute masterpiece is studied in college course everywhere. The incomparable Alan Moore weaves a web of mystery in this tale of Jack the Ripper. But, this story goes far beyond Whitechapel into even to Queen’s castle and beyond. Eddie Campbell’s artwork shows us a side of London seldom seen by tourists. Not even Scotland Yard can protect you from the horrors that lie in these pages.
Recently Netflix acquired the rights to Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez’s Locke and Key. This is one of those series I started reading well before Comixology. I recommend having all of the graphic novels available before you start reading this as you will not be able to put it down. The story of the Key House and the Locke family that resides within will keep reaching for the next book.
The Tomb of Dracula is a classic from the house of Marvel. Moving this icon away from the legend of the silver screen and into the world of comics is the creative team of Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Gene Colan and Alan Weiss. These gentlemen are every bit a legend as Dracula himself. Dracula spent 70 issues fighting with and against a team of monster hunters. This comic also co-starred everyone from Spiderman to Howard the Duck.
Creators Chris Ryall and Ashley Wood had and idea. What if zombies fought robots for the last living human ? We would have the aptly named Zombies vs Robots. I’m not sure there is much more that needs to be said. Come on, you have zombies. Fighting robots. It’s absolutely perfect in its simplicity.
Now. There is no way any horror comic book list would be complete without mentioning Hellboy. We all know Mike Mignola’s big red hero either from the brilliant Guillermo del Toro films or the Dark Horse comics. But, for me, there is a personal favorite book, Hellboy in Mexico. I give you Hellboy, luchadores, chupacabra, tequila and Aztec Gods. This collection of previously untold Hellboy stories is available on Comixology for $12.99.
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