Well it is another blog entry for me and it is during Spooky Season. Everyone is expecting another missive about the horror comics that I read as a kid. Yet nay, I feel I should write about more current horror. You know to say hip with the kids. I may have written something like this before but Peepaw here can’t remember. I’m lucky if I remember pants every morning. Now on with the rambling.
Nowadays there is quite a bit of different horror comics to choose from. It is not all about zombies or vampires like the 90s and early 00s. Now the subjects are as myriad as ever. I am going to mention a few of the books that should be checked out if you are into horror or want to dabble. I can’t get them all or I might forget some so please forgive me.
To start off, our Top 50 graphic novel rack has quite a few on it. Something Is Killing the Children has been on the Top 50 for quite a while. The idea for this book is the children are going missing. The few children that return have horrible stories to tell that are not believed by the adults. Also the monsters can only be seen by the children. A lone character, Erica Slaughter, comes to town claiming to be able to see the monsters. She is there to kill the monsters. What could go wrong? This book is pretty much straight up monster killing horror.
Next on the top 50 is W0RLDTR33. In 1999, a group of people discovered the Undernet which is a secret architecture to the internet. In their exploration, they lost control and someone broke in. They welcomed the violent hold the Undernet had on them. The group thought they sealed the Undernet away but they were wrong. Now the world will know the meaning of PH34R. This is your type of computer/cyberpunk type of horror.
Another on our Top 50 is Nice House on the Lake. A group of 10 people are invited to an opulent by a man named Walter. Some know him from childhood and some have just met him. Yet after the hardest year of all of their lives, nobody was going to turn down the vacation of a lifetime. Or is it? I do not want to say what type of horror this one is because it will possibly give away a little of the plot. I’ll just tell you it is good.
I am going to depart from the Top 50 horror books for a minute. All three of the books mentioned are by a writer named James Tynion IV. His horror writing is so diverse. A current series he is doing is called Deviant which is about a killer Santa. Yet, one of his series I love is Department of Truth. This book is about if enough people believe a conspiracy theory, it comes true. The Department of Truth fights against that but who is right and who is wrong? I love conspiracy theories. In 2023, I listened to over 7800 hours of them on Spotify. This book has conspiracies and cryptids and the people who believe in them. This horror hits with more reality than you want.
Back to the Top 50 with a book that has not left it for quite some time… that book is Wytches. A family moves to a remote town in New Hampshire. They are moving to try and escape a haunting trauma from the past. Yet, there is something evil watching from the woods. That something is ancient and hungry.
Lastly, a title that just fell off our Top 50…. The Crow. I know there was a remake but I refuse to acknowledge it. Give me the original movie. That is what I think when I see this book. It is the original story the movie was taken from. Some may argue with me that it is not true horror but it has a lot of supernatural aspects.
I could blather on about all the newer horror books that are out so I will make it a little simpler so I can mention more.
I Hate this Place– A couple move into a house with a force that attracts monsters, aliens, and other supernatural forces.
Where Monsters Lie– A gated community for killers and monsters.
Beneath the Trees– Cute animals and killing. Not for the kids!
Creepshow– A current anthology series
Revival– The undead appear in Wisconsin. Written by Chicago darling Tim Seeley.
Hill House books from DC- A bunch of varied types of horror. My favorite is Plunge. Although they are all good in their own rights.
These are only the ones that I can come up with off the top of my head. There are so many books that I have missed. When you stop into a Graham Crackers as the employees there, they can show perhaps a book that I have not thought of. I hope that I have given you something more current to read this Halloween season.
Stay Spooky
Mike