Comic book day has arrived and all of your holiday planning is done. The candy is ready, your costume is perfect, and Thriller is already queued up on your iPod as the first track to your Halloween playlist. What you’d like to do now, the night before festivities, is get yourself into the holiday spirit. You’re wondering to yourself, “When I pick up my hold from the comic book shop this afternoon I wonder if there will be any good horror stories I might have overlooked on the shelf?” Well, here are nine books currently in print to keep in mind as you’re perusing the ole spinner rack.
These first three are out tomorrow so keep your eye out for them in the “New This Week” section of your local haunt.
Revival Deluxe Collection Vol. 01:
The hardcover collection of the Image Comics published Revival collects issues 1-11. Tim Seeley and Mike Norton bring you a creator owned series that will have you on the edge of the page. In a small town of Wisconsin the dead have come back to life for just one day. What are the political and religious results of this paranormal circumstance and could someone that started the day, dead or alive, be a murderer?
Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven and the Red Death:
A One shot from Dark Horse Comics, this is the Eisner award winner Richard Corben at his best. A retelling of two Edgar Allan Poe classics through the medium of comics will put you in the right mood for curses and insanity. I talk about this book more over here.
Ash and the Army of Darkness #1:
After the events of Evil Dead: Army of Darkness, Ash needs to get home to his normal life. It would have been an easy thing if he hadn’t been for the Book of the Dead spell he screwed up. Pick this up if you don’t have enough Deadites or “hail’s to the king baby” in your life. While you’re at it, if you had a hard day at work talking to primitive screw heads, check out our interview with the cast and director of the Evil Dead musical here and relax.
These other books have been out for a few weeks but you should be able to find them without a problem.
American Vampire Anthology #1:
This anthology of stories told in Scot Snyder and Rafael Albuqueque’s world of American Vampire has an all-star cast including; Becky Cloonan; Greg Rucka; Gail Simone; Jeff Lemire; Ray Fawkes; Francesco Francavilla; Jason Aaron; and Jordie Bellaire. The book is a bloody good time and is chock full of Vampire content at 73 pages.
The Other Dead issues #1, & 2:
I didn’t go with the obvious zombie books others pick this time of year like Marvel Zombies or The Walking Dead. I figured, if you’re going to a comic book shop, you’ve had your chances to pick those up in the past. This list will hopefully help you find something you haven’t taken a look at. This book is written by TMNT creator Kevin Eastman and Joshua Ortega with art by Qing Ping Mui. The twist in this zombie book is a combination of Pet Cemetery, Dawn of the Dead and the Birds! As a hurricane bears down, on New Orleans, The Big Easy has to face all manner of undead animal life. By book two, the government’s response is a bit faster than it was with Katrina but will that help spread the virus? Pick up this terrific comic to find out!
Colder TPB:
I’ve gone on before about Juan Ferreyra and I’ll continue to do so until someone tells me to stop in the comments. After that, I’ll only bring him up whenever he is spectacular (so expect that to happen often). Paul Tobin writes a chilling genre bending architecture for Ferreyra to shine in. The book is mesmerizing, but I’ve said better about it here. I nearly picked his work on the comic Kiss Me, Satan! but I decided to include another trade instead. Consider Kiss Me, Satan! a great runner up and get issues #1 and #2 while you grab Colder. You’ll only regret having to get the rest of Kiss Me, Satan! in the coming months.
The Witching Hour – One Shot:
Another one and done Anthology on this list is a collection of spellbinding stories from Vertigo. This anthology contains another all-star cast of creators such as; Kelly Sue Deconnick; Cliff Chiang; Ming Doyle; Mathew Sturges; Mark Buckingham; and Victor Santos. There are also some great up and coming talents like Ales Kot and Lauren Beukes with work in this book. At 73 pages, this is another anthology you should add to your witches brew.
Afterlife With Archie #1:
You don’t like Archie comics? This book is aimed straight at you! You’ll recognize the characters but you’ll think you’re in the Twilight Zone. That’s the thing about it though; it’s really like the cast of the Archie books were thrown into some sort of zombie Hell just for your amusement. Francesco Francavilla brings Roberto Aguirre Sacasa’s twisted tale of horror to undead life in his signature style. You have got to read this book. Can’t find it in the store or don’t want to risk three bucks on it? Comixology is having a sale through Halloween on the first issue at just .99 cents!
Daredevil #32:
I love super heroes, but I usually don’t like them with my Halloween Haunts unless they’re Vampire Hunting, have turned into Zombies, or are an amazing costume. In this situation, I obviously made an exception. Mark Waid and Chris Samnee are killing it over on Daredevil. There’s rumor through Samnee’s Twitter account that issue 36 will be the final issue of this run. For now, Waid is having a little Halloween fun by introducing the Man Without Fear to a group of classic monsters. I’ll take super heroes with a dash of monsters any day. This issue is a two-parter, so be prepared to get the next issue in November. After you’ve read it, come back here for a sneak peek at issue 33.
As a bonus, check out Vampirella Halloween Special 2013 from Dynamite. The art looks spooktacular so I used at as the header image for this article. Now, excuse me while I give myself a “Trick or Treat” by downloading that issue for a thorough read through. Let me know what you think of my picks in the comments or on Twitter @MarkAvo and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
