As Horror fans, we love the genre year-round, but Halloween season is a particularly wonderful time because it’s when the rest of the world joins us in celebrating all things creepy and macabre. That includes the comic book industry. This October, a multitude of horror comics will be released, featuring brand-new characters, familiar horror faves like Godzilla and Victor Crowley, and iconic superheroes with ghastly makeovers like Spider-Man.
If you’re new to my series of articles on horror comics, you might wonder why that’s so exciting. It’s because comics don’t have the restrictions of other visual mediums (like a limited budget). So, it’s an ideal vehicle for stories that are imaginative, innovative, bold, and often bloody. If that intrigues you, read on for info on 26 new, new-reader-friendly horror comics set to arrive this October. If you decide you want any of them, let your local comics retailer know ahead of time. They’ll pre-order those books for you. Tell them FANGORIA sent you!
Midnight X-Men – October 7
This book is part of a brand new initiative that takes Marvel Comics' iconic heroes and villains and reimagines them for the “Midnight” Universe; a place of monsters and nightmares. Writer Jonathan Hickman, the architect of one of the most beloved periods in X-Men comics history, the Krakoan era, is joined by artist Matteo Della Fonte (Nova: Centurion) for this series that takes readers to a New York City that’s home to two warring species: mutants and vampires.
Dinner Date – October 7
This series from Sirens of the City creators, writer Joanne Starer and artist Khary Randolph, and Ignition Press is a vampire rom-com. It follows a newly turned vampire debating whether to use a dating app as a DoorDash-style, on-demand blood supply, and the ride-share driver she meets in issue #1.
Jonah Hex and the Shadow of Death – October 7
Writer/artist Michael Walsh (Universal Monsters: Frankenstein) blends Old West-style gunslinging with horror for this miniseries starring DC Comics Western antihero, Jonah Hex. At the start, Hex has retired from bounty hunting and now lives in a small town. When an ancient evil threatens his new home, he’ll pick up his six guns for a chance at redemption after a life of violence, pain, and guilt.
Beneath The Trees Where Nobody Sees: Halloween Special – October 7
With Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees and its sequel series Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rites of Spring (both now available in collected editions), writer/artist Patrick Horvath and publisher IDW Dark gave horror fans a unique combination that only comics can deliver: a cozy town of anthropomorphic characters and the chilling exploits of a serial killer. The killer was a bear named Samantha Strong who appeared to be a kind and caring member of the community.
This one-shot is a tale set on Halloween night, where town residents recount some of Samantha’s yet-unchronicled kills. Helping Horvath spin these bloody and macabre stories are Jared Cullum (Usagi Yojimbo Kaitō ’84), Che Grayson (Absolute Catwoman), James Tynion IV (Exquisite Corpses), Tony Fleecs (Feral), Dave Wachter (Bad Thoughts), Matt Emmons (Crusader), and Tyler Boss (Dead Dog’s Bite).
Hellboy In Hell: Nothing But Blood – October 7
This two-issue miniseries from Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, Cyrille Pomès (Moon), and publisher Dark Horse Comics is an untold chapter of the titular character’s adventures in the eponymous, infernal underworld. It’s the story of how he becomes embroiled in a demonic uprising and its chaotic aftermath.
Hammer Head – October 7
This miniseries from Mad Cave Studios and frequent collaborators, writer Ed Brisson and artist Damian Couceiro (Cluster, Beyond the Breach), is a tale of slasher horror. It’s set in a town menaced for 20 years by a revenant known as the Hammer Head killer. Jules, the woman who survived Hammer Head’s original rampage, wants nothing to do with the undead killer’s latest murder spree. Unfortunately for her, she’s become ensnared in machinations that will force her to confront her past head-on.
Midnight Fantastic Four – October 7
The cosmic and body horror subgenres have always been minor elements in the adventures of Marvel Comics' iconic super team, The Fantastic Four, thanks to their origins as explorers whose bodies were transformed by stellar rays. Those two terrifying subgenres will drive this new ongoing series by novelist, comic writer, filmmaker, and fellow FANGORIA contributor Benjamin Percy and artist Kev Walker (Infernal Hulk), part of Marvel’s new Midnight line of horror comics.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch – October 7
Archie Comics’ adolescent sorceress returns in this book from writer Corinna Bechko (Blood Type), artist Kano (Cruel Universe), and publisher Oni Press. The series, which will have a special midnight release, begins a new era for Sabrina Spellman, as she grapples with her recently discovered mystical birthright, Halloween, and a mythical trickster.
