I could go on and on about great horror comics. As an avid comic collector and lover of all things horror, I try and read as many horror comics as possible. While this list includes a few popular favorites, there are also some overlooked gems that deserve your attention. Having to choose from so many great titles was difficult, but here are 13 horror comics that every fan of the genre should read.
Nailbiter
Image Comics
Written by Joshua Williamson
Art by Mike Henderson
Colors by Adam Guzowski
Letters by John J. Hill
My favorite horror film genre is slashers. So, when it comes to comics, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better fit of said genre than Nailbiter. The story is about the town of Buckaroo, Oregon, where 16 different serial killers have spawned from. An outsider FBI agent and some town locals try to unravel why, coming across the dark secrets of the town and its residents within. Nailbiter has many likeable characters that you’ll come to care about and root for, and is an original take on many of the classic tropes.
This book boasts great kills and does not hold back on the gore, with some great original serial killers, my favorite being the Clown Car Killer. It is suspenseful with many twists that will keep you guessing until the very end. If you enjoy Nailbiter, there is also a sequel titled Nailbiter Returns, which picks up right where the first story ends.
Yakuza Demon Killers
IDW Publishing
Written by Amit Chauhan
Art by Eli Powell
Colors by K. Michael Russell
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Imagine combining Clive Barker and Takashi Miike — a dream come true, right!? That’s how I would describe this action-packed horror comic, Yakuza Demon Killers. Set in Tokyo, a museum heist of a mysterious artifact goes awry when our main character is caught in a war between the deadly Yakuza and bloodthirsty demons. The book also delves into the horrors of addiction with great monster designs and an unrelenting pace. It is a very quick read, with only 4 issues, that will leave you begging for more.
Hellraiser
Boom! Studios
Written by Clive Barker, Christopher Monfette, Brandon Seifert, Mark Miller, & Anthony Diblasi
Art by Leonardo Manco, Jesus Hervas, Stephen Thompson, Janusz Ordon, Marcio Henrique, Giovanni P. Timpano, Tom Garcia, Haemi Jang, & Korkut Oztekin
Colors by Charlie Kirchoff, Darrin Moore, Jordie Bellaire, & Vladimir Popov
Letters by Travis Lanham & Steve Wands
That’s a lot of hands in the kitchen! Surely, this can’t be good, as most track records will show when this is the case. However, Hellraiser is the best horror comic based on an existing horror IP, in my opinion. Also contributing to there being so many names attached is the fact that this story is told in 2 full runs, a mini-series, and 2 annuals.
Remember all those Hellraiser sequels that aren’t great? What if you could wipe all those away and read a story that continues after the events of the second film? All the major and minor players are back as we get the continuation of Kirsty Cotton’s battle with the Cenobites, and so much more. This book reaches to a grandiose scale that could have lasted several films. If this was the direction taken in the film franchise, it would have garnered much more acclaim. Any Hellraiser or Barker fan will be blown away and thankful for this story. There is also an anthology Hellraiser comic series from Boom! Studios called Bestiary that is great, but not needed for the story being told here.
The Black Monday Murders
Image Comics
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Tomm Coker
Colors by Michael Garland
Letters by Rus Wooton
The Black Monday Murders is about the power of the dirtiest money and the filthy people who wield it. Throw in the occult, a detective story, various schools of magic banking cartels who control society, and you have this masterful story. A bit of a slow burn noir with some horrific moments and tons of details makes this one story you really need to pay attention to while reading. Unfortunately, after 8 issues its currently on hiatus due to artist Tomm Coker dealing with health issues. I, for one, am awaiting its triumphant return. All hail God Mammon!
Death Follows
Dark Horse Comics
Written by Cullen Bunn
Art by A. C. Zamudio
Colors by Carlos N. Zamudio
Letters by A.C. & Carlos Zamudio
By far the darkest book on this list, Death Follows is about a stranger named Cole showing up to a family’s farm looking for work. Always looking over his shoulder, he’s clearly on the run from someone or something. Birdie and her sister Abbie are creeped out by the man, and rightfully so. Especially after they realize that dead things seem to come back to life when Cole is around. This book reaches into some really disturbing places involving children, so readers beware of the content here.
Clean Room
DC Comics imprint Vertigo
Written by Gail Simone
Art by Jon Davis-Hunt, Walter Geovani, & Sanya Anwar
Colors by Jon Davis-Hunt & Quinton Winter
Letters by Todd Klein
A reporter named Chloe’s fiancé blows his brains out while holding onto a copy of a book written by Astrid Mueller. Astrid is the leader of a Scientology-like cult that rules over Hollywood. Chloe chooses to investigate and spirals down a rabbit hole of demonic parasites that can take our skin and control us. With strong female characters and plenty of viscera, this is a must read.
Sweet Heart
Action Lab Comics
Written by Dillon Gilbertson
Art by Francesco Iaquinta
Colors by Marco Pagnotta
Letters by Saida Temofonte
Coming out of Gilbertson’s own dealings with diabetes, what if monsters were real and everyone knew it? Imagine if the town you lived in had monsters that would choose to hunt you specifically for your entire life, and it was a normal occurrence. The town tries to accommodate the people dealing with it, even so far as to include it in the school’s curriculum. There is also an elixir that you can take to keep the monsters at bay.
