HALLOWEEN SPECIAL... HORROR COMICS FOR THE SPOOKY SEASON!

 

I've always been fascinated by Halloween. The holiday holds great power for me and every year my wife and I sit down to binge on junk food and classic horror films. I tend to appreciate and be fascinated by the darker side of life. Horror films are my favorite movie genre. And I love horror comics too because they can go places that the usual superhero books can't. Horror comics, like crime comics, are the special niche outside of superheroes that make comics rival any other entertainment medium. 

The earliest comic books from the 1930's showcased horror and dark themes. Horror became such a popular genre in the medium that it bled into the popular comics like Batman, sometimes even Superman or even still, Will Eisner's Spirit stories. The first actual comic book that was specifically a horror title, Eerie, was an anthology book... a collection of short comics by different writers and artists. From there the floodgates were opened and other books quickly became popular. Creepy, Adventures into the Unknown, the Warren publications, and many other horror anthologies became the most common comics of the 1950's that kids would read in the schoolyard or on the playground. 

It wasn't until one publisher came on the scene though that horror comics got major attention. EC Comics (Entertaining Comics), best known for publishing Tales From the Crypt (originally known as The Crypt of Terror), The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear, rivaled DC Comics and the pre-Marvel company, Timely Comics. These comics were far more graphic, far more violent and more adult than the Golden and Silver Age superhero books could ever hope to be. Murder, dismemberment, and sexuality were often on display next to classic monster stories featuring zombies and vampires. It probably wasn't a good idea to market these things to 12-year-old boys, but that's who read these books. When the U.S. government stepped in to create the self-censorship body that was THE COMICS CODE, nearly every horror comic was forced to end. EC Comics' business was so harmed by the new code, and their content was such a target, that EC nearly died. The company had to limp along with neutered romance comics or western comics. 

For a long period, from the late 1950's to the early 1970's, the horror genre waned in the U.S. unless you ventured into the Black and White anthologies of Warren Publishing and other famous books like Vampirella. There were some British horror comics published in the 60's and 70's that are based in the Gothic tradition, but they are quite obscure and hard to find these days. But it wasn't until DC and Marvel reignited horror in the mainstream that horror became hot again. DC's Golden Age pulp-superhero title The Spectre was revived in a moody series called Wrath of the Spectre in 1974 (Adventure Comics #431-440). Horror anthology magazines were revived by DC in House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Ghosts, and Forbidden Tales of The Haunted Mansion. Marvel jumped on the horror bandwagon with some of the more shocking 70's comic books. Titles like Chamber of Chills, Marvel Horror, The Legion of Monsters, The Son of Satan, Tomb of Darkness, and Fear. 

By the 1970's an attempt to meld the superhero characters and teams with monsters, mystery, sci-fi, and horror became a very popular idea. Marvel and DC unleased titles like Tomb of Dracula, Ghost Rider, Werewolf By Night, Wrath of the Spectre, The Phantom Stranger, and my favorite horror-inspired series, Swamp Thing. 

As comics grew up and matured in the 1980's books like Alan Moore's Swamp Thing gave way to the popular comics titles of today like Hellblazer and Sandman and other works like Mike Mignola's Hellboy, Garth Ennis' Preacher, or The Walking Dead. Horror themes can also be found in nearly every comic today, as today's books are far more sophisticated. 

Horror comics have influenced everything in our culture and their influences can be seen in the classic horror films of the 1970's and 80's like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, Dawn of the Dead, or The Evil Dead. Modern television shows like The X-Files or American Horror Story also take inspiration from a lot of what has been done in darker, spookier comic books. 

I would encourage you, if you're a comics fan, and have only read superheroes to broaden your horizons and seek out some of the above titles. The modern horror comics are some of the best comics ever published.

In Defense of Superman!

 

Despite being the first superhero and one of the most well-known fictional creations of all time, the Man of Steel is sometimes seen as a stodgy, overpowered, boring character. From the late 1990's to very recently (and perhaps even now), some superhero and comic book fans  have had an unfavorable opinion of Superman.

