Reader Beware, You're In For a Scare: Horror Graphic Novel Staff Picks
Greetings boils and ghouls!
Are you ready to celebrate the most frightening time of the year? If you’re looking for ghastly graphic novels and monstrous manga to get you into the spooky spirit, then you’re in the right place! As always, our devoted team of eerie experts are standing by to give you titles that will leave you trembling in terror.
All recommendations are intended for older teens and adults.
Graphic Novels
Afterlife with Archie
story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; artwork by Francesco Francavilla; lettering by Jack Morelli
Recommended by Jenny Baum, Alicea Porterfield-Brock, and Jonathan Shapiro
All hell breaks loose when a fateful accident sets in motion a series of terrifying events that will threaten the town of Riverdale like never before! When the dead begin to rise, craving human flesh, it's up to Archie, Betty & Veronica, and the Gang to fight for their lives against the zombie hordes led by their former pal, Jughead.
Alicea: For those familiar with the comic strip featuring Archie, Betty, Veronica, and Jughead, you're accustomed to 1950s nostalgia vibes of burgers at the diner and lovelorn glances across the football field. There's that in this iteration and a whole lot more. Aguirre-Sacasa must have tapped into that same dark vein that Stephen King has plumbed for years because Riverdale's residents are being plagued by the walking dead. Zombie and horror fans will delight in this series.
American Vampire
written by Scott Snyder, and Stephen King; art by Rafael Albuquerque; colored by Dave McCaig; lettered by Steve Wands
Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro
A new vampire for a new century. Cunning, ruthless, and rattlesnake-mean, Skinner Sweet has a reputation for cussedness as long as he is ornery. As the first vampire conceived on American soil, however, he's not your usual creature of the night. Stronger, fiercer, and powered by the sun, Sweet is the first of a new breed of bloodsucker: the American Vampire. Forty-five years after rising from his grave, Sweet finds himself in 1920s Los Angeles, where the young and beautiful are drawn like moths to the burning lights of Hollywood. Something beyond simple human greed is at work here, however, as struggling young actress Pearl Jones is about to discover. When her movie-star dreams are transformed into a bloody nightmare, Sweet provides her only chance for survival as well as the power to take revenge.
Archival Quality
written by Ivy Noelle Weir; illustrated and colored by Steenz; lettered by Joamette Gil; edited by Robin Herrera
Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro
The Logan Museum is a mysterious old building practically covered in skulls, and also the new workplace of Celeste "Cel" Walden, a librarian who was let go from her previous job after a mental breakdown. But Cel is desperate to feel useful, and Abayomi Abiola, the Logan Museum's chief curator, is desperate to hire an archivist. Cel soon realizes the job is unlike any other she's had. There's an apartment onsite she's required to live in, she only works in the middle of the night, and she definitely gets the impression that there's more to the museum than Abayomi and her new boss, Holly Park, are letting on. And then strange things start happening. Odd noises. Objects moving. Vivid, terrifying dreams of a young woman Cel's never met, but feels strangely drawn to. A woman who for some reason needs Cel's help. As Cel attempts to learn more about the woman, she begins losing time, misplacing things, passing out—there's no denying the job is becoming dangerous, but she can't let go of the woman in her dreams. Who is she? Why is she so fixated on Cel? And does Cel have the power to save her when she's still trying to save herself?
The Beauty
by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley
Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro
Modern society is obsessed with outward beauty. What if there was a way to guarantee you could become more and more beautiful every day? What if it was a sexually transmitted disease? In the world of The Beauty, physical perfection is only one sexual encounter away. The vast majority of the population has taken advantage of it, but Detectives Vaughn and Foster will soon discover it comes at a terrible cost. Now, they'll have to find their way past corrupt politicians, vengeful federal agents, and a terrifying mercenary out to collect the price on their heads.
Blue in Green
written by Ram V.; art by Anand RK; colored by John Pearson; lettered by Aditya Bidikar; designed by Tom Muller; production art by Ryan Brewer
Recommended by Benjamin Sapadin
Struggling musician Erik Dieter returns home for his mother's funeral and, under strange circumstances, finds a photograph of a late sixties jazz musician. The search for this musician's identity will soon become an obsession that will take Erik down the spiraling depths of his ambitions—a journey that will erode his faith in reality, forcing him to confront the horrors of his own great expectations.
Ben: For fans of both horror and jazz, this comic follows a young jazz musician being haunted both by his family's dark secrets and a literal ghost.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
story by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa; artwork by Robert Hack; lettering by Jack Morelli
Recommended by Jenny Baum
On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, young sorceress Sabrina Spellman finds herself at a crossroads, forced to choose between an unearthly destiny and her own mortal boyfriend, Harvey. But Madam Satan, a deadly foe from her family's past, has arrived in Greendale, and she has her sights set squarely on the young witch. Can Sabrina face the challenge, or will her witching career—and high school life—end all too abruptly?
