During the haunting month of October, it only stands to reason that there would be plenty of new horror to choose from – including a new series from famed horror creator Joe Hill! With vampiric murder mysteries, Cold War monsters, apocalyptic undead superheroes, and a Goonies adventure-gone-wrong story, set on a deserted island with marauding pirates, it’s guaranteed to be an interesting release schedule. And if that’s not enough, the second part of J. J. Abrams collaborative take on the web-head swung onto comic book stands, offering a fun, fresh take on our favourite arachnid themed hero!
1 – Hill House: Basketful of Heads #1 (of 6)
30th October 2019
DC Black Label
Right on cue for Halloween, Joe Hill kick-starts his new Hill House line of horror comics through DC’s new Back Label line. The first of these, Basketful of Heads opens to a rainy storm scene with a mysterious figure in a yellow rain jacket, carrying a wicker basket draped with a bloodstained American flag. Ominous beginnings make for great Halloween stories! As the issue progresses, the story revolves around June Branch, a young woman forced to fight for her life in the hope that she can save her missing boyfriend, armed with an 8th-century Viking axe that can “remove” a persons head and leave it conscious and capable of supernatural chit-chat. Sounds like an idea you might see in a B-movie contemporary of Braindead (1992) or Evil Dead (1981)!
Best known for his horror and dark fantasy works, including NOS4A2 and Locke & Key, having collaborated with his father Stephen King in the past, you already know the new Hill House series will be chilling and disturbing, with art provided by Leomacs which adds a certain retro feel. Coincidentally, Basketful of Heads is set in King’s favourite haunting ground, Maine. Like father like son?
2 – Last Stop on the Red Line #4 (of 4)
October 30th 2019
Dark Horse Comics
The finale to Maybury’s vampiric Boston subway horror show sees our good Detective and her partner find evidence that leads them back to an old asylum, a horror-favourite locale…because nothing bad ever happens at old asylums. Yusef’s connection to X also unlocks memories that prove useful to finding Boston’s phantom strangler. If you’ve been reading this series, no doubt you’ll be picking this up anyway, but if not this has established itself as a must read from Dark Horse comics, especially if you prefer gritty vampire murder stories over the sparkly Twilight alternative, or need another excuse to take the bus over the Boston subway…
3 – Pink Lemonade #1
October 16th 2019
It’s Alive
From It’s Alive (known for their reprints of discontinued and resurrected Golden Age comics) comes Pink Lemonade – an original project created, written and illustrated by Nick Cagnetti. It follows the eccentric, brightly coloured Pink Lemonade, who suffers from amnesia, as she embarks on adventures to see what the world has to offer in an effort to rediscover herself, with a mysterious past, a motorcycle and a bright “Kirby-does-Evel Knievel” costume. After being introduced to the superhero cartoon robot, O.J. Bot (which really needs its own spin-off series, by the way!), things get complicated when she attempts to rescue a child from a villainous looking character, causing a misunderstanding that lands her in jail…! This hero stuff isn’t for everyone, I guess.
With fantastic art and colouring choices with a retro-appreciation that conveys a little Jack Kirby creativity, this might appeal to Silver Age throwback comic fans thanks to the way it blends those classic style sci-fi trips with modern twists. However at times the dialogue can seem awkward and unnatural, with odd and infrequent uses of. punctuation which occasionally damages the flow of a speech-bubble. Even despite this, Cagnetti’s Pink Lemonade has shown itself to be a series worth keeping up-to-date with, if only to appreciate the creativity behind the series and its imaginative art direction!
4 – Strange Skies Over East Berlin #1
October 2nd 2019
Boom! Studios
Set during the Cold War, Herring is an American spy stationed in East Berlin, disillusioned and struggling with his role in a war that doesn’t seem to end. While infiltrating East German intelligence, however, he discovers the Soviets have an alien monster that’s far beyond their control. Just imagine if James Bond found out SMERSH had aliens all along… From Russia With Love would have had somewhat of a different outcome, that’s for sure.
Jeff Loveness is accompanied by Lisandro Estherren, whose art adds a fittingly noir visual style that conveys an animated quality. Painterly aesthetics and a thrilling narrative are all well and good, but the cover art alone makes this worth picking up!
5 – Relics of Youth #2
October 30th 2019
Vault Comics
Matt Nicholas and Chad Rebmann’s Relics of Youth continues with Nat and co. being stranded on the island of Oshtia. And as if being stranded on strange tides with a wrecked yacht wasn’t bad enough, pirates led by the mercenary Serena arrive to plunder the magical paradise, leading the group to evade capture and awaken hundred-year-old spirits, who urge them to protect the island’s magic. Creative use of colours, a diverse range of characters, and a gripping mystery make Vault Comics new series stand-out with a cinematic edge, though this is to be expected given Nicholas’s background as a screenwriter.
6 – DCeased #6
October 30th 2019
DC Comics
DCeased DCeases with #6, concluding Tom Taylor’s grizzly DC zombie apocalypse series – which, funnily enough, started on Darkseid’s home world Apokolips. Suffice to say, the series has been fast-paced, though given it’s only 6-issues long, it’s clear to see that Taylor couldn’t waste a single panel. Unfortunately this also means that, for all its strengths and emotionally powered moments, the pacing exposes some of its weakness. That being said, it’s about DC heroes and villains fighting hordes of undead zombies with super powers! What’s not to love? And whatever flaws there may be, there’s no denying Trevor Hairsine delivers great art, depicting fan favourite heroes and villains with half-torn flesh, emotional heart wrenching moments between grief stricken survivors, and spectacularly choreographed action sequences – albeit with more gore and bloodshed than you might expect from your favourite Justice Leaguers.
It’s clear Taylor and Hairsine were having fun with this series, and it’s a shame it isn’t longer than 6-issues. A longer run would likely improve the issues that come from the pacing, but what we really want from this is an animated or live-action movie adaptation!
7 – Spider-Man #2
October 16th 2019
Marvel Comics
Film director superstar J. J. Abrams and his son, Henry, tackle Spider-Man in a new series which saw the shocking deaths of fan favourite characters right from the first issue! Peter’s son Ben, like so many superheroes before him, clearly suffers from daddy issues (maybe that’s a superpower we’re not aware of?), but with less set-up required in this issue, the Abrams reveal more about what makes Ben different from, and similar to, Peter. While it’s clear Peter didn’t quite follow in the fatherly footsteps of his beloved uncle, by the time Benny puts on the ol’ familiar red-and-blue duds, thwipping from panel to panel, the show becomes as exciting as you might want from a teenage Spider-Man title. Perhaps any Ultimate vibes you might get come from Sara Pichelli, whose name will be familiar to fans of Bendis’ famed Ultimate Spider-Man run. Her art is as vibrant as ever, showing how perfectly suited her style is to the character – whether it’s Peter, Miles, or Benny under the bug-eyed web suit.
It retains the key elements that make Spider-Man an enjoyable character, balancing a more grounded, if troubled, and relatable young hero with bright, acrobatic action. This version of the web-head manages to feel fresh and familiar, making this a rare occurrence where a creator from outside the comic book medium has managed to write a beloved high-profile character book with authenticity, as though they had prior experience writing for the character.
