My 13 Favorite Horror Comics?

This may have been the toughest challenge I’ve given myself. Listing my thirteen favorite horror comics, in no particular order beyond my number 1, and already I’m second guessing… Swamp Thing, Son of Satan, Kirby’s original The Demon run, Unexpected, Hellboy and BPRD, Sandman, Secrets of Haunted House, Fatale, Nocturnals, Night Force… I could make a legitimate “Best Horror Comics Ever” list out of the the stuff I’ve left off.

The 12 comics above are all solid contenders. Most have forty years of nostalgia on their side, but others, like Afterlife with Archie, Locke & Key, The Damned, and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina are there because they’ve revitalized my love for horror comics in recent years. And word is, a new The Damned comic is coming, so, yeah, it’s not a bad time to dig horror comics, let me tell you.

Of course, the one comic for which there is no question is John Constantine: Hellblazer.

It survived for 300 issues before inferior dopplegangers started showing up. 300 is a good run. I didn’t love every creator that worked on it over the entire series, but when Hellblazer sang, it really sang.

Hellblazer was more than just a horror comic, more than just an examination or chaos magic. Hellblazer at its best was infused with political and social commentary. And the book was decidedly British.

John Constantine is a bastard, don’t get me wrong, and you’d never want him to get too close. His friends, if you can call them that, generally end up in harm’s way, but when things go bump in the night, you need John Constantine. Just don’t turn your back on him.

Here to wishing you a magical and mischievous Devil’s Night tonight… There’ll be a New Moon overhead, so be ready. You never know what kind of haint might crawl up out of the Nevermore…