When I tell people about comics and how involved with them I am, the first thing I usually hear is “I wouldn’t know where to start.” The first question I ask is, “what’s your favorite genre of movies?” The reason I ask this is because a lot of people don’t know how diverse the selection is. There are comics for every genre and even things that you’d never find in another form of entertainment. Today I wanted to focus on horror which is a great gateway genre into comics. I’m going to list a few series, but by no means are they the only ones to check out; they’re merely suggestions and if anyone else has some I hope they’ll list them in the comments. So horror… let’s get killed.
Hack/Slash
Tim Seeley’s horror lovechild is a great place to start for any fan of the “Slasher” genre. The series stars Cassie Hack and Vlad her deformed partner. This series has a long history which started with Devil’s Due Publishing which started at Image Comics, and later moved to Image Comics on its own. Cassie’s backstory is that her mother was a Slasher and now she’s dedicated her life to hunting them all down. The charm of the series is that Cassie and Vlad travel around barely scrapping by in the process. They’re not paid, nor do they have a rich sponsor. They’re two people trying to save the world from monsters. Aside from the gorgeous covers and Cassie’s skimpy outfits, there is plenty to enjoy about this series which concluded not too long ago.
Criminal Macabre/Cal McDonald Mysteries
If you like old school monsters all living in the same world, then you’ll love this long running series. The awesome thing about Criminal Macabre is that while all of the stories fit into a larger narrative, each chapter stands on its own meaning you can start anywhere and get an introduction to the entire world. The main character Cal is a drunk that smokes too much and always has something smart-assy to say. He’s a fantastic character and it’s near impossible to not like him or root for him to win.
Baltimore
Follow Lord Baltimore as he hunts down the vampire that killed his family, in retaliation against him disfiguring him. It's a post WWII world and Europe is experiencing a plague like none seen before. There are monsters and danger everywhere and Baltimore seems to find it all. This Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden gem is not to be missed. It might not fit your definition of a horror story, but trust me it is. It's easy to catch up on and trust me you're going to want to read it from beginning to end its that damn good.
Crossed
If you’re looking for some hardcore horror-ish stories then look no further than Crossed. Imagine a world where every restraint of human nature has been removed. People act on their every whim or desire, but those desires are twisted and sick. That’s the barebones gist of Garth Ennis and Avatar Press’ series. Much like Criminal Macabre, each volume stands-alone, but feeds into the overall creation and narration of the world. If you like gore then this is the book for you.
Jason
That’s right, there’s even indie horror comics. Jason follows Jason Voorhees the slasher killer on the job. It’s basically a work place comedy, but starring Jason and other Slasher icons. It’s short, but awesome so check it out. The second volume was recently funded on Kickstarter so you have that to look forward to as well.
Most Horror Films
If it’s a horror film made by a Hollywood studio, then it probably has a comic book. Seriously name one and I bet it’s a comic. Again I stress Hollywood and not the wide selection of underground and indie horror titles. Also some of them are pretty good, but you’ll have to pick and choose for yourself.
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Well there you go some suggestions or conversation starters at the very least. The problem I had in creating this list is that I’ve read so much horror that I couldn’t remember everything! Also I left out one of the biggest horror titles in comics, but that’s because I don’t think it’s as accessible as everyone pretends that it is… also I gave up on the series on issue 49 so I doubt I’d rave about it as much as others. Please let us know your list or if this list helped you at all.