HORROR FOR THE HOLIDAYS: 4 Last Second Gift Ideas
You forgot someone, didn’t you? Our final suggestions for the Nightmare that is… Christmas
We’ve all been there. It’s just days before Christmas, and suddenly you remember you need a gift for that distant cousin twice removed. Instead of defaulting to generic, commercialized items, why not give them a real thrill? Horror graphic novels that are perfect to scare and entertain. Fret not! We’ve rounded up five selections available at most local comic book stores that are guaranteed to leave someone both delighted and slightly on edge.
1. The Beauty (Ignition Press)
A soon to be FX TV series by Ryan Murphy, this book isn’t just one of my favorites, but the premise also screams ready for wide release – with commentary about pandemics, fashion, and the obsession with being really really ridiculously good looking. The Beauty imagines a world where a new sexually transmitted disease makes you drop-dead gorgeous. A dreamy virus folks are dying to catch, until one year later, when the people who intentionally caught it die.
The comic blends horror with social satire: with characters who chase looks, lifestyle hype, and meaning, but again - followed with death. Co-written by Jason Hurley, with stories and art by the amazingly talented Jeremy Haun, this is a book that is gorgeous by all means, but most especially, because it examines just as to why we chase perfection. It’s also, as I’ve never told anyone this - a big inspiration for Beautiful, my comic book about a beauty influencer turned succubus, that’s in the works.
Anyway, check it out along with the new floppies in stores as its a great horror gift.
2. Beneath the Trees / Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring (IDW)
Everyone I meet thinks the cute animals are adorable on the cover of the original book… until they see the dead corpses along the corner. For all its adorability, this is a horror book. Like the serial killer show Dexter meets the cute town inspired by those Richard Scarry books.
Writer/Artist Patrick Horvath has got a twisted mind at play here with bone-deep horror and a constant state of paranoia at play. His follow-up to the Eisner-nominated Beneath the Trees returns to Woodbrook, where a serial-killer brown bear named Samantha Strong once terrorized everyone.
You can buy the trade in most comic book stores, but you can also look to the stands for the new floppies of the sequel: Rite of Spring, as this new arc takes us out of the 80s and into the 90s. Same town. Different times.
It’s the kind of story that feels quiet until it isn’t.
3. DCeased: Compact Edition
Imagine your favorite superheroes facing something worse than villains: a techno-organic zombie virus that corrupts the internet itself, turning people into zombie-like killers. That’s DCeased. Your favorite heroes in Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman all scrambling as civilization collapses under the Anti-Life techno-plague.
This compact edition is perfect for anyone who loves superhero comics and horror. A grim, visceral mashup of The Walking Dead energy but with DC’s biggest names. Written by Tom Taylor and featuring art by Trevor Hairsine, Stefano Guadiano, Laura Braga, and Richard Friend, this one’s an easy pick for horror fans who like comics and at the compact edition price of 10 buckaroos, it’s an easy gift to be shared..
4. Universal Monsters Line
This is one for straight nostalgia play, but also, because the books are actually good. The original terrors from the golden age of horror are back in print with Dracula (W: James Tynion IV, Art: Martin Simmonds), Frankenstein (W/A: Michael Walsh), the Creature from the Black Lagoon (W: Ram V and Dan Watters, A: Matthew Roberts), The Mummy (W/A: Faith Erin Hicks), and The Invisible Man (W: James Tynion IV, A: DANI), and more in comic form.
These aren’t just movie tie-ins. They’re modern creative teams giving fresh life (and death) to monsters that defined the genre. All of them - totally worth the effort if ya love the classics and want a new version today.
Christian Angeles is a writer and entertainment journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering comics, video games, and digital media. He was senior editor at The Beat during its Eisner Award–winning year and also served as managing editor of The Workprint. Outside of journalism, he writes comics and books.
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