Magic: The Gathering Untold Stories: Liliana – October 7
This four-issue miniseries from Dark Horse Comics, written by Torunn Grønbekk (Venom) and illustrated by Natalia Rerekina (The Witcher: Wild Animals), explores the story of one of the iconic characters from the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game: necromancer Liliana Vess. It kicks off in the horrific realm of Innistrad with the titular character hot on the trail of one of the demons who has claimed a portion of her soul.
The Demon – October 7
The Demon (AKA Etrigan) is a DC horror character created by the legendary Jack Kirby back in 1972. In this ongoing series, writer/artist James Harren (Ultramega) kicks off a new era for the titular character with a fondness for rhymes and his alter ego, an immortal knight named Jason Blood who uses his wealth of mystic knowledge and the demon he’s bonded with to fight evil in the present day.
Midnight Spider-Man – October 7
In this Midnight series, Marvel Comics taps writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Infernal Hulk) and artist ScieTronc to give their signature superhero a Cronenbergian makeover. It’s the story of a young man named Peter Parker, who is transformed into a monstrous human-spider hybrid by an evil corporation, and how he decides to fight back.
Archie Versus Terminator – October 7
The title and premise of this series are another perfect example of the wild, over-the-top stories comics can tell. Also, this isn’t the first time Archie Andrews has crossed paths with an iconic, implacable killer. He’s run afoul of Marvel’s Punisher and even found himself in the crosshairs of the Predator — twice!
This four-issue miniseries from writer Rory McConville, Archie artists Steven and Lilly Butler, and published by Dynamite Entertainment finds Archie and the gang trying to befriend a new student at Riverdale High. Unfortunately for them, the new kid’s name is John Connor.
Star Trek: Holo-Ween II – October 7-28
In October 2023, IDW published the weekly four-part miniseries Star Trek: Holo-Ween, in which the crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation inadvertently unleashes a monstrous evil when they decide to celebrate Halloween on the ship’s holodeck. This weekly, four-part follow-up from writer Alex Segura (Dick Tracy) and artist Bailie Rosenlund (Strange Tales Infinity Comic) embroils the cast of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in their own creepy mystery.
The book begins with a communication blackout and a series of deeply unsettling incidents occurring on Deep Space Nine. As dread washes over the space station, something terrifyingly wrong is happening in the holosuites.
Vampirella Vs. Darkstalkers – October 7
Horror comics icon Vampirella and Morrigan, one of the most popular characters from Capcom’s horror fighting game series, Darkstalkers, shadow each other while a monster hunter stalks them both in this new one-shot from Dynamite Entertainment and Udon Entertainment, writer Tim Seeley, and artist Drax Gral.
Venom – October 14
This ongoing series is perfect for lapsed fans of Marvel’s monstrous, alien symbiote, Venom, and fans of the Tom Hardy trilogy of films who may be curious about the comics. Writer Charles Soule (Daredevil) and artist Tommaso Bianchi (Daredevil & Punisher) kick off a new, new-reader-friendly era that sees the title character reunite with his former and frequent host, Eddie Brock.
12 Foot Skeleton – October 14
In this miniseries from Ignition Press, co-writers Tim Seeley and Aaron Campbell (West of Sundown) and original 30 Days of Night artist Ben Templesmith collaborate for a tale of the popular Halloween decoration run amok. Set on Halloween night, the story blends the heart and soul of a classic Spielberg film with an ‘80s slasher. It pits two 12-year-old best friends against the murderous, malevolent force animating the eponymous skeleton.
Starship Godzilla: Invasion X – October 14
Writer Chris Gooch and artist Oliver Ono, the creative team behind the first volume of IDW’s Starship Godzilla, return for this new reader-friendly series, which finds the crew of the spacefaring Mechagodzilla outnumbered and outgunned by the Xilien Empire, which has started an interstellar war and is constructing a cosmic kaiju weapon.
You’ll Never Leave This Place Alive – October 14
The press materials for this horror-mystery miniseries from IDW Dark, written by Jackson Lanzing and Collin Kelly (The Principles of Necromancy) and illustrated by Heather Vaughan (John Carpenter’s Tales for a Halloween Night), describe it as the realization that the people who raised you were monsters.
The series protagonist is a teenage girl named Phoebe Joplin who lives in an isolated community and feels she’s part of something larger and special. That feeling begins to change when one of her friends dies under mysterious circumstances, and Phoebe begins to dig into the dark truths of her home.
