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.
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