Tales From The Crypt: Horror Comic Recommendations

I have not actually ever read a Tales From The Crypt comic. I should. I’d like to.

Hey! Hey Future Paul! If you’re reading this, IN THE FUTURE, do one of two things:

1) Read Tales From The Crypt

OR

2) Travel back in time, and force yourself to read Tales From The Crypt prior to writing this post, AND make sure to make our past self edit this post if you half ass things and show up while this post is being written.

Anyway…horror! I love horror. I love monsters. I love crazy killers. My tastes probably veer towards the over the top but I appreciate the stuff that plays it straight too. So, as I’ve started this piece by rambling about Tales From The Crypt, you can surmise that horror is not limited to the movies, and exists in comics too. Here’s a brief list of recommendations to get you started.

The Walking Dead by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard

This is a comic I recommend with reservations. I don’t follow the series anymore, and I don’t care for the television show. I liked it initially, but it wore kind of thin for me. However, I definitely recommend checking out the first collection if you like the show, especially if you’ve never read a comic before if only to compare the differences in storytelling and pacing. (My sis-in-law Chelsea will be doing this).

Locke and Key by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Locke and Key is the story of a family blessed with and cursed by a set of magical keys that open special doors.  Each key has it’s own unique function: such as granting access to someone’s mind, changing the holder’s sex, or allowing the user to leave their body and fly freely as a ghost. The catch is, the keys only work for those under the age of 18. The Locke kids have to understand the keys while also defeating an ancient evil. If that sounds a little Stephen King-y, well, this is written by his son, Joe Hill. But Hill is his own writer, and gets his creep on in his own way, while Gabriel Rodriguez brings the gore and violence, while also keeping things a bit cartoony, which winds up making it all the more freaky. Start with volume 1, Welcome to Lovecraft, then buy up the rest.

American Vampire by Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, and Stephen King

American Vampire offers two tales for the price of one! In the “A” story written by Scott Snyder, you get the tale of aspiring Hollywood starlet Pearl who is beset by bloodsucking Hollywood moguls (and vampires, too! Oh, me, you’re hilarious). While in the “B” story written by Stephen King, there’s the origin story of Skinner Sweet, old west outlaw as he becomes the titular “American Vampire.” The basic plot appears to be a vampire class war. The vampires that immigrated from Europe haven’t tainted their species by creating any new vampires in America. That is…until they mess up, and in Skinner create a vampire, and an enemy, that has almost none of their weaknesses. Albuquerque’s art does a great job of separating the timelines, while Snyder and King seem to be doing a great job of crafting their distinctive tales while also crafting a larger, cohesive narrative.

So that’s a start. For those who need a “if you like this, you’ll like that,” Walking Dead TV show viewers, zombie fans in general, check out The Walking Dead comic. Stephen King fans, H.P. Lovecraft fans, people who go to key parties, pick up Locke and Key. Finally, those who like down and dirty grindhouse films, westerns, vampires, and things that combine those three things, check out American Vampire. Or check out all of them…IF YOU DARE!

Consider this PART ONE of horror writeups. I’ll be back…(Vincent Price Thriller Laughter)