Getting Into Horror Comics: 20 Essential Reads for First-Timers

Alright, so you want to get into horror comics. Smart move.

I’ve been neck-deep in them since I was a kid (I started way too young, if I’m being honest), and I can tell you that horror comics smacks you in the face different than horror movies or novels. There’s something about the way a great artist can freeze a moment of pure dread on a page—no jump scares, no sound design tricks, just your imagination filling in the gaps between panels. It’s visceral in a way that gets under your skin, believe me.

But here’s the problem: where the hell do you start? The genre’s MASSIVE. You’ve got decades of continuity-heavy superhero horror, obscure indie books, Japanese manga that’ll discombobulate you, and about a dozen zombie comics that all blur together. It’s overwhelming.

So, we here at The Longbox of Darkness have put together this delectable little list—20 horror comics that won’t require you to have a PhD in comic book history to enjoy. No homework. No “you need to read issues 1-47 first” nonsense. Just pure, accessible terror in various flavors. Doesn’t matter if you’re into psychological slow burns, creature features, or straight-up blood-soaked slashers, there’ll be something here for you, I reckon.

Of course I’m biased (admittedly), and some of my choices might be controversial to hardcore fans of the sinister sequentials, but these are the books I’d hand to someone who walked up to me and said, “I want to read horror comics. Where do I begin?”

So yeah. Let’s get into it, future Longbox dwellers.

The “Modern Classics” (Perfect Entry Points)

These are gripping, contemporary hits that feel like binge-watching a top-tier TV show.

1. Locke & Key

• Creators: Joe Hill & Gabriel Rodriguez
• The Hook: After their father’s murder, the Locke children move into their ancestral home, Keyhouse, where they find magical keys that unlock reality-bending powers—and a demon who covets them.
• Why for Beginners: Locke & Key blends dark fantasy, family drama, and horror seamlessly. The art is clean and inviting, and the story is complete (6 volumes).

2. Something is Killing the Children

• Creators: James Tynion IV & Werther Dell’Edera
• The Hook: In a small town, children are being eaten by invisible monsters. The only person who can stop them is Erica Slaughter, a mysterious hunter with a bandana and a huge knife.
• Why for Beginners: Something is Killing the Children is fast-paced, action-heavy, and reads like a modern blockbuster movie.

3. The Walking Dead

• Creators: Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore & Charlie Adlard
• The Hook: Rick Grimes wakes up from a coma to find the world overrun by the undead. A survival drama that focuses more on how humans become monsters than The Walking Dead themselves.
• Why for Beginners: The black-and-white art is stark and easy to read, and it’s the definitive zombie survival soap opera.

4. Wytches

• Creators: Scott Snyder & Jock
• The Hook: The Rooks family moves to a remote town to escape a trauma, only to find that “witches” aren’t people—they are ancient, feral creatures that live in the woods and trade favors for children.
• Why for Beginners: Wytches is a single volume (short commitment) and genuinely terrifying.

5. Gideon Falls

• Creators: Jeff Lemire & Andrea Sorrentino
• The Hook: A washed-up priest and a reclusive young man are drawn into a conspiracy surrounding the “Black Barn,” a mysterious building that appears out of nowhere to bring madness and death.
• Why for Beginners: Gideon Falls is a symphony of psychological horror and visual storytelling that breaks traditional panel layouts to make you feel the madness.

The “Essential Manga” (Japanese Horror)

You cannot write a horror list without acknowledging Japan’s mastery of the genre.

6. Uzumaki

• Creator: Junji Ito
• The Hook: A small coastal town becomes cursed not by a ghost, but by a shape: the spiral. Residents become obsessed with spirals in clouds, water, and their own bodies.
• Why for Beginners: Junji Ito is the king of horror manga. This is his magnum opus—surreal, body-horror-heavy, and completely unique.

7. Parasyte

• Creator: Hitoshi Iwaaki
• The Hook: Alien parasites invade Earth, taking over human brains to feed on flesh. Shinichi fails to be taken over completely, leaving him with a sentient, shapeshifting right hand named Migi.
• Why for Beginners: Parasyte balances body horror with superhero-style action and philosophical questions about humanity.

8. I Am a Hero

• Creator: Kengo Hanazawa
• The Hook: A mentally unstable manga assistant with a shotgun tries to survive a zombie apocalypse in modern-day Japan.
• Why for Beginners: I Am A Hero offers a realistic, terrifyingly grounded take on the zombie genre that feels very different from American comics.

The “Short & Scary” (Anthologies & Graphic Novels)

Great for readers who want a complete experience in one sitting.

9. Through the Woods

• Creator: Emily Carroll
• The Hook: A collection of five haunting fairy tales that don’t have happy endings.
• Why for Beginners: The art is gorgeous and haunting. It captures the feeling of being told a ghost story around a campfire.

