David Ferguson offers to raise the hairs in the back of your neck with some spooky comic strips…
It is Halloween, and so we need some horror comics to read. I have picked a five of my favourites. I ended up with some very different stories and there is a variety of art styles. Hopefully this means that people can find something weird to read. I think one common thread is everyday life but it has all gone a bit strange.
Clean Room (2015 – 2017)
Created by Gail Simone and Jon Davis-Hunt
Original published as Clean Room #1 – 18 by DC Comics
Collection: Clean Room Vol. 1: Immaculate Conception (2016), Clean Room Vol. 2: Exile (2016), Clean Room Vol. 3: Waiting For The Stars To Fall (2017)
Astrid Mueller is the enigmatic and compelling guru of a giant self-help organisation – a devastatingly powerful figure in the industry between psychology and religion. Journalist Chloe Pierce’s fiancé decided to pick up Astrid’s book, and within three months he was dead. Something in Astrid Mueller’s book made Philip blow his brains out all over Chloe’s new kitchen.
Now Chloe is on a mission to find out who Astrid Mueller really is. What is this Clean Room she’s been hearing about where your deepest fear and worst moments are revealed? Chloe intends to immerse herself in the Clean Room and wreak havoc on Astrid’s empire.
People will probably be aware that Gail Simone can do dark stuff. You can look to her excellent run on Secret Six as a prime example. More recently, she has brought a horror vibe to the Uncanny X-men. This book is Gail at her twisted best, showing the darker sides of the human psyche.
The writing is matched by the wonderful art of Jon Davis-Hunt. I was actually expecting to see big things from him but I haven’t found much about his comic work in recent years. He is able to mix the stranger aspects of the story seamlessly with the real world stuff, which adds to the disturbing nature of the series.
BAGS (or a story thereof) (2019)
Created by Patrick McHale, adapted by Gavin Fullerton
Original published as a graphic novel, published by BOOM! Studios
This is the tale of John Motts. He is a man who had a dog, but now that dog is gone. John searches his house, his street, and his town, but the dog is nowhere to be found. John soon realises that he must travel further, past the road and into the trees if he’s ever to find out the truth of what happened to his dog.
Around this time of year, some of you may be rewatching the highly regarded and weird animated TV series, Over The Garden Wall. This story was written by the series creator, Patrick McHale. Irish artist Gavin Fullerton took the prose story and adapted it into a comic. Gavin is the perfect horror artist and you can see his work in stories like The Closet (with James Tynion IV). This one is not so much of a scary horror as a surreal story with some strange characters and Gavin tailors his style to fit this.
Scarenthood (2020 – 2021)
Created by Nick Roche
Originally published as Scarenthood 1 – 4, by IDW Publishing
Collection: Scarenthood (2021)
What’s scarier: fighting demons or letting your kids down? That’s what a group of parents will find out as their plans to solve the school’s long standing mystery lead to one parenting nightmare after another!
Most days, the To-Do List is the same: Drop kids at preschool; Grab coffee with other parents; Go ghost-hunting in woods; Fight demonic entity; Collect kids; Nap time.
But with the kids away on a field trip, a group of parents disturbs an ancient evil buried beneath the old Church Hall, unearthing a decades-old mystery about a missing child, and inviting something… hungry into their lives. Suddenly, their mornings go from playdates and peanut allergies, to a battle for the souls of a broken family–and one child in particular—in this original story that combines the highs of parenthood with horror movie scares.
This is a nice mix of everyday Ireland and Irish mythology and ghost stores from Nick Roche. It could easily be a crime drama, but the parents’ investigation veers into the weird. I think that is what makes it work for me. The everyday meeting something a bit odd that you could easily ignore but these people don’t. Would like to see more of this one. It could easily be adapted into one of weird crime TV shows that people in this part of the world seem to love.
Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees (2023 – 2024)
Created by Patrick Horvath
Original published as Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees issues 1 to 6 by IDW Publishing
Collection: Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees (2026)
Don’t. Murder. The locals.
This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong’s cardinal rule. After all, there’s a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest, and when you’ve worked as hard as Sam to build a cozy life and a thriving business in a community surrounded by friendly fellow animal folk, warm décor, and the aroma of cedar trees and freshly baked apple pie… the last thing you want is to disturb the peace.
So you can imagine her indignation when one of Woodbrook’s own meets a grisly, mysterious demise — and you wouldn’t blame her for doing anything it takes to hunt down her rival before the town self-destructs and Sheriff Patterson starts (literally) barking up the wrong tree.
Live, laugh, shed blood.
Patrick Horvath’s painted art style is reminiscent of a children’s book artist and the juxtaposition of that and the violent murderous nature of the story is the foundation of what makes this such a great series. It almost reminds me of The Animals of Farthing Wood or Watership Down. The art style could almost lure you into a false sense of security with cute animal characters and then hit you with the animal slaughter. The covers give the game away though, which is probably for the best. They lure you in too though as it is an intriguing visual. Well they worked on me.
A Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees – Halloween Special
is available now in shops, and as a digital edition. Patrick joins forces with James Tynion IV (Something is Killing the Children), Tony Fleecs (Stray Dogs), Che Grayson (Absolute Catwoman), Dave Wachter (Uncanny Valley), Jared Cullum (Usagi Yojimbo: Kaito 84’), Tyler Boss (What’s the Furthest Place From Here), and Matt Emmons (The Council of Frogs) for an original one-shot set in the world of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees.
Years have passed since Samantha Strong left Woodbrook, but her legend has only grown. Now that the cat is out of the bag, more and more horrific murders have been tied back to her. Some are her doing…others mere folklore… but all absolutely gripping stories featuring everyone’s favourite cuddly serial killer. Gather around the campfire on Halloween night with some of the best creators working today and listen as the citizens of Woodbrook spill the beans on Samantha Strong’s most terrifying deeds.
Words and pictures from Che Grayson, Matt Emmons, Tony Fleecs, Dave Wachter, Jared Cullum, James Tynion IV, Tyler Boss, and Patrick Horvath
Lettering: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Daystar (2026)
Created by Aaron Losty and Matt Emmons
Originally published as a now sold out graphic novel
A tale of cosmic horror and hardship that befalls a small community of animals when something otherworldly shatters their peaceful way of life, granting them sentience – but at what cost?
The land is poisoned, and not all the changes among the animals are benevolent. Daystar follows Mesmo the rat as he struggles to make sense of his newfound sentience and survive the changed world he now finds himself in.
If I see Aaron Losty’s name on a book, I am probably going to be picking it up. He is known for his distinct art style but in this case he is sticking to the writing duties and working with artist Matt Eammons. A new artist to me, he has a couple of comics to his name. The most recent being a hardcover collection of Those That Inherit The Earth. He is able to create some wonderful animal characters, which seems to be an area he likes. The disturbing visuals he creates with those characters are perfect for this horrific tale of a land being poisoned.
David Ferguson
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David is a writer of stuff on comics and pop culture for GCN.ie. He is also a contributor and editor (Hugo nominated) for Journey Planet
Categories: Comics, Crowd Funding Projects, Features, US Comics
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