Slasher movies are episodic by nature, with the entire genre revolving around establishing and then playing around with (and sometimes even subverting) established formulas. With that in mind, it makes sense that tales of undead killers and desperate final girls are also perfectly suited for comic-books, as it’s a lot easier to tell a scary story in twenty-two pages if there’s a familiar structure holding the narrative together.
Besides, from their iconic masks to their fantastical super-powers, slasher villains have a lot more in common with superheroes than most people tend to realize. That’s probably why so many comic artists have featured slasher tropes in their work – often with incredible results. And in honor of these genre-savvy artists, we’ve decided to come up with a list recommending six horror comics for slasher fans! After all, genre fun doesn’t have to be limited to the big screen.
For the purposes of this list, we’ll be focusing on comic-books that directly tell stories related to slasher movies. This means no one-off gags like that time Doctor Strange battled Freddy Krueger or even slasher-adjacent characters like Batman’s Dollmaker. That being said, don’t forget to comment below with your own slasher comic favorites if you think we missed a particularly memorable one.
With that out of the way, onto the list…
6. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2007)
Platinum Dunes’ Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and its prequel may not have been critical darlings upon release, but I’m glad that these films are now mostly respected as gnarly little slasher flicks that were content to do their own thing. And if you’re also a fan of these films, I’d highly recommend checking out Wildstorm’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre comic-books, as their six-issue series picks up one year after the events of the remake – making it the official sequel that we never got to see!
Not only do we get to see Leatherface adapting to life with only one-arm while Jessica Biel’s Erin is imprisoned in a mental institution, but the comics also expand the Hewitt’s mythology by revealing that the entire town of Fuller is aware of the family’s cannibalistic activities.
The lack of MPAA interference also makes these comics even more brutal than the movies that inspired them, so make sure that you have a strong stomach before diving into these hyper-violent stories.
5. The Deviant (2023)
Picture a Thomas Harris novel combined with Silent Night, Deadly Night (as well as a generous helping of neo-noir atmosphere), and you’ll get the gist of James Tynion IV’s criminally underrated The Deviant. However, don’t be fooled by the book’s familiar setup, as this sexually charged thriller has a lot more going on under the surface than its slasher-adjacent setup might initially suggest.
In this ongoing series, we follow a troubled True Crime writer as he interviews an aging prisoner who was arrested back in 1972 for having committed a murder spree while dressed as a mall Santa. And yet, despite the overwhelming evidence against him, the so-called ‘Deviant Killer’ still insists on his innocence all these years later.
4. Friday the 13th: How I Spent My Summer Vacation (2007)
Like many other genre fans, I remember anxiously awaiting the announcement for a new Friday the 13th movie immediately after the release of the 2009 remake. And as the wait grew longer, I eventually decided to turn my attention towards other mediums in an attempt to scratch that slasher itch. This is how I fell down the F13 franchise’s surprisingly messy rabbit hole of spin-off comic-books.
And among these loving homages to the golden years of slasher flicks, one of the best has to be a certain two-issue miniseries written by Jason Aaron and illustrated by Adam Archer. In 2007’s How I Spent My Summer Vacation, we follow a disabled child at Camp Crystal Lake who finds respite from constant bullying suffered at the hands of his fellow campers when he befriends a certain masked killer with a tragic backstory of his own.
3. Hack / Slash (2004)
A highly entertaining example of mid-2000s excess, Hack/Slash may not have aged as well as some other horror comics on this list, but I can’t help but look back on this iconic series fondly. After all, it’s one of the most entertaining love-letters to horror fans that I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading.
Following slasher-hunter Cassie Hack as she teams up with a masked brute with a heart of gold and travels the country on a never-ending quest to rid the world of supernatural killers, Hack/Slash combines humor and horror in infinitely entertaining ways. The series also featured plenty of memorable crossovers with iconic characters like Chucky and even Jeffrey Combs’ rendition of Dr. Herbert West – with the latter actually being a big part of the series’ mythology!
2. Halloween: Nightdance (2008)
There are so many conflicting timelines within the Halloween franchise that the IP actually feels right at home in the world of comic-books. But if you only ever read one book inspired by John Carpenter’s seminal slasher, I’d recommend Stefan Hutchinson and Tim Seeley’s surprisingly dark Halloween: Nightdance, a Devil’s Due miniseries that takes place between H20 and Resurrection.
Following a traumatized young woman who discovers that she’s the latest target of a seemingly unstoppable serial killer, this four-issue story features one of the scariest depictions of The Shape in any media – as well as a surprisingly memorable cast of victims.
1. Maniac of New York (2021)
From war-torn horizons to global pandemics, humankind is capable of adapting to all manners of different horrors if given enough time to adjust. It’s this nonchalant approach to terror that inspired Elliott Kalan to come up with the bloody satire of Maniac of New York – a slasher comic that combines brutal massacres with biting social commentary.
This wonderful ongoing series tells the story of an alternate version of New York City under siege by a seemingly unkillable masked murderer. However, the killer’s appearances are so frequent that they have now become an accepted part of modern city life, with the comic daring to explore the socio-economic consequences of living in a neighborhood inhabited by a Jason Voorhees-inspired murderer.
The post Hacking & Slashing: Six Horror Comics for Fans of Slasher Movies appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
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