All Hallows Eve has come and gone again, and many ghoulish connoisseurs of quality literature will now be hunting for ways to keep the Halloween spirit alive. Luckily, DC Comics has long supported the horror genre, delivering some of the most frightening forays into the macabre and housing a collection of the most terrifying tomes on the fiendish and occult.
Indeed, with everything from psychological thrillers to more traditional examples of monstrous denizens, DC has earned its terrifying reputation for delivering during the Halloween season. As a decades-long lover of DC and horror, I will utilize my accumulated knowledge, cleaving through the excess and narrowing down the best, most spooktacular comic reads; continue reading if you dare.
Batman: The Long Halloween (1996)
Dubbed ‘A Dark Knight Halloween Classic in Thirteen Parts,’ The Long Halloween was a genre-defining, year-long celebration of the Halloween spirit, Dark Knight style. Truly, when immersed in this most spooktacular storyline, it mattered not if it was Valentine’s Day or the 4th of July; it became Halloween.
This infusion of the Halloween energy helped usher Batman into a new age, providing much-needed backstory on his early, formative years. Undoubtedly, with an inky, noir feel perfectly accompanied by Sale’s signature visuals and back-to-back Eisner awards in ’96 and ’97, The Long Halloween remains a must-read title.
DC Comics Presents: Superman 100-Page Spectacular #1 The House Of Dracula (2010)
The reclusive Count Rominoff seeks global recognition of his nation’s plight against hostile invaders from Pokolistan and the despotic General Zod. The Count grants his first-ever interview to the reporting trio of Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen, entrusted with nailing this once-in-a-lifetime story. But they quickly realize things aren’t what they seem in the Count’s castle.
Superman 100-Page Spectacular#1 is a spooktacular tale based on Stoker’s epic that captures the vampiric vibe with spot-on visual art choices and a foreboding feel. Fans should sink their teeth into this short, sweet read that offers great depth and a haunting infusion that will leave comic fans beaming.
Victorian Undead II: Sherlock Holmes Vs. Dracula (2010)
A delightfully delicious follow-up to the well-received Victorian Undead: Sherlock versus Zombies, Victorian Undead II picks up following England’s year-long recovery from the zombie hordes. Starting with a gory one-shot featuring Dr. Jekyll, Victorian Undead II sees the fated S.S. Demeter find its way to English harbor and the notice of the world-renowned detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr. Watson.
Based, as Dracula’s content often is, on Stoker’s timeless classic, Holmes Vs. Dracula creatively pits Sherlock Holmes and his deductive prowess against the savagery and cunning of Vlad Dracul. Ultimately, this frightful tale from DC is a sinfully good read, encapsulating the essence of these iconic literary characters right in time for Halloween.
Batman & Dracula: Red Rain (1997)
This delightfully remarkable Elseworlds tale seeing the Lord of the Vampires, Dracula, set his crimson sights on Gotham City. But, if the Dragon is to have Gotham’s soul, he must defeat its protector, its Dark Knight. Thus, after overcoming his internal disbelief regarding vampires’ existence, Batman rushes to confront the eternal evil threatening to envelop his city.
With appearances by Commissioner Gordon and his most steadfast ally, Alfred, Batman must sacrifice more than ever to save his city. Coated in shadowy art and littered with picturesque metaphors, Red Rain is a ghoulish trek into the unnatural that produces a monstrous, Chiropteran version of Batman, perfect for Halloween.
Cursed Comics Cavalcade (2018)
A haunting host of spooktacular stories from across the DC universe, the Cursed Comics Cavalcade stars some of DC’s most beloved characters, like the genre-flexible Batman. Offering a little something for every fan, Cavalcade shows top-tier characters like Superman, viciously tortured by dark spirits, and Wonder Woman locked in a death dance with a Scylla-like entity.
But, by adding more obscure, though no less intriguing, characters like the demon, Etrigan, and the unkillable monstrosity Solomon Grundy, Cavalcade shows the monstrous depth DC has on its roster. Lastly, this cursed must-read intuitively draws parallels between the monsters of fiction and the monsters among us and feels right at home among the most spooktacular DC reads.
DC Comics’ highly acclaimed storyline, with a most spooktacular zombie slant, DCeased, depicts the planet ravaged by an Anti-Life virus. Those infected are left zombified, compelled to sate the hunger. Initially, the heroes do everything possible to combat the spread, but steadily, the beloved heroes fall, turning into mindless husks of themselves.
Straight out of Night of the Living Dead, DCeased checks all the boxes, with grim prose set amidst spine-tingling art. Ultimately, this spine-chilling read graphically depicts the true evil of Anti-Life, with its nightmarish, undead monsters, as must-read Halloween material.
Hellblazer: Rise and Fall (2020)
This horrifying trek into the hellacious haunts of DC tells an early tale from the life of the cinematic John Constantine, everyone’s favorite chain-smoking, spirit-indulging Hellblazer. Certainly, when the top 1% begin inexplicably hurling themselves from the tops of corporate towers with angel wings on their backs, things start looking grim across the pond.
Filled with gory, visceral imagery, Hellblazer harkens to the demonic side of DC and delivers a story straight out of Dante’s Inferno. Cleverly mixing in metaphors about societal degradation and the ease with which despair and deprivation spread amidst the chaos, veteran scribe Taylor pens one of DCs most spooktacular reads.
Identifying fans’ voracious appetite for monster versus hero content, DC doubles down on its lauded undead storylines with the eerily epic DC Vs. Vampires. Part of the Elseworlds line, this most spooktacular read takes place on Earth-63 after the ruling vampire, Mary, Queen of Blood, is assassinated and vampires wage war against humanity.
Adroitly sowing terror and intrigue in equal measure, the creative team builds drama issue to issue, slowly revealing ghastly vampiric sleeper agents. Yet, as the Master nears total victory, are any heroes left to fight? Indeed, as a sanguine-soaked mash-up of superheroes and the supernatural, DC Vs. Vampires stakes its claim as a Halloween best.
Swamp Thing: Green Hell (2021)
Swamp Thing: Green Hell is a frightening folly into the macabre world of DC’s Parliament of Decay, Limbs, and Trees. In this bone-crunching delve into the bog and mire, the Parliaments have found humanity lacking and look to punish its arrogance and autonomy. After a final judgment, the Green is called upon to purge the Earth violently and start anew.
As the body count rises in this most spooktacular read, humanity’s last hope resides with the magus John Constantine and Swamp Thing, Alec Holland. Filled with raw, gut-churning visuals, Green Hell is a dark descent that alludes to Swamp Thing’s monstrous origins, poignantly illustrating it takes a monster to defeat one.
The Nice House on the Lake (2021)
After accepting an invitation from their friend Walter, ten friends who fell out of touch are reunited at a dream house overlooking a breathtaking Sylvan Lake. Following a freakish, violent encounter, they suddenly realize they are trapped in this terrifying vacation paradise while the planet is razed to ash, leaving everyone they know incinerated.
As they desperately try to escape, these chosen will have their sanity pushed to the breaking point while wrestling with unspeakable horrors, each more terrifying than the last. In conclusion, with a perfect balance of tone and art that immerses the reader, The Nice House on a Lake is a taut psychological thriller and a no-brainer inclusion on any Halloween comics list.
