Getting under a reader’s skin is about more than just showering them with blood and showing off your favourite monsters. Learn the black arts of creating a truly disturbing horror comic
Thanks Alex, this was super informative. Are you going to Thoughtbubble? I'd be happy to buy you a beer or 6 if you happen to have a spare five minutes 😉.
I've always found comics can be limited in delivering truly scary horror, despite being a fan of horror comics. But then I discovered Junji Ito and that changed my mind. Scott Snyder has done some good horror in comics, albeit more Stephen King-esq than M.R. James or H.P. Lovecraft.
Interesting what you say about the page turn, because Ito is a master of that. I mostly read digital and think that guided view could be used perfectly for that purpose and could even deliver jump scares. But that's only available on kindle and most comic collectors don't read digital.
Congrats on the Storm King strips. I didn't think they were available in the UK, and they don't offer digital but I'll keep my eyes peeled.
Incidentally, that MR James quote about stories being set in the writer's own day is why I wish the traditional BBC Christmas adaptations of his stories weren't invariably done as period pieces. I feel present-day adaptations would be much more faithful to the spirit of James's work.
I love your examples of truly frightening horror comics, and am a huge fan of Josh Simmons.
A couple of other favourites; Cradlegrave by John Smith and Edmund Bagwell, and Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard’s science fiction epic, Brink, is surprisingly unsettling at times.
The most effective moments of horror in comics, at least to me, are both by Alan Moore; the first one being that entire issue of Swamp Thing that Abby takes to slowly put together that her husband and his new co-workers aren’t entirely what they seem; the second one being the chapter of From Hell where Sir William Gull takes his driver on a tour of Hawksmoor’s architecture. Both had such a palpable sense of dread that they almost overwhelm the reader.
Also, Xaime Hernandez creates that same sense of growing terror and panic with his masterful Hopey in Mexico story, Flies on the Ceiling.
Thanks Alex, this was super informative. Are you going to Thoughtbubble? I'd be happy to buy you a beer or 6 if you happen to have a spare five minutes 😉.
I've always found comics can be limited in delivering truly scary horror, despite being a fan of horror comics. But then I discovered Junji Ito and that changed my mind. Scott Snyder has done some good horror in comics, albeit more Stephen King-esq than M.R. James or H.P. Lovecraft.
Interesting what you say about the page turn, because Ito is a master of that. I mostly read digital and think that guided view could be used perfectly for that purpose and could even deliver jump scares. But that's only available on kindle and most comic collectors don't read digital.
Congrats on the Storm King strips. I didn't think they were available in the UK, and they don't offer digital but I'll keep my eyes peeled.
Troy
Incidentally, that MR James quote about stories being set in the writer's own day is why I wish the traditional BBC Christmas adaptations of his stories weren't invariably done as period pieces. I feel present-day adaptations would be much more faithful to the spirit of James's work.
A terrific read, Alec, thank you.
I love your examples of truly frightening horror comics, and am a huge fan of Josh Simmons.
A couple of other favourites; Cradlegrave by John Smith and Edmund Bagwell, and Dan Abnett and INJ Culbard’s science fiction epic, Brink, is surprisingly unsettling at times.
The most effective moments of horror in comics, at least to me, are both by Alan Moore; the first one being that entire issue of Swamp Thing that Abby takes to slowly put together that her husband and his new co-workers aren’t entirely what they seem; the second one being the chapter of From Hell where Sir William Gull takes his driver on a tour of Hawksmoor’s architecture. Both had such a palpable sense of dread that they almost overwhelm the reader.
Also, Xaime Hernandez creates that same sense of growing terror and panic with his masterful Hopey in Mexico story, Flies on the Ceiling.
I love it.
Thanks again.
Thank you for re-sharing this. Super helpful and inspiring stuff