It’s only a few days until Halloween, so why aren’t there many quality books with a scary bent to be had?
If you’re looking for something spooky to hail your Hallows’ Eve, Action Comics No. 894 is your scariest bet. This issue is written by Paul Cornell, with art by Pete Woods, and features a “Special Thanks” credit to a Mr. Neil Gaiman. Why the ambiguous thanks to Gaiman? Well, that’s due to the fact that Death, of Gaiman’s Endless fame, makes a guest appearance to tell Lex Luthor he’s been a douche his entire life (as if he didn’t know). This issue marks a new initiative by DC to bring previously Vertigo-exclusive characters back i
nto the DC universe proper, everyone except for John Constantine (I’d like to think it’s because Constantine is just too awesome, but I’m also a little biased). Either way, Lex Luthor and Death go all introspective, and the issue becomes something like Tim Burton directing Inception. So, I ask you, what’s not to love there? Pick up this 40-page special, featuring Death dialogue by Gaiman, for $3.99.
Next up is a Hellboy one-shot, Beasts of Burden, from Dark Horse, by Mike Mignola, Evan Dorkin (Milk and Cheese) and Jill Thompson (Scary Godmother) at $3.50 for 32 pages. In the seemingly quiet town of Burden Hill, last visited in Dorkin and Thompson’s graphic novel Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites, animal deaths are on the rise. An occult detective team of dogs, with a cat thrown in for good measure, is at a loss to the cause of the grisly mur
ders and has lost contact with its back-up. So who you gonna call when you have a mystery and Scooby-Doo can’t be reached? Hellboy, of course! We know Hellboy loves cats, but pick up this tale to see if he can get along with a bunch of mutts.
Because nothing screams Halloween like black-and-white horror, be sure to pull Dark Horse’s Creepy No. 4 anthology book for your list this week. This is the type of stuff the Comic Code was created to prevent, people–some good old-fashioned terror! At $4.99 for 48 whopping pages contributed to by various writ
ers and artists, this comic book will make the perfect candlelight read for your haunted holiday.
And what is Halloween without vampires? Throw a few into your bucket with Spider-Man vs. Vampires. This 32-page one-shot from Marvel is written by Kevin Grevioux, accompanied by artist Roberto Castro, and is waiting on the shelf for $3.99. There really isn’t anything to be said about this book that the title doesn’t convey. What more do you need to know than it’s Spider-Man fighting vampires on Halloween? Plus, you just know with vampires around Blade is going to show up somewhere. ‘Nuff said.
So, however you celebrate your annual witching hour, be sure to turn off the AMC Fearfest long enough to visit your local comic shop of horrors and check out some of these ghoulish goodies!
