The spookiest time of the year is finally upon us! For those of you looking to celebrate this season of the scary, we compiled a list of four comic books you should consider reading. This is not a list of the best horror books of all time; rather it is a selection of four books that relate to timely and relevant aspects of the comic book industry. So take your pick and be ready to be scared!

Locke and Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft

A longtime favorite for comic book fans, Joe Hill’s Locke and Key looks like it will soon be receiving a television adaptation. With the director and producer of 2017’s It attached to the project, this series looks like it will be a horror fan’s dream, and everyone else’s nightmare.

The easiest way to get in on the ground floor of this series is to start with its first graphic novel, Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft. In this book, readers will see the beginning of a drama that is sure to live up to their Halloween expectations. Gabriel Rodriguez’s artwork alone should be enough to frighten, meaning no horror fan will leave this book disappointed.

Batman: Dark Night, Dark City





Typically, during this time of the year, recommendations for Batman: The Long Halloween or one of the Batman: Vampire stories are a dime a dozen. This year, we decided to change things up and recommend Batman: Dark Night, Dark City for your All Hallows Eve reading. This is partly because of the occult nature of the story and partly because it serves as the perfect prelude to the Dark Nights: Metal comic event. The theme and villain from this story are heavily referenced in this blockbuster event, making it perfect for your reading list this year.

This dark and sinister Batman story sees the caped crusader take on the Riddler in a series of odd and confusing ways. Things get stranger and stranger until Batman ultimately comes face to face with a now legendary enemy (see our “Who is Barbatos?” history to see what we mean). Featuring a mysterious storyline by Peter Milligan and illustrations by Kieron Dwyer, this is not a typical Batman story.

Afterlife with Archie

With the CW’s Riverdale as popular as it is right now, fans constantly want more of Archie and the gang. However, teenage drama and girl problems don’t exactly muster up the horrors that one would expect in their Halloween reading material. This means that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Francesco Francavilla’s Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale may be just what the mad scientist ordered.

This unique twist on the zombie genre is set around a group of teenagers suddenly confronted with an undead outbreak. The disease spreads fast and soon our heroes are forced to face off against the people they once loved, in order to stay alive. What makes this all worse is that the book’s entire cast is made up of the lovable characters from both Riverdale and Archie comics. Seeing the fun-loving denizens of Riverdale plunged into this dark reality is a twisted horror all of its own.

Venom: The Hunger

Sony has the rights to Spider-Man and all of his friends, and they plan on using them. Next year, a film based around popular Spider-Man villain Venom is planned for release. The film will star Tom Hardy as the titular symbiote and will be set in the same universe as Spider-Man Homecoming.

Now, you may be thinking that any comic staring a half-human, half-alien monster with a creepy tongue may be fodder for horror, and you would be right. However, there is one Venom story that stands out among the rest, Len Kaminski and Ted Halsted’s Venom: The Hunger. This four issue mini-series sees Eddie Brock, once again, struggle against the symbiote’s perverse desires. However, this time, the stakes are higher as Venom has developed a taste for human brains. The implications of this alone are terrifying but to see them play out on a comic’s pages is horror personified.

If you like our list or think we should have added something else, let us know on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Otherwise, have a Happy Halloween from comicbookwire.com!

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