Indy horror is a category that really shines in the direct market. While well-known series such as The Sandman and The Walking Dead do well in the book channel, the hot titles in the direct market include Something Is Killing the Children, W0rldtr33, Universal Monsters: Dracula, and Department of Truth, all by James Tynion IV, as well as Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Where the Body Was, Skybound’s Creepshow anthology, and Emily Carroll’s When I Arrived at the Castle. It’s an eclectic array covering numerous horror genres and styles, many of which will never be made into streaming series because they are just too weird—which is what makes them so interesting.
Because James Tynion IV is both prolific and popular, we’ll start our look at upcoming horror graphic novels with three of his.
Book of Slaughter reunites the SIKTC team of Tynion IV and artist Werther Dell’Edera for a deep dive into Slaughterverse lore. Vol. 1 fills in the story of the White Mask Maxine Slaughter and the Order of St. George; BOOM! Studios will publish the 96-page graphic novella on October 23 with an MSRP of $9.99. Vol. 2, subtitled Book of Butcher,will be out on November 13, and Vol. 3, Book of Cutter, on February 19, 2025.
Department of Truth: Wild Fictions collects the Bigfoot arc from the original Department of Truth series, a series of “reports” with art from Bill Sienkiewicz, Erica Henderson, and series co-creator Martin Simmonds, among others, plus bonus materials, all presented in a deluxe hardcover format. Image will release the book to the direct market on September 25 and to the book channel on October 8, with an MSRP of $29.99.
When a reclusive, occult-obsessed billionaire passes away and his estate goes up for sale, the curious public flock to his mansion only to become entangled into a horror story of their own. First published as a three-issue series by DSTLRY, Spectregraph, by Tynion IV and Christian Ward, will be released as a 200-page hardcover on January 22, 2025, with an MSRP of $35.00.
While Tynion IV is a crowd-pleaser, there are plenty of graphic novels by other creators that will be out in time for Halloween. Here’s a look at some of what’s coming up.
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees, by Patrick Horvath, is the story of Samantha, a brown bear who lives in a charming forest village filled with anthropomorphic animals, runs the local hardware store, and is a serial killer on the side. Things are going swimmingly until one of the locals is murdered by someone else, and Samantha realizes she has competition. Horvath does for Richard Scarry what Jay Stephens did for Harvey Comics in his horror series Dwellings(see “Oni Announces Two ‘Dwellings’ Covers to Be Allocated“), setting his dark, disturbing story in a world straight out of the pages of a children’s book. IDW will publish the trade of Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees on September 17 with an MSRP of $17.99.
Blood of the Taken, by Sian Mandrake, is the latest in John Carpenter’s Night Terrors line, published by Storm King. The story features two best friends, Ed and Liam, who are captured by a 500-year-old vampire, locked away in her decrepit house, and transformed into vampires themselves. Realizing that nothing will ever be the same, the pair have to learn how to navigate their new reality. The 160-page paperback will be released on September 18 with an MSRP of $24.99.
Final Cut, by Charles Burns, is a horror story about a horror story, or more specifically, about a group of amateur filmmakers making their own version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in a remote cabin in the woods. Burns turns the weirdness up to 11 with his signature mix of reality and dream states, throwing in allusions to B-movies of the past. Pantheon will release the 224-page hardcover on September 24 with an MSRP of $34.00 (see “Pantheon to Publish Charles Burns’ ‘Final Cut’“).
American Vampire, by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque, was Snyder’s first creator-owned series, and the first volume included a story by horror novelist Stephen King (see “Stephen King at Vertigo“). That first arc was electrifying when it first came out in 2010, and it has been collected in many forms since then. Now DC is publishing the first volume (issues #1-11) in its Compact Comics format (see “DC Launches New Line of ‘Compact Comics’“) on October 1 with an MSRP of $9.99.
Invasive, by Cullen Bunn and Jesús Hervás, takes body horror to the limit with its tale of a trauma surgeon investigating a secret hospital where an unorthodox group of surgeons carry out horrific operations. Oni Press released Invasive as a four-issue miniseries (see “Preview: ‘Invasive’ #1“) and will publish the collected edition on October 23 with an MSRP of $17.99.
Universal Monsters: Creature from the Black Lagoon Lives, written by Dan Watters and Ram V with art by Matthew Roberts, Dave Stewart, and Trish Mulvihill, collects the second of Skybound’s updated takes on classic horror films (see “‘Creature from the Black Lagoon’“), featuring a journalist who travels to the Amazon in search of a serial killer and ends up having a close encounter with the creature itself. The 112-page hardcover will be released on October 23 with an MSRP of $24.99 and will have two covers, a direct market exclusive by Joshua Middleton and a book market edition by Matthew Roberts and Dave Stewart.
Click Gallery below for covers!
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Source: ICv2
