It’s October, and that means that it is officially spooky season. Halloween is almost upon us, and with that in mind, there’s no better way to get into the holiday spirit than by curling up with stories that are guaranteed to make your spine shiver. While comic books are traditionally looked upon as stories of classic heroics and good guys winning, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of scary stories that can perfectly put everyone in the Halloween mood. Horror comics have actually been around even longer than superhero stories, and with their vast history, there are multitudes of options to choose from to set the stage for Halloween.
Videos by ComicBook.com
For this time of year, one of DC’s most classic books is Batman: The Long Halloween, which makes sense given its name, but that’s far from the only option at our disposal. Today, we’re going to be looking at ten of DC’s best comics for Halloween, from spooky ghost stories to psychological thrillers to mysteries that are sure to leave you double-checking that you locked your door. Without further ado, let’s get scared.
10) The Spectre (1992)
The Angel of God’s Vengeance has always been one of DC’s darkest characters, but his 1992 series captures the eerie vibes better than any other. The Spectre is a brutal judge, jury, and executioner who hunts down the most disturbing and humanly flawed enemies in any comic. Every adventure in this run is part angry ghost story, part murder mystery, and part introspection on the human condition, all rolled into one. Jim Corrigan and the Spectre are masterful leads that take us on a journey to the darkest corners of people’s souls, and have us asking what vengeance looks like and if it can be good. This is definitely what you want if you’re looking for dark, brutal, supernatural action.
9) The Nice House on the Lake
This horror series isn’t set in any superhero world, but uses all of DC’s Vertigo imprint’s strength to its fullest. Ten friends are invited to spend the weekend at Walter’s lake house, only to watch in terror as the world is destroyed. They are perfectly safe inside the house, but are told they can never leave. This post-apocalypse story shows us a perfect cage that traps all of its occupants, but shows the pain and fear that only cages and monstrous caretakers can inspire. This series also has a sequel, The Nice House by the Sea, which is tailor-made for those who want more of the thought-provoking and haunting introspection.
8) Absolute Batman
Sometimes, you don’t want your horror to be psychological; you just want to see terrifying monsters do terrifying things. Preferably with lots of blood and lost limbs. Absolute Batman is the comic for you, then, because this story features some of the single most monstrous villain designs in the past decade, and all of them live up to their potential. Batman is a hero constantly on the back foot, and his enemies have unlimited resources, unbelievable power, and the will of the people on their side.
This series is as brutal as the most over-the-top monster-hunting movie, but it has a strong emotional core in Batman’s mission and connection to his city and friends. If you aren’t convinced, just take one look at Absolute Joker and tell me he isn’t a creature of nightmares.
7) Blackest Night
No good Halloween reading list could be complete without at least one zombie story, and we have ours in Blackest Night. This isn’t your standard zombie apocalypse. Instead, it plays into one of DC’s most important tropes: returning from the dead. The entity of death, Nekron, raises an entire army of DC’s lost characters as Black Lantern zombies, whose only goal is to kill everyone else to add to their ranks. Not only does he recruit the currently dead, but the revived, too, making it a war for life where practically everyone can be added to the enemy team at a moment’s notice.
This story is special because no corner of the DC Universe is safe, and everyone has to face their darkness on some level. This isn’t an Elseworld, but our normal DC heroes fighting for existence and grappling with the nature of death to save their world. It’s a terrifying read, and is called one of DC’s best events for a reason. The buildup to it alone makes it a masterpiece.
6) Arkham Asylum: A Serious House on Serious Earth
This story is for people who want to gaze into the abyss of Gotham City’s criminals and understand how and why their insanity functions. Arkham Asylum is taken over by its villainous inmates, and Batman ventures inside the madhouse to set things right. Along the way, he uncovers secrets and evil that nearly drive the Dark Knight as batty as everyone else, and make you wonder if Gotham is actually cursed. Pure psychological torture awaits everyone who reads this, in the best way possible. The art perfectly matches the dread-clouded atmosphere, and by the end, you might just be crazy too.
5) American Vampire
Much like zombies, vampires are essential to every spooky-season list of recommendations. American Vampire takes a different stab at the creatures of the night, imagining them as a species that has evolved and changed as they convert new people over the centuries. It follows Skinner Sweet, a Wild West outlaw turned new breed of vampire that’s immune to sunlight and has a whole different set of strengths and weaknesses. This is far more of a gothic western than traditional horror, but it definitely covers all the bases of revenge, blood, and terror every good horror series has. The series is written by DC horror legend Scott Snyder, and the first five issues include stories by the acclaimed master of terror Stephen King.
4) Absolute Martian Manhunter
Absolute Martian Manhunter, much like Absolute Batman, is set in a world where Darkseid has turned the universe toward evil and despair. This comic completely reimagines Martian Manhunter as an alien consciousness riding shotgun in the mind of FBI agent John Jones. The two work together to stop the White Martian, another alien dedicated to inspiring and cultivating the worst thoughts in every person until society falls apart. This comic digs into the psychological heart of every character and deals with issues everyone can relate to, with twists that will leave you shaking. The art is the definition of next level, and is well, well worth reading this story for that alone.
3) Batman & Dracula Trilogy
Here is our second vampire story, which includes three comics in its own right. Batman has been associated with vampires ever since his inception, even going up against a few in one of his first appearances. This series of oneshots sees Bruce finally take the next leap and become a vampire himself, going up against Dracula’s evil forces to save the world from the things that go bump in the night. Eventually, Batman has to fight his own bloodlust and the thing he’s become. This is one of the classic horror Elseworlds, seeing the Dark Knight become a monster in a way that he never has before, and nothing is more Halloween-themed than a gothic hero in a gothic city dealing with vampires.
2) Hellblazer
This comic follows occult detective John Constantine as he deals with some of the darkest, most vile mysteries this side of DC. This comic is the single longest-running Vertigo series, lasting for twenty-five uninterrupted years, and helped define what the modern occult detective fiction genre looks like. Constantine is the archetypal sarcastic, cynical detective who is a good person deep down, but buries it under hundreds of feet of trauma and pain, all while hurting all the people he tries to help and love. If you’re a fan of horror and mysteries meeting under a chainsmoker’s purview, this is the comic for you.
1) Sage of the Swamp Thing
Alan Moore’s run on Swamp Thing is one of the most famous and important runs for DC’s horror comics of all time. It completely revolutionized the character, transforming a failing comic into one of DC’s biggest names during its tenure. This is the storyline that created John Constantine, the Green, and even the Great Darkness. Swamp Thing met monsters and pitiable spirits from all manners of places and times, digging into what horror looks like in a superhero setting, and how scared we should be, versus how much sympathy we should have for the things we don’t understand.
This series is the best choice for some classic scary, but deeply enthralling Halloween vibes. It shows us the worst of humanity and its best, love and loss in equal measures, and will make people enjoy it just as much as they’re terrified of it.
So there we have ten DC comics that are perfect for Halloween. Of course, there are plenty, plenty more comics that could easily earn a place on this list. Which series do you think deserves a spot on this list? What do you think? Leave a comment in the comment section below and join the conversation on the ComicBook Forums!
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Crunchyroll
