Read or Pass?: Horror Comic Edition

Written by Angela Rairden

Despite the fact that it’s November, I’m not ready for Halloween to be over. As such, I thought that I’d review a few horror comics that I started reading recently in case you, too, are in still in the mood for spooky season to let you know if I feel that they are worth your time.

NIGHT OF THE GHOUL by Scott Snyder and Francisco Francavilla

As soon as I saw that Snyder was the writer on this series, I knew I had to pick it up because, aside from notably writing multiple Batman comics, he also wrote Wytches, which is one of my all-time favorite horror comic series. Paired with Francavilla’s bold, pulpy art style, Night of the Ghoul is an instant classic. It tells the tale of a man who stumbled across a partially destroyed film from the 40’s that bears the same title as this comic, a film he believes would’ve been the greatest horror movie of the era. He has become obsessed with finding its director, T.F. Merrit, and learning not only how the film was meant to end, but also why it was never released to the public. Little does he know that he’s about to learn a lot more about the true story behind Night of the Ghoul than he ever could have wanted to. I really don’t want to give away any more details than that because the story is so good that I think that you should discover it for yourself.

TEN THOUSAND BLACK FEATHERS by Jeff Lemire and Andrea Sorrentino

This series tells the tale of two girls, Trish and Jackie, who became inseparable friends in elementary school and somehow released something dark and sinister through the power of their imagination. Something that, years later, would end up causing the disappearance (and suspected death) of Jackie and resulting in a spooked Trish to flee Hamilton, the town they had lived in. Now, ten years later, Trish has returned to Hamilton to try to put right the mysterious thing that went wrong and save her friend. Mixing horror, fantasy, and sci-fi, Ten Thousand Black Feathers is a unique tale that features some truly beautiful artwork by Sorrentino. The two-page spread in the center of issue two in particular took my breath away and it’s worth picking up the series for that alone. However, discovering the unfolding mystery of what happened to Jackie makes for an intriguing read.

COVER THE DEAD WITH LIME by Jonathan Chance and Hernan Gonzalez

Published by Blood Moon Comics, Cover the Dead With Lime has a promising premise of plague doctors versus zombies in mid-seventeenth century England. Focusing on Jack Teller, one of the few plague doctors left, as he strives to help whomever he can despite his own tragic past, the story ultimately fell flat for me. Although the plague doctor outfit is striking, the plot felt too predictable to me despite obviously trying very hard not to be. Furthermore, the tones of the artwork were very dark and I couldn’t get past thinking that, when Teller wasn’t donning his plague doctor gear, he looked far too much like Richard Dean Anderson’s MacGyver. I gave issue two a read, but it ends on such a strange and confusing note that honestly I’d just pass on this title if I were you.