Courtney Crumrin
written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh; colored by Warren Wucinich
Recommended by Jenny Baum
Courtney Crumrin grumbles about everything, but now she's really got something to grumble over. Having run out of credit cards, her parents are moving to the wealthy suburb of Hillsborough, to live rent-free with their creepy old uncle Aloysius. Courtney is now an outcast among her rich, snobby classmates. And if that weren't bad enough, the musty, decrepit old mansion that she now calls home is occupied by stranger creatures than just her parents or Uncle Aloysius. They crawl about the house, just out of sight. They crunch bones in the corner. They climb up on the bed and watch Courtney while she sleeps. Mom and Dad don't notice them, but Uncle Aloysius calls them the Night Things.
Fangs
by Sarah Andersen
Recommended by Benjamin Sapadin
A 300-year-old vampire begins dating a laid-back werewolf, and both soon discover there are unexpected side benefits to falling in love with a monster.
Ben: This short comic is more rom-com than horror, but it features some of the most famous figures in horror: a vampire and a werewolf. Instead of a bloodbath, this story treats readers to a series of touching, rom-com moments.
Fatale
words by Ed Brubaker; pictures by Sean Phillips; colors by Dave Stewart; introduction by Megan Abbott
Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro
Josephine is cursed. In this series that darkly blends American crime noir with unnamed Lovecraftian horrors, we follow her from 1950s San Francisco, where crooked cops hide deeper evils, to mid-'70s L.A., where burnt-out actors and ex-cult groupies are caught in a web around a satanic snuff film...and in the middle of it all is Josephine, with a power to die or kill for.
Harrow County
written by Cullen Bunn; art and lettering by Tyler Crook
Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro
Emmy always knew that the woods surrounding her home crawled with ghosts and monsters. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she learns that she is connected to these creatures—and to the land itself—in a way she never imagined.
H.P. Lovecraft's At the Mountains of Madness
adaptation and artwork by Gou Tanabe; translated by Zack Davisson; lettering and touchup by Steve Dutro; edited by Carl Gustav Horn
Recommended by Benjamin Sapadin
January 25, 1931: an expedition team arrives at a campsite in Antarctica...to find its crew of men and sled dogs strewn and dead. Some are hideously mangled, as if in rage—some have been dissected in a curious and cold-blooded manner. Some are missing. But a still more horrific sight is the star-shaped mound of snow nearby...for under its five points is a grave—and what lies beneath is not human!
Ben: Lovecraftian creatures have never looked as horrifying as they do in this impeccably drawn new-ish manga adaptation. Perfect for fans of Lovecraft, horror manga, or both.
Killadelphia
story by Rodney Barnes; art by Jason Shawn Alexander; coloring by Luis NCT; lettering by Marshall Dillon
Recommended by Emily Drew
When a small town beat cop comes home to bury his murdered father—the revered Philadelphia detective James Sangster Sr.—he begins to unravel a mystery that leads him down a path of horrors and shakes his beliefs to their core. The city that was once the symbol of liberty and freedom has fallen prey to corruption, poverty, unemployment, brutality... and vampires. Now, it's up to Jimmy and an unexpected companion to stop long-thought-dead President of the United States John Adams from building an undead army and staging a bloody new American revolution.
Emily: A wholly unique and inventive take on vampire mythology, Killadelphia is sure to keep you awake at night wondering who else from history might be plotting a bloody revenge.
The King in Yellow
by Robert W. Chambers and Ian Culbard
Recommended by Isaiah Pittman
The supernatural stories that make up Robert W. Chambers’s classic piece of weird fiction are tied together by a play that brings madness to all who read it: The King in Yellow. It’s a book that draws readers in with an irresistible yet innocent opening act, then drives them insane with the poisonous words of Act 2. It’s a book that cannot be suppressed, spreading like a disease from city to city, continent to continent. An influence on writers from H. P. Lovecraft to Neil Gaiman, The King in Yellow is one of the most important works of American supernatural fiction.
Locke & Key Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft
written by Joe Hill; art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Recommended by Jenny Baum and Jonathan Shapiro
Tells of the Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them—and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of all.
Snow, Glass, Apples
stories and words by Neil Gaiman; adaptation and art by Colleen Doran; lettering by Todd Klein
Recommended by Estefania Velez and Isaiah Pittman
A not-so-evil queen is terrified of her monstrous stepdaughter and determined to repel this creature and save her kingdom from a world where happy endings aren't so happily ever after.
Something is Killing The Children
by James Tynion IV
Recommended by Sam Scala
When the children of Archer's Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. The few children that return alive have terrible stories—impossible details of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. Their only hope is the arrival of a mysterious stranger, one who believes the children and claims to be the only adult who sees what they can see. Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters. That is all she does, and she bears the cost because it must be done.
Sam: It's a great suspenseful series with a bunch of unexpected twists and turns by well-known Batman writer, James Tynion IV. It features queer characters and the worldbuilding just keeps getting more interesting with every issue! A good book should make you think about it again. An amazing book makes you pause while reading and just *breathe* and that’s what this series does, particularly the latest volume. I don’t think I could recommend anything better in time for the spooky season. James Tynion IV is truly one of the best comic writers of his time.