Cassie – October 14
Earlier this year, writer Sam Humphries (Super Creep Show) and artist Eleonora Carlini (Absolute Green Lantern) showed off comics’ ability to fully realize fun, imaginative ideas when they created this serialized, campy sports-horror story for Boom! Studios' horror anthology, Hello Darkness. This one-shot collects the entire three-part tale of Cassie and her rowdy baseball team, who suddenly find themselves playing a whole new and hellish ballgame.
Filthy Lambs – October 21
The press materials for this book from Mad Cave Studios, writer Pallie Paul Allor (Hollow Heart) and artist Chris Evenhuis (Red Vector), describe it as, “A hefty dose of Hammer Horror, a pinch of giallo, a touch of David Lynch, and the [movie/board game] Clue.” It’s the tale of a wealthy family, murder, and a demonic contract.
Supernatural: Sam Winchester & Dean Winchester -October 21
Comic adaptations of television shows can and should take things in different directions than the source material. Dynamite Entertainment will do just that with its line of comics adapting the fan-favorite, long-running show Supernatural, spinning off the show’s protagonists into their own solo books, both launching on October 21st.
Supernatural: Dean Winchester by writer Chuck Brown (Bitter Root) and artist Rapha Lobosco (Mumm-Ra The Ever-Living) picks up with a Dean adventure before the TV show’s pilot, where he’s hurt, alone, and investigating creepiness on the streets of New Orleans. Supernatural: Sam Winchester, by writer Paulina Ganucheau (Disney Villains: Maleficent) and artist Kendall Goode (The Terminator: Santa Claus is Coming to Town), finds the younger Winchester brother walking away from his elder sibling and toward a mysterious farmhouse in the middle of nowhere.
Universal Monsters: The Bride of Frankenstein Lives – October 28
This next installment in Skybound/Image’s line of Universal Monsters comics is a four-issue miniseries from writer Kelly Thompson and artist Mattia De Iulis (the team behind The Cull). It picks up from the film with The Bride setting out to discover where and who she came from while trying to stay alive.
Satanic Panic – October 28
‘80s fans rejoice! This series mashes up two big parts of the decade’s culture—slasher horror and devil-worship paranoia for a four-issue miniseries from Mad Cave Studios. Writer Matt Miner (Gwar: The Enormogantic Fail) and artist Clayton McCormack (Breath of Shadows) have created the story of a masked slasher menacing a small town and three D&D- and Ozzy Osbourne-loving misfits who must uncover the killer’s identity before suspicion falls on them.
Fright-Rags Presents: Tales From the Morgue – October 28
Horror apparel maker, Fright-Rags, teams with American Mythology Productions for this festive Halloween horror anthology comic. Hosted by the “Fantom,” it features stories about a fire-obsessed murderer known as the Pyromaniac and a Yuletide killer who goes by the nom de guerre Maul Santa! The book’s writing team includes James Kuhoric (Silent Night, Deadly Night: Dark Winter), S.A. Check (Return of the Living Dead) and G.O. Parsons (Valentine Bluffs Massacre: Iron Heart). Artists Emanuele Tommarelli (Catching Hell) and E.V. Cantada (Scary Christmas) brought the stories to life.
Godzilla: Revenge of the Dead Zone – October 28
In IDW’s Godzilla: Escape the Dead Zone, writers Ethan S. Parker and Griffin Sheridan and artist Pablo Tunica took readers behind the walls of the monstrously ravaged American locale and introduced them to a mysterious human-kaiju hybrid known as the Wanderer. In this new-reader-friendly series, the protagonist is transported to a different but equally dangerous locale, New York City, where he’ll be poked and prodded by a team of scientists while trying to discover his origins and the government’s plans for the Dead Zone.
Giant Sized Hatchet Halloween – October 28
American Mythology Productions’ series of books starring Adam Green’s monstrous killer, Victor Crowley continues with this 48-page anthology. The writing team includes film and TV veterans like G.O. Parsons (Willy’s Wonderland) and Adam F. Goldberg (The Goldbergs) as well as comic writers James Kuhoric (Valentine Bluffs Massacre: Iron Heart) and Derek Fridolfs (Dead by Daylight: The Hillbilly).
The art team includes Puis Calzada (who has done art for Metallica), Emanuele Tommarelli (New Year’s Prey), and E.V. Cantada (Rawhead Reborn).
