Riverdale And More: Horror Comics That Provide Chills And Thrills This October

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October 8, 2023

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Books | Comic Books/Graphic Novels | News | Product

Written by Kelli Marchman McNeely

Kelli Marchman McNeely is the owner of HorrorFuel.com. She is an Executive Producer of "13 Slays Till Christmas" which is out on Digital and DVD and now streaming on Tubi. She has several other films in the works. Kelli is an animal lover and a true horror addict since the age of 9 when she saw Friday the 13th. Email: horrorfuelinfo@gmail.com

Get your spooky on with these new horror (and kiddie horror) comics that are real treats, no tricks.

MAGE AND THE ENDLESS UNKNOWN is surprisingly terrifying wordless YA horror with echoes of Junji Ito disguised in a cute TV animation style. MAGE features a nonbinary protagonist created by nonbinary artist SJ Miller, battling inventive and haunting monsters on a quest to save their realm!

PUB DATE: August 29, 2023

One of the best YA graphic novels of the year was quietly released by Dark Horse Comics this summer and it is due for its moment now that Fall is here! A blend of Stranger Things horror and high school nostalgia, THE ROCK GODS OF JACKSON, TENNESSEE by Rafer Roberts and Mike Norton follows a garage band trying to impress one of their idols at a gig that, unfortunately for them, coincides with a vicious monster invasion. It’s got John Hughes heart and all-out horror action. A true can’t miss!

PUB DATE: July 4, 2023

An ambitious, layered, monthly comic book mini-series, KILL MORE by Scott Bryan Wilson and Max Fuchs from IDW Originals is a standout for its literary flair and absolutely vicious gore for the toughest horror fans. KILL MORE is set on a decrepit, corrupt Mars colony where super-killers murder with impunity, if not for the two remaining detectives who care enough to try and stop them. Among all of its bona fides, it’s seriously chilling horror through and through.

#1 PUB DATE: September 13, 2023

Archie Horror Highlights

This Halloween season Archie Comics takes a stab at keeping you entertained.

Betty Cooper, Riverdale’s most famous overachiever, was long overdue for her turn as the horror genre’s most iconic trope: the heroic Final Girl! In this anthology, the lesser known women of Riverdale star in short tales of terror, including Betty’s own wraparound story.

PUB DATE: February 15, 2023

Riverdale’s famous eatery, Pop’s Chock’lit Shoppe, is the setting for three short tales of food-themed horror, and the jovial Pop himself takes a few villainous turns! When you come through town at night and see the lights on at the diner . . . maybe keep driving.

PUB DATE: March 22, 2023

Archie dives into summer-themed horror in this sun-splashed anthology that crosses sub-genres, including one of the more unsettling shorts we read this year: “The Curse of Camp Pickens” by Blake Howard and Carola Borelli.

PUB DATE: June 21, 2023

Writer Magdalene Visaggio pens a powerful, moving tale of gender transition wrapped in a sci-fi horror story with real frights and jump scares. This was easily Archie’s most noteworthy comic of 2023 and will stand as an all-time horror classic.

PUB DATE: August 16, 2023

The Archie Horror imprint has always played with the idea of an idyllic small town harboring dark secrets (see the POP’S anthology above!) but this time, that concept takes center stage in an eerie Stepford Wives-esque tale of toxic positivity.

PUB DATE: October 11, 2023

Kiddie horror is an under-appreciated part of the spooky landscape, and this Goosebumps-like anthology offers three kid-safe real horror stories (more scary than sweet) on the fun and timely theme of toys and tech gone bad.

PUB DATE: October 18, 2023

Oldies But Spookies!

Classics you may have missed that are perfect for a chilling Autumn night!

Star of our header artwork above, Abby Howard’s magnum opus THE LAST HALLOWEEN is a backlist highlight for obvious reasons: it’s set on Halloween, it’s packed with more monsters than a sane person can stand, and Howard’s distinctive spooky humor and flowing inky black linework is just moody enough for the season. This is a thick doorstopper of a book that’s a must for every Halloween-loving household’s coffee table.

From the YA-focused entertainment studio EEP Universe, the LETHAL LIT scripted podcast mystery series is a fantastic whodunit with just the right amount of slasher vibes, similar to the Scream franchise. Starring teen detective Tig Torres, each installment in the series, whether a podcast episode or one of the two tie-in prose novels from Scholastic, is dripping with ominous atmosphere and you-go-girl spirit as Tig and her friends try to stop murders and mayhem in their small town of Hollow Falls.

Another EEP production, SEE YOU IN YOUR NIGHTMARES is a ridiculously fun audio horror series set in a sinister institute where teens suffering from sleep disorders stay for treatment, until monsters begin leaping out of dreams to menace them in real life. It’s got strong shades of Nightmare on Elm Street 3 (everyone’s favorite, right?) and its episodic structure makes for a great casual binge-listen.