10. Severed

• Creators: Scott Snyder, Scott Tuft & Attila Futaki
• The Hook: Set in 1916, a young boy runs away to find his father but meets a charming traveling salesman who is actually a child-eating monster.
• Why for Beginners: It plays on the “stranger danger” fear and Americana folklore. A tight, standalone serial-killer yarn.

11. Ice Cream Man

• Creators: W. Maxwell Prince & Martin Morazzo
• The Hook: An anthology series (like The Twilight Zone) narrated by the Ice Cream Man, who serves up misery and irony in every flavor.
• Why for Beginners: You can jump in anywhere. Ice Cream Man is weird, existential, and colorful. It’s horror that hurts your feelings as much as it scares you.

The “Legends” (Historical Context)

The foundations of the genre.

12. Tales from the Crypt (EC Comics)

• Creators: Various (Al Feldstein, Jack Davis, etc.)
• The Hook: The original 1950s comics that caused a moral panic. Short tales of murder, revenge, and ghouls with twist endings.
• Why for Beginners: They are campy, fun, and the grandfather of all modern horror. Essential history.

13. Saga of the Swamp Thing

• Writer: Alan Moore (with art by Stephen Bissette & John Totleben)
• The Hook: A scientist believes he turned into a swamp monster, only to learn he is actually a plant that thinks it was a man.
• Why for Beginners: The Saga of the Swamp Thing elevated comics to “literature.” It’s poetic, gothic, and deeply romantic horror. And it just so happens to be The Longbox of Darkness’ favorite horror comic of all time.

14. Hellboy: Seed of Destruction

• Creator: Mike Mignola
• The Hook: A demon summoned by Nazis grows up to become a paranormal investigator fighting folklore monsters and Lovecraftian gods.
• Why for Beginners: Iconic art style (heavy, moody shadows) and a perfect blend of pulp adventure and gothic horror.

The “Atmospheric Nightmares” (Mood & Mystery)

For people who want creeps over jump scares.

15. Harrow County

• Creators: Cullen Bunn & Tyler Crook
• The Hook: Emmy has always known the woods around her home were full of ghosts and goblins, but on her 18th birthday, she learns she is connected to them in a dark way.
• Why for Beginners: Harrow County is chock full of beautiful, painted watercolor art that contrasts with gruesome southern gothic horror.

16. Black Hole

• Creator: Charles Burns
• The Hook: In 1970s Seattle, a sexually transmitted disease causes teenagers to develop strange mutations (tails, second mouths, shedding skin).
• Why for Beginners: The ultimate “teen angst” horror. It’s a darker, weirder version of a John Hughes movie.

17. Infidel

• Creators: Pornsak Pichetshote & Aaron Campbell
• The Hook: An American Muslim woman moves into a building haunted by entities that feed on xenophobia and racism.
• Why for Beginners: Infidel is a modern haunted house story that tackles real-world social issues. Short and very scary visually.

The “Blood & Slashers”

For fans of horror movies.

18. 30 Days of Night

• Creators: Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith
• The Hook: Vampires flock to Barrow, Alaska, where the sun doesn’t rise for a month, allowing them to feed without fear of the light.
• Why for Beginners: 30 Days of Night is high concept and brutal. The art is sketchy and chaotic, matching the desperate tone.

19. Nailbiter

• Creators: Joshua Williamson & Mike Henderson
• The Hook: Buckaroo, Oregon has produced 16 of the world’s worst serial killers. Why? An interrogator goes there to find out.
• Why for Beginners: Nailbiter reads like a mix of Silence of the Lambs and Twin Peaks. Great mystery hook, and some awesome serial killin’ action to boot.

20. American Vampire

• Creators: Scott Snyder & Stephen King
• The Hook: The evolution of a new, American breed of vampire—one that is stronger, faster, and powered by the sun—starting in the Wild West, with stories continuing through the decades until they reach the late 20th century.
• Why for Beginners: It reinvents vampire lore in a cool, historical way. Plus, Stephen King co-wrote the first volume.

The Wrap-Up

There you have it, fear fans—20 horror comics that’ll ruin your sleep schedule in the best possible way.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “But what about [insert your favorite here]?” Look, I could’ve made this list 100 entries long. I didn’t include The Nice House on the Lake, Crossed, Preacher, Sandman, or dozens of other incredible books because I had to draw the line somewhere (and honestly, some of those require more commitment or have content warnings the size of Nebraska).

The beautiful thing about horror comics is that there’s no “right” way to experience them. You can binge an entire series in one sitting, or you can savor them slowly. You can start with the atmospheric gothic stuff or jump straight into body horror that’ll make you regret eating lunch. The point is to just… start.

My advice? Pick whichever book on this list grabbed your attention first. Don’t overthink it. If the cover or concept speaks to you, that’s your entry point.

And once you’ve read a few of these, you’ll start noticing patterns—creators you love, sub-genres that hook you, art styles that make your brain light up. That’s when you dig deeper. That’s when you fall down the rabbit hole and never come back up.

(Trust me, it’s a good rabbit hole to be stuck in.)

Now go read something scary.