Vision
by Julia Gfrörer
Recommended by Benjamin Sapadin
A vision-impaired, Victorian spinster in need of primitive cataract surgery has little time for herself between needing to take care of her demanding invalid sister-in-law, and investigating her brother's mysterious nighttime activities. To escape it all, she engages in a sexual relationship with a haunted mirror in her bedroom. Julia Gfrörer's third graphic novel is another revitalizing and contemporary spin on the grand tradition of gothic storytelling, exploring ideas of abandonment and sexuality with an expert mix of mystery, horror, and nostalgia. As with her two previous and acclaimed graphic novels, Laid Waste and Black Is the Color, Gfrörer's delicate and dark linework perfectly complements the period era of the book's setting, bringing the lyricism and romanticism of her stories to the fore.
Ben: This comic is a slow build, but features what is probably the most gruesome cataract surgery ever put in print.
The Walking Dead
by Robert Kirkman, creator, writer, letterer; Tony Moore, penciler, inker, gray tones; Cliff Rathburn, additional gray tones
Recommended by Jonathan ShapiroPolice officer Rick Grimes is shot on the job and wakes up a month later to find that the world that he knows is gone. Zombies have taken over and are killing and eating those who are still alive. He sets out toward Atlanta in the hope that his family is still alive and endures many horrors along the way.
When I Arrived At the Castle
by Emily Carroll
Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro and Amanda Pagan
Like many before her that have never come back, she's made it to the Countess' castle determined to snuff out the horror, but she could never be prepared for what hides within its turrets; what unfurls under its fluttering flags. Emily Carroll has fashioned a rich gothic horror charged with eroticism that doesn't just make your skin crawl, it crawls into it.
Manga
Back When You Called Us Devils
by Takashi Sano
Recommended by Joseph Pascullo
Yusuke Saito is a normal high school kid...well, normal enough, except that he can't remember anything from his life except the last six months. But when he starts to get confronted by people who insist they're from his past, who allege that he did horrible things to them...suddenly Yusuke's missing memories become crucial to remember. Otherwise, the skeletons in his closet may just make him a skeleton, too.
Joseph: A horrifying look at what happens when you undergo a spell of multi-month amnesia. What kind of atrocities would you commit when you have no control over your actions, or your memories? And what would you do when the people you've unconsciously harmed (both emotionally and physically) track you down to seek their revenge?
The Drifting Classroom
by Kazuo Umezz; translation by Sheldon Drzka; English adaptation by Molly Tanzer; lettering by Evan Waldinger
Recommended by Amanda Pagan and Jonathan Shapiro
Out of nowhere, an entire school vanishes, leaving nothing but a hole in the ground. While parents mourn and authorities investigate, the students and teachers find themselves not dead but stranded in a terrifying wasteland where they must fight to survive.
Helter Skelter
by Kyoko Okazaki
Recommended by Amanda Pagan
Through round after round of extensive plastic surgery and vigorous maintenance, Liliko has become the absolute manifestation of beauty, and becomes a wildly successful model, actress, and singer. However, soon her body, unable to withstand the burdens of surgery, begins to crumble, and along with it so does her mind, as she plummets towards a frightening and inevitable end.
Amanda: It’s got everything! Beauty! Fashion! A horrifying and slightly surreal descent into madness! You’ll find yourself simultaneously pitying and hating Liliko as you follow her journey from top of the fashion world to yesterday’s news. The surreal segments will have fans of Twin Peaks gobbling this up.
Monster
by Naoki Urasawa; story co-produced with Takashi Nagasaki; translation and English adaptation by Camellia Nieh; lettering by Steve Dutro; cover and interior design by King Clovis; edited by Mike Montesa
Recommended by Jonathan Shapiro
Everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But there's no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples' lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension. Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killer's identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killer's twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the "Monster."
Everything Junji Ito
Uzumaki
by Junji Ito
Recommended by Joseph Pascullo
It's required reading for anyone who's first getting into the horror manga genre. What would you do if you became trapped in a town that's been taken over by twisty-wisty spirals? Read this to find out the horrors you'd experience!
Gyo: The Death-Stench Creeps
story and art by Junji Ito; translation and English adaptation by Yuji Oniki; touch-up art and lettering by Stephen Dutro
Recommended by Isaiah Pittman
Where has Junji Ito been all my life!? He’s a master of skincrawling, squirm-in-your-seat scares, and this slimy offering is packed to the gills with them! A cinematic blur of ink on paper, the sickly screams lingering in the salty air. You’re guaranteed to blast through this book in less than a day—I did!
Discover more recommended titles with these popular blog posts:
- Chills, Thrills, & Super Bloody Spills: Horror Manga for the Masses
- It's About to Get Weird: Surreal Manga and Graphic Novels
- Staff-Recommended Manga Reads for Summer
Summaries provided via NYPL’s catalog, which draws from multiple sources. Click through to each book’s title for more.