Could you formulate a routine revolving around this situation for your entire life? What would it do to your family and other relationships with them, knowing you are constantly being hunted? Join Maddie as she deals with all these things, and more, in this coming-of-age tale that is one of my favorites. The gut punch of an ending to Issue #1 should be enough to draw anyone in for the rest of the series.
John Constantine, Hellblazer
DC Black Label
Written by Si Spurrier
Art by Aaron Campbell, Matias Bergara, & Marcio Takara
Colors by Cris Peter & Jordie Bellaire
Letters by Aditya Bidikar
As a huge Hellblazer fan who owns almost every appearance of the character, I could have chosen numerous arcs to recommend on this list. After a series of somewhat lackluster attempts to bring the title back after its original 300-issue run, it never quite reached the magic of those stories. I was quite thrilled and exalted when I started reading DC’s Black Label relaunch of the title because it finally felt like I was back in that world again. Back to the bastard that is John Constantine.
Writer Si Spurrier truly understands the character and writes him perfectly, while introducing us to a supporting cast of new characters that feel right at home within this world. You get John selling his soul to his future self, dark magic street gangs battling a William Blake-quoting homeless man that can conjure up angels, a hipster magician that helps him battle shit demons, and horrific mermaid and unicorn stories. These all come together, with John making one of the worst decisions of his life.
Hellblazer was the best comic on the shelves when it was coming out, so of course it got cancelled. The story has an ending, but very much too soon. Everyone, go out and buy this book and show DC why they, too, made one of the worst decisions they could make. Shame on you, DC.
Torso
Image Comics
Written by Brian Michael Bendis & Marc Andreyko
Art & Lettering by Brian Michael Bendis
If true crime is your thing, this is the book for you. Torso is based on the Cleveland Torso Murders of the 1930’s and characterized by the dismemberment of 12 victims. This case was investigated by Eliot Ness, but never solved. The book is crafted using various historical photographs, clippings from the era, and Ness’ own written interviews, giving it a very different feel than your standard comic. Writers Brian Michael Bendis & Marc Andreyko really did their research, and it shows. Bendis has gone on to be more of a superhero comics writer (with some exceptions), but I would love to see him return to something like this in the future.
Spread
Image Comics
Written by Justin Jordan
Art by Kyle Strahm, Liam Cobb, Jen Hickman, & John Bivens
Colors by Felipe Sobreiro
Letters by Crank!
After digging down too deep into the earth, a deformed horror gets unleashed onto the world, called “The Spread.” We follow a man who comes across a baby that may be the only way to put an end to it. He’ll stop at nothing to protect the child, and will have to deal with religious fanatics, bandits, cannibals, and The Spread itself to do so. With a cast of amazing characters, a great setting, and superb monster designs, this book will hook you from the very beginning. Fans of John Carpenter’s The Thing will want to take note of this one.
Hotell
AWA Studios
Written by John Lees
Art by Dalibor Talajic
Colors by Lee Loughridge
Letters by Sal Cipriano
Sometimes you’re driving down a lonely stretch of highway and you just find yourself desperately needing to find shelter. Well, The Pierrot Courts Hotel is there for you. This extremely well-crafted anthology was one of the highlights of 2020, with each issue a standalone tale all held together by the Hotel, which is a great character in itself. You’ll see characters and happenings from previous issues all come together masterfully, even if said characters aren’t aware of exactly what’s going on with the others. There are some truly creepy moments, and the subtlety of Hotell is what makes it stand out.
Luckily, we are getting a volume 2 in December. John Lees is one of the best writers in comics right now, and also a genuinely great human being overall. I urge you to pick up everything with his name on it.
Sink
Comixtribe
Written by John Lees
Art by Alex Cormack
Colors by Lisa Moore, Ashley Cormack, & Alex Cormack
Letters by Colin Bell & Shawn Lee
That’s right, John Lees is so good that I had to have him on this list twice. Sink is about the town of Sinkhill and the people that have to deal with living there. These interconnected, yet separate stories take place in a town where demented clowns will kidnap and torture you, perhaps even turning you into one of their own. There are also ruthless gangs who roam about that offer vicious initiations, and a vigilante in a fox mask named Mr. Dig who deals out violence where he finds it necessary. Sink will satisfy any gore hound, but the humor and heart this book possesses is what separates it from all the rest. I call Sink #10 the best single issue I’ve read in years.
Lees and artist Alex Cormack are one of the best teams working in comics today, and I can’t recommend this one highly enough. There will be a Kickstarter launching soon for Dig, which will bridge the gap between Issue #10 and the upcoming Issue #11, that you should keep an eye out for.
Maniac of New York
Aftershock Comics
Written by Elliot Kalan
Art by Andrea Mutti
Letters by Taylor Esposito
This is what everyone wanted Jason Takes Manhattan to be. Mix in some crime procedural drama, a strong female duo, and some mystery, and you get Maniac of New York. The story is centered around an unstoppable slasher named Harry, and a city that doesn’t know what to do about it. Mostly taking place on an automated subway train, we see the battle of two women whose pasts have been ruined by Harry as they face off against him.
The lack of detail about what Harry is and why he kills is a highlight. We don’t need to know everything right away, and it keeps him mysterious. A second arc is coming out in December, so we’ll see how long he stays a mystery.
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