10 Great Ongoing Horror Comics – and How to Get Started Reading Them – CBR – Comic Book Resources

We live in uncertain times, which means the horror genre is more important than ever. That's because scary stories are a vital release valve for the anxieties that plague us. They can temporarily exorcise our demons and provide engaging, fun and powerful metaphors for examining society's ills. And , at the very least, they can be a source of pure and much-needed escapism.

The horror genre is particularly well suited to the imaginative medium of comics, with its unlimited budgets. So, if you're looking for a particular type of scary story, chances are there's an ongoing comic series to scratch that horror itch. However, it can be difficult to know where to start. So, we've got you covered with a list of 10 great ongoing horror comics that features books about vampires, zombies, monsters, malevolent aliens and more. We've also included a starting point for new readers looking to get caught up.

The DC Universe is a hopeful place of inspiring heroes, so what happens when it's besieged by a cosmic plague that transforms everyone it infects into flesh-hungry zombies? Writer Tom Taylor and his collaborators, like artists Trevor Hairsine and Stefano Guadiano, and colorist Rain Beredo, answer that question in DCeased. It's a series of miniseries that perfectly illustrates the horror of iconic heroes transforming into ravenous monsters. It's also a hopeful book about new champions taking up the mantles of their predecessors, and people coming together to protect one another from the rampaging, and often super-powered, undead.

The currently unfolding digital-first DCeased: Hope at World's End is a 14-part tale that fills in some of the gaps from the original series. June 30 sees the launch of DCeased: Dead Planet, the first real sequel to the original tale. If you've yet to try any of the miniseries, you can get caught up with a trade collection of the original DCeased miniseries. If you want to learn about the exploits of some antiheroes and villains during the original zombie plague, you can track down the three-issue DCeased: Unkillables miniseries or grab the collected edition, which will be released later this summer.

RELATED: DCeased Could Turn DC's Most Controversial Event Into a Cure

The current volume of Venom, launched by writer Donny Cates, artist Ryan Stegman and colorist Frank Martin, abandons the concept of an overly edge vigilante in favor of a story that blends creepy Lovecraftian horror with the action, heroics and humanity of the Marvel Universe.

Cates, Stegman, Martin and other collaborators, like Mark Bagley, have a multi-year saga planned for Eddie Brock and his symbiote Other that has so far unfolded over the course of 25 issues, several supplemental one-shots and one event miniseries. Along the way, they've planted seeds for larger stories that are still coming to fruition. The best place to start their run is Venom by Donny Cates Vol. 1, which collects the first 12 issues.

Some of the best monster tales are about creatures who just want to be left alone, but by chance or circumstance are forced into violent confrontations with the outside world. That's what happens to Chip, the vampire protagonist of Dark Red, a creator-owned AfterShock Comics series by writer Tim Seeley, artist Corin Howell and colorist Mark Englert. When the series begins, Chip is happy to stay on the fringes as a gas station attendant, but an invasion of his town by vampiric Nazis forces the World War II veteran to get involved.

Nine issues of Dark Red have been released to date, and the current arc finds Chip battling both vampires and were-creatures. The first six issues are available as Dark Red Vol. 1: The Forgotten Man.

RELATED: Venom: Every Easter Egg for Eddie Brock's Horrific Future

The second of three vampire series on our list is a tale about family and bloody legacies. Redneck follows the Bowmans, a Nosferatu clan hiding in plain sight in Texas, who are forced underground after a night of violence. Writer Donny Cates, artist Lisandro Estherren and colorist Dee Cunniffe use past and present-day sequences to explore the vampire mythology of their world and the Bowmans' struggle to be better than their monstrous natures.

Twenty-six issues of the Image Comic series have been released so far. If you want to catch up with the Bowmans, a good place to start is Redneck Vol. 1: Deep in the Heart, which collects issues 1-6.

What makes the Hulk great is that, at his core, he's a horror character trapped in a superhero universe. When writer Al Ewing, artist Joe Bennett and their collaborators launched The Immortal Hulk in 2018 they heavily leaned into the character's monstrous roots. Over the course of their run they've spun a number of disturbing and fun yarns featuring a variety of horror types: supernatural, cosmic, psychological and body.

