Horror Fans Can’t Afford to Sleep On These 8 Terrifying Comics

There is no shortage of horror comic books these days, and it’s all thanks to indie publishers. Image Comics alone is home to some of the best horror comics and anthologies, like Ice Cream Man and The Silver Coin. However, for horror movie fans looking to branch into the world of comic books, there are plenty to choose from thanks to a wide range of publishers and creators.

For those disappointed by the Dark Universe’s failure, they can get their Universal Monsters fix with Skybound Entertainment. Meanwhile, remixes of popular movie vampires, like Dracula and Blacula, can be found with Dracula Motherf**ker! and Blacula: Return of the King. For decades, Hack / Slash has been a great series for slasher fans, with its latest installment from Zoe Thorogood standing out in particular. Meanwhile, I Hate This Place is a love letter to cabin-in-the-woods horror as well as rural horror. These are just some of the horror comics that will speak to scary movie fans ready to give their local comic shop a shot.

8

The Universal Monster Comics

From Skybound Entertainment; By Various Creators

Die-hard fans of the Universal Monsters don’t have to look far for their best introduction to comics, and that is with Skybound’s Universal Monster comics line. There are three completed Universal Monster comics from Skybound: Dracula, Frankenstein, and Creature of the Black Lagoon Lives! All three are based on the classic Universal films featuring these monsters, delivering unique takes on these pop culture icons perfect for new and old fans. Those wanting to dive right into these comics also have a new series to check out with The Mummy, which is ready to twist what we know about the Universal Monsters.

7

Dracula, Motherf**ker!

From Image Comics; By Alex de Campi and Erica Henderson

Where Skybound’s Universal Monster comics are more traditional adaptations of classic monsters, Dracula Motherf**ker! delivers a vibrant, pulpy take on vampires and Dracula, one that will especially appeal to fans of B-movies and 1970s crime movies. Despite the title of the comic, this comic is more so about Dracula’s brides, who nailed him to the bottom of his coffin about 100 years ago. Fast-forward to the ’70s: a crime scene photographer learns about this dark secret, and now his life is on the line. With psychedelic art and a thrilling plot, this is a great comic to check out for horror movie lovers.

6

Blacula: Return of the King

From Zombie Love Studios; By Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander

Another vampire comic perfect for horror movie fans is one directly inspired by a classic vampire film, 1972’s Blacula by director William Crain. This cult-classic got a sequel just a year after the release of the first movie titled Scream Blacula Scream. 50 years later, Blacula came back, but as a comic: Blacula: Return of the King. From the brilliant minds behind Killadelphia – another must-read vampire comic – Blacula: Return of the King sees a reporter team up with someone who has history with the titular vampire, but Blacula is also searching for someone: Dracula himself.

5

Hack / Slash: Back to School

From Image Comics; By Zoe Thorogood

Shifting gears to the slasher sub-genre of horror movies, the perfect comic for fans of iconic final girls like A Nightmare on Elm Street’s Nancy Thompson, Halloween’s Laurie Strode, and Scream’s Sidney Prescott is none other than Hack / Slash: Back to School. This comic is about the early adventures of Cassie Hack, a final girl who hunts down slashers. However, she is not alone, meeting a school of other women with a similar mission. Zoe Thorogood creates a love letter to slasher films, B-movies, and final girls in this can’t-miss horror series that deserves a follow-up ASAP.

4

Lovesick

From Image Comics; By Luana Vecchio

Horror fans looking for a comic that pushes boundaries do not need to look further than Lovesick. Domino’s a dominatrix on the dark web, and for the right price, she’ll torture and kill paying fans, but there are those who would love to do the same to her. Lovesick is a graphic comic with a leading woman unlike any other. It dares to make its readers uncomfortable while delivering gorgeous, gory art. Plus, Domino’s backstory is further explored in the can’t-miss prequel series, Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale, which embraces a different kind of horror but is just as engaging as the original series.

3

Home Sick Pilots

From Image Comics; By Dan Watters and Caspar Wijngaard

Horror is punk-rock, as is this comic recommendation. Home Sick Pilots is especially perfect for fans of ’90s horror movies, ghost stories, and giant mechs. Ami is the lead singer of the titular band, but this high school student has been missing for weeks, or so the public thinks. In actuality, she is trapped in a sentient, moving haunted house, and she needs to get to the bottom of what these ghosts want from her before it is too late for both herself and her bandmates.

2

I Hate This Place

From Skybound Entertainment; By Kyle Starks and Artyom Topilin

A cabin in the woods is a great location for a horror film, as seen in Cabin Fever, Evil Dead, and The Cabin in the Woods. Meanwhile, there are plenty of rural horror films that fans can sink their teeth into, like The Descent, The Blair Witch Project, and Wrong Turn. For fans of films like these, they need to pick up I Hate This Place. In it, a couple moves into a farm home they recently inherited, and they soon discover that every nightmare they could imagine has their sights set on their new home, leading to a comic that is going full-speed-ahead from start to finish.

1

Bitter Root

From Image Comics; By Chuck Brown, David F. Walker, and Sanford Greene

In May 2021, Regina King was announced as the director of the film version of the Image Comic Bitter Root. If you love monster-hunting series like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Supernatural, then Bitter Root is for you. This series is about the Sangerye family, a family who hunts down monsters during the Harlem Renaissance. Along with being a period piece unlike any other, this series effortlessly blends supernatural horrors with real-world horrors like racism. Plus, it has finally r eceiveda follow-up horror series with Bitter Root: The Next Movement #1, which is available now from Image Comics.