Not every scary story starts with a Dark Knight. Sometimes, the night is just dark and spooky- and maybe a little bloody too. From Marvel, Boom, Image, and Webtoons come more scary stories- just maybe not to read in the dark.
Starting off this selection of stories is the famous three-part story from The New Mutants. The Demon Bear arc features the physic manifestation of mutant Danielle Morningstar’s nightmares. The bear is responsible for the death of Dani’s parents, and she wants to face him to avenge her parents. After she attacks him, the rest of the New Mutants face off against the Bear while Dani’s life hangs in the balance. The best parts of the story are the art design of the third issue. It’s truly frightening and freaky. As someone who was introduced to Marvel mostly through the MCU, this arc (which also was adapted in the 2020 film, although not comics accurately.) If you’re looking for a classic story, Demon Bear will fill your nightmares nicely.
If Demon Bear is a little too classic and you’re looking for something more MCU with a little bite, Moon Knight is a freshly rebooted series and also prepping for a Disney+ adaptation starring Oscar Issac as Marc Spector. While very little has been released on the adaptation, the first issues of this title feature Spector, a very religious man, opening an organization to help his community fight vampires. Of course, everybody has a secret, even a do-gooder.
Also gearing up for an adaptation is James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, and Miquel Muerto’s Something’s Killing the Children. This title, nominated for the 2020 Eisner Award for best new series, is the graphic series about a monster that targets the children of a small town.
Monster hunter Erica Slaughter comes into town to fight off a monster who has left only one teenage survivor. I got Stranger Things meets American Horror Story vibes from this book, and I was super thankful I bought the first volume instead of just the first issue. It was probably my favorite series I picked up for halloween. I will absolutely never look at those weird octopus plushies the same either.
Another story about creepy towns is Nail Biter, which features an NSA Agent following his friend’s lead into how one town could have been responsible for sixteen serial killers over the years. I’ll say for sure, as someone who gets icked out by body horror, this book was not for me. The story concept is awesome and the characters are really well-written. Edward Warren, the titular “Nail Biter” has a concept that is reminiscent of Mads Mikkelsen during the Hannibal era. He’s the standout character of the book, not quite letting the reader know if he’s to be trusted. Another thing the first volume does really well is sneak in just enough supernatural possibilities. I’m not sure if there’s a supernatural element to the plot, or if it’s going to be a Scooby-Doo reveal.
If supernatural is more your flavor, the horror anthology Ice Cream Man will be more your taste. I read Volume Two, Strange Neapolitan. The best part of this series is the anthology aspect. The stories feature a few interconnected characters, but stand alone really nicely. The stories are gruesome. This is not for kids. My favorite story was a tri-panel story that the anthology takes its title from, told nearly without words. An anthology series like Ice Cream Man plays off the idea that there’s a little something that scares everyone. And I love that.
If nostalgia trauma isn’t your thing, the anthology series Tales of Terrible Things is described as “A collection of short stories featuring both human and inhuman monsters” on the Webtoons site. Unlike the other stories I’ve presented, Tales is free to read. My favorite story was “The Haunting of Montford House” which featured the kind of gothic romance that invokes memories of Daphne du Marnier’s Rebecca which is one of my favorite books of all time. Except Montford House is a more bloody Manderly. If you’re looking to get into comics, Webtoons is a great place to start, since it doesn’t cost anything to read. And free is the best treat, y’all.
And with that, this year’s Halloween specials come to a haunting end, just in time to pass out candy and then pass out. After all, if a blanket keeps you from being grabbed by monsters at night, than closing the cover keeps these monsters at bay- don’t they? Just follow my advice- there’s no ice cream trucks in October.
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