This manifests itself in many ways. The sales of Superman comic books have ebbed and flowed with a large decline happening since the New 52 relaunch in 2011. Arguments on the interwebs, these days, usually favor heroes like Batman, Spider-man or Deadpool to the "Big Blue Boy Scout." He's fallen out of fashion again, as he had many times since his debut in 1938. It happens. Societal values change over time and, for many fans, he hasn't evolved enough to remain as relatable as other characters have. 

The biggest indication that Superman has lost popularity among some is shown in 2 flawed and misinformed ideas: 

1) There are very few good Superman stories.

The only real way to refute this argument is to recommend a bunch of amazing Superman stories. Here are my top 20 Superman stories to convince his naysayers that "good Superman stories" are in abundance. These stories span comics, film and cartoons.

-- Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow (a farewell to the Bronze Age Superman by Alan Moore and Curt Swan)

-- Superman: The Man of Steel (the 1986 six-issue miniseries by John Byrne that retells the origin of Superman)

-- Peace on Earth by Paul Dini and Alex Ross (Superman tries to dedicate himself to solving one of humanity's greatest problems in just 1 day: ending world hunger) 

-- Superman #1 (from 1939, this is an expanded version of the debut story from Action Comics #1)

-- Superman Vs The Flash (from Superman #199, this showcases the race between Superman and The Flash. Written by Jim Shooter with art by Curt Swan)

-- For All Seasons by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale (the story of how Smallville and Ma and Pa Kent shaped Superman. A retelling of his origin)

-- For The Man Who Has Everything by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons (A Superman birthday story in which an alien entity shows Superman an alternate reality. Culminates in a battle with the warlord, Mongul. Guest stars Batman, Robin and Wonder Woman)

-- Kryptonite Nevermore by Denny O'neil and Curt Swan (a saga from 1971 where Kryptonite disappears and Superman is depowered)

-- Superman: Brainiac (a modern retelling of the first meeting between Superman and Brainiac by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank)

-- All Star Superman (the modern love letter to the Silver Age by Grant Morrison)

-- Superman: Exile by various writers/artists (a classic saga where Superman exiles himself from Earth, compelled by remorse and guilt over his greatest personal failure)

-- Dark Knight Over Metropolis (a story where Batman and Superman meet and come to an important understanding about their differences) 

-- The Death and Return of Superman Saga by various writers/artists (the classic 1990's Saga)

-- The Wedding and Beyond by various writers/artists (the mid-90's event where Superman and Lois Lane finally got married)

-- Last Son (a five-issue comic book story arc written by Geoff Johns and Richard Donner, with pencils by Adam Kubert. The story introduces the original character, Christopher Kent and adapts the classic Superman film villains, General Zod (His appearance modeled after the actor, Terence Stamp), Ursa and Non into the regular DC Universe continuity)

-- Superman-Shazam: First Thunder (a modern retelling of the first meeting between Superman and Captain Marvel [Shazam], written by Judd Winick with art by Joshua Middleton) 

-- Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (a five-issue monthly limited series written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Lee Bermejo, which explores Lex Luthor as the protagonist)

-- Superman: The Movie (from 1978, this classic film is often regarded as the greatest superhero movie of all time)

-- Superman (aka The Mad Scientist, this is Superman's first ever cartoon from Fleischer Studios in 1941)

-- The Last Son of Krypton ("The Last Son of Krypton" is the three-part series premiere of Superman: The Animated Series. It depicts the origin of Superman, his coming to Metropolis, and is a great springboard to the animated series)

2) The second argument is that Superman is a hard character to write because he's too moral or too powerful.

This is not an objective argument. Superman is supposed to be moral. He's a symbol of what we as humans should aspire to. His stories should showcase his power but also demonstrate that he is different from the grimness of characters like Batman. He doesn't have the problematic life of Peter Parker either. His best stories offer a sense of hope and optimism about the world and ourselves but also delve into his complex and fantastic mythology. 

In closing, I'd like to argue that Superman is an exciting and broad character with a compelling mythos. If you're not a fan of what he represents, fair enough. But to many, myself included, he remains one of the greatest comic book characters of all time. Some even see him as the greatest superhero. If you have ever found yourself on the side of the "Superman is boring" argument, I would encourage you to dig a little deeper. You just might open up a whole new world of mythology to explore.