Comic-Booktoberfest!

October is right around the corner (I’m as surprised by that as you are! If you are.) which means HALLOWEEN is coming! Actually, according to my supermarket, Halloween has been coming since September 1st. But since they now make Cadbury Crème Eggs for Halloween, I’m not complaining.

ANYWAY. Halloween time means it’s time to read some creepy stuff! The nights are getting longer, the shadows are getting scarier, it’s all chilly out, which means you need to be curled up in your house with the jitters.

To that end, here are some kind-of-creepy things to read to get you in the mood.

–Walking Dead is super famous and has a popular TV show, so maybe you’ve read it already, but if not, it’s worth checking out. I should say here that I hate zombies (I have terrible zombie-related nightmares) and also think this series is kind of terrible — BUT I still read the first twelve volumes because I HAD TO KNOW what awful thing would happen next. It is a soap opera of gore. The TV show is terrible and compelling in an entirely different way. Both are perfect for your October media consumption.

–Pretty much anything by Mike Mignola. Mignola is probably most famous for writing Hellboy (also a major motion picture), but for my money, Hellboy spinoff BPRD is where it’s at — BPRD stands for Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense, and the squad consists of humans and not-quite-humans. The art is super atmospheric and kind of dark and spooky, and the stories involve all sorts of demons and ghosts and Nazis.

–I have mentioned Beasts of Burden before, but COME ON, an amazing book about dogs fighting evil supernatural forces is perfect for October! And the art, like BPRD’s, has a really spooky feel. Still one of my favorites.

–Finally, you should check out whichever Richard Sala books you can find. They’re mostly all horror/mystery stories, with plucky girl detectives and/or reporters, sinister and mysterious men, etc. But it’s all kind of weird and funny, too. I also really like his art–his girls are super cute, his horrifying creatures pretty horrific looking. (Check out his blog to see examples!).

–And of course, you can’t talk about creepy comics without talking about the crazy old EC Comics from the ‘50s. Luckily, the awesome Fantagraphics is reissuing a lot of the EC stuff just in time for Halloween, and if you’ll be in Seattle in later October, you can see an exhibit at their bookstore/gallery.

Plus, I know at least one local comic book store (Chapel Hill Comics) will be giving away special trick-or-treat comics to kids in costume around Halloween, so keep an eye peeled for that news.

Happy Halloween, and happy comics reading!

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