Thirty-three issues of The Immortal Hulk have been released so far, and the series returns on June 24 with Issue 34. New readers will want to start with The Immortal Hulk Vol. 1, which collects issues 1-10. The Immortal Hulk Vol.2, which covers issues 11-20, is set for release on July 8.

RELATED: Marvel's Immortal Hulk to End at Issue 50

BOOM! Studios' Something is Killing the Children, by writer James Tynion IV, artist Werther Dell'Edera and colorist Miquel Muerto, lives up to the creepy promise of its title. It's about a small, suburban town where kids are being preyed upon by sinister, invisible forces. The town's only hope is a mysterious stranger named Erica Slaughter, who can see and slay the monsters.

Seven issues have been released so far. The first five are collected in Something Is Killing the Children Vol. 1.

In 2014, writer Joshua Williamson, artist Mike Henderson and colorist Adam Guzkowski kicked off their Image Comic series Nailbiter, best described as, Twin Peaks meets Seven. The series is set in fictional Buckaroo, Oregon, a small town that's given birth to 16 of the most infamous serial killers to walk the Earth. The series' 30 issues followed a number of characters as they tried to uncover the mystery behind Buckaroo's enduring evil.

The creators have now reunited for a sequel, Nailbiter Returns. Only one issue of that series has been released, but it's a book sure to please old fans and create new ones. If you're just visiting Buckaroo for the first time and you want the full story behind the town, start with Nailbiter: The Murder Edition Deluxe Hardover, which collects the first 10 issues of the original series.

RELATED: Something Is Killing the Children's New Foe Is More Dangerous Than Monsters

Writer Jeff Lemire, artist Andrea Sorrentino and colorist Dave Stewart's Image Comics series Gideon Falls is a mind- and time-bending series with a David Lynch feel. When it begins, the comic involves two different men, in two different times and places, whose lives are connected by an ominous and otherworldly building known as the Black Barn.

Gideon Falls return to comic shops last week with Issue 22. The fourth trade, which collects issues 17-21, was also released that day. The first trade is Gideon Falls Vol. 1: The Black Barn, which collects issues 1-6.

Writer Rodney Barnes loves the horror genre so much he included several supernatural elements in both arcs of his 2017 Falcon series for Marvel. Killadelphia, his Image Comics horror series with artist Jason Shawn Alexander and colorist Luis Nct, feels like a labor of love. The series, which expertly combines horror and film noir, is a tale of corruption, vampires, father-and-son relationships, and one of America's founding fathers.

Six issues have been released so far. The first trade, Killadelphia Vol. 1: Sins of the Father, which collects all six issues, will be released on July 18.

With their Image Comics series Bitter Root, writers David Walker and Chuck Brown, and artist Sanford Greene demonstrate how perfect the medium is for telling horror stories. Set during the Harlem Renaissance, it's an imaginative and powerful tale about a New York-based family of monster hunters battling a mysterious, mystical force that is transforming hate-filled people into monstrosities. Past tragedies have fractured the family, however, and lead to conflicting philosophies on how to stop these rampaging monsters.

Eight issues and a 2019 Bitter Root Summer Special have been released so far. The first trade, Bitter Root, Vol. 1: Familly Business, collects issues 1-5.

KEEP READING: Black Panther's Ryan Coogler to Producing Image Comics' Bitter Root Movie

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When Dave Richards was a young boy his mother bought him several comics as a way of encouraging a love of reading. She was successful in her endeavor, but she also created a lifelong comics fan. In the early 2000s he began writing about comics for CBR shortly after earning his journalism degree from the University of Michigans Dearbon campus, and in 2005 he took over the sites Marvel Comics beat and continues to write about their books to this day. Hes also a frequent contributor to Macmillan Publishings crime fiction blog, Criminal Element, where he frequently writes about comics and the other areas of pop culture they inspire.

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10 Great Ongoing Horror Comics - and How to Get Started Reading Them - CBR - Comic Book Resources

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero