15 Best Halloween Comics to Get You in the Halloween Spirit

Halloween is a beloved holiday for many. But what makes it so popular? Is it the spooky feeling in the air, the fun of dressing up in costumes, or the thrill of telling scary stories? Perhaps it’s a combination of all these things! You can find more information about the history of Halloween online.

We don’t know for certain – an anthropologist could probably give a more definitive answer – but we *do* know how to help you get into the Halloween spirit! Here’s our list of the best Halloween comics, guaranteed to do just that.

Here’s a list of 15 fantastic Halloween comics – including graphic novels, single issues, and complete series. We’re not ranking them based on quality or any other specific criteria. Our aim is simply to get you feeling festive and ready for the holiday!

Batman: Haunted Knight

Author(s): Jeph Loeb
Artist(s): Tim Sale
Publication Date: 1996
Publisher: DC Comics

Haunted Knight is a collection of brief Batman stories created for Halloween. In the tale “Fears,” Batman chases after the Scarecrow. As the name indicates, fear is a central theme throughout the story.

“Madness” centers around the kidnapping of Captain James Gordon’s daughter, Barbara, by the Mad Hatter. She is held captive and forced to participate in a tea party with other abducted children. Eventually, Batman and Gordon work together to rescue Barbara and stop the Mad Hatter.

“Ghosts” reimagines A Christmas Carol within the world of Batman. Instead of Jacob Marley, we see Bruce Wayne’s father, Thomas Wayne, filling that role. The three spirits are also reimagined as iconic Batman villains and figures: Poison Ivy embodies the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Joker represents the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmas to come is revealed to be a Grim Reaper who is actually the ghost of Batman.

The message from the spirits is that Bruce shouldn’t let Batman take over his whole life.

Hellboy

Author(s): Mike Mignola
Artist(s): Mike Mignola
Publication Date: 1993 – currently ongoing
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Anung Un Rama came into being through the pairing of a demon and a human, and spent his early life in hell. He was then brought forth in 1944 by Rasputin. The monk, remarkably surviving his 1916 assassination attempt, had been employed by Heinrich Himmler and was thus working for the Nazis.

He originally intended to use the being to influence the result of World War II, but the summoning process failed. Anung Un Rama was then taken into the care of the US military and Professor Trevor Bruttenholm, who named him Hellboy.

When he became an adult, he started working with an organization dedicated to battling supernatural dangers, called the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

Locke & Key

Author(s): Joe Hill
Artist(s): Gabriel Rodríguez
Publication Date: From February 2008 to December 2013
Publisher: IDW Publishing

As a total film and TV enthusiast, I was immediately hooked by the premise of this show! It starts with a really tragic event – the Locke kids, Tyler, Kinsey, and Bode, lose their father in a terrible way. Afterwards, they and their mom, Nina, move into Keyhouse, which is this huge, old family home. It doesn’t take long for them to figure out that Keyhouse isn’t just any house; it’s full of mysteries. They stumble upon these amazing magical keys that can do unbelievable things – like, seriously, one can turn you into a ghost, and another can actually wipe someone’s memories! It’s a wild ride from the very beginning.

These keys aren’t a secret to everyone – a demon called Dodge is also searching for them. Dodge wants to open the Black Door, which would allow the demons of hell to enter our world.

Nocturnals

Author(s): Dan Brereton
Artist(s): Dan Brereton
Publication Date: January 1995 – currently ongoing
Publisher: Bravura (originally published by Malibu Comics), Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, and Image Comics

The Horror family welcomes several unusual newcomers-individuals who shun sunlight and typical society. These include Polychrome, a spectral apparition; Starfish, an amphibious and fiery character; Firelion, a swordsman with the power over fire; Komodo, a reptilian being; Raccoon, a clever animal-human hybrid from the streets; and Gunwitch, a quiet, undead sharpshooter.

The team will make their home and operate from Doc Horror’s underground base, known as the Tomb. From there, they’ll fight crime and deal with the many supernatural dangers that threaten the nearby city of Pacific City.

Doc Horror’s primary foes are the Crim, a species of parasitic beings from another dimension who destroyed his home planet. He and Eva managed to escape to Earth before the devastation was complete.

Tomie

Author(s): Junji Itō
Artist(s): Junji Itō
Publication Date: 1987 – 2000
Publisher: Asahi Sonorama

Tomie is a manga presented as a series of standalone stories, all focusing on the character of Tomie. She’s an incredibly beautiful and cunning teenage girl with the power to create copies of herself. Each story typically revolves around men she seduces, who then commit acts of violence or take their own lives, and occasionally, she transforms innocent young women into duplicates of herself.

Tomie is both the aggressor and the one who suffers; she’s repeatedly cut apart by the men she’s captivated. However, she doesn’t stay defeated – she regenerates from her body parts or fluids, and then seeks revenge. Crucially, she also tries to destroy any copies of herself.

Blackest Night

Author(s): Geoff Johns
Artist(s): Ivan Reis
Publication Date: June 2009 – May 2010
Publisher: DC Comics

The narrative picks up following the conclusion of Final Crisis. In its aftermath, Black Hand utilizes a Black Lantern Corps power battery-situated in sector 666-to forge Black Lantern rings. These rings are then used to revive deceased DC characters, including Batman, Firestorm, Aquaman, Deadman, Captain Boomerang, Skater, Sam Scudder, James Jesse, Top, Tula, Dolphin, Max Lord, the Martian Bloodhound, Roy Lincoln, Dee Tyler, Al Pratt, Katma Tui, Extansive-man, and Sue Dibny.

Other characters are also transformed into Black Lanterns (Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Specter).

Gideon Falls

Author(s): Jeff Lemire
Artist(s): Andrea Sorrentino
Publication Date: From March 2018 to December 2020
Publisher: Image Comics

The story follows a young prisoner fixated on a conspiracy he believes is concealed within the city’s trash, and a Catholic priest newly assigned to a quiet town harboring unsettling secrets. Their paths cross because of the eerie legend of The Black Barn, a strange structure rumored to be from another world. This barn has supposedly surfaced throughout history in both the city and the town, always bringing misfortune and insanity with it.

Gyo

Author(s): Junji Itō
Artist(s): Junji Itō
Publication Date: 2001 – 2002
Publisher: Shogakukan

Kaori and her friends are spending their vacation in Okinawa at the seaside cottage belonging to the uncle of Tadashi, her fiancé. With just two days left on their trip, they come back to the chalet one evening and are met with a strange, unpleasant smell. Then, something quickly brushes past Aki, a friend of Kaori’s.

Kaori swiftly reacted, managing to trap the creature between a piece of furniture and the wall. It was a bizarre fish with legs, capable of walking on land, and it had a terrible, rotting smell. This creature also hunted humans for food.

After getting rid of it, the girls believed the matter was closed, but the following morning, they were attacked by a shark in the same state where they’d seen the fish the day before. This incident marks the beginning of a series of attacks by creatures on people.

People who are stung by these fish slowly change into frightening monsters, and begin to emit the same odor as the fish themselves. Over time, these creatures spread from the shoreline, eventually taking over all of Japan.

Batman: The Long Halloween

Author(s): Jeph Loeb
Artist(s): Tim Sale
Publication Date: 1996 – 1997
Publisher: DC Comics

June. Wealthy Bruce Wayne attends the wedding of Johny Viti, the nephew of Carmine Falcone – also known as “the Roman” – who ruthlessly controls Gotham City’s criminal network. That night, Batman, the masked crime fighter, unexpectedly catches Catwoman, a skilled burglar, while she’s trying to break into the Italian mob boss’s safe.

You know, as the thief disappears into the shadowy streets of Gotham, it’s always a great moment when the Bat-Signal appears. It’s lit by Police Captain James Gordon, and it just cuts through the night sky. It’s such a classic image, really.

Standing on the roof of the police station, Batman, Commissioner Gordon, and the promising young lawyer Harvey Dent agree to work together and combine their resources. Their goal is to finally defeat the mafia’s control over the city, but only if everyone involved strictly follows the law. This is the sole condition of their alliance, a pact to ensure justice is served legally.

It was Halloween. The nephew of Roman, just back from his honeymoon in Italy, was murdered with two gunshot wounds to the head. This marked the beginning of a string of killings committed by a shadowy serial killer known as “Holiday,” who specifically targeted public holidays to carry out their crimes.

Ice Cream Man

Author(s): W. Maxwell Prince
Artist(s): Martin Morazzo
Publication Date: January 2018 – currently ongoing
Publisher: Image Comics

This series is a collection of scary, loosely connected stories. They all revolve around a strange glacier called Rick (later known as Riccardus). Although it appears normal, the glacier has unexplainable abilities and uses them on people who aren’t aware of its power.

Rick’s rival, Caleb-who always wears a black cowboy outfit-will show up occasionally throughout the series. He’ll constantly try to stop Rick from achieving his goals, and sometimes he’ll succeed, while other times he won’t.

Uzumaki

Author(s): Junji Itō
Artist(s): Junji Itō
Publication Date: January 19, 1998 – August 30, 1999
Publisher: Shogakukan

Kirie Goshima resides in Kurouzu, a quiet town somewhat cut off from the rest of the world by the sea and nearby mountains. She’s a typical high school student, but things start to get strange when her boyfriend’s father develops an unsettling fascination with things shaped like spirals – he becomes fixated on observing them.

This form is more and more present in the small town, as if it were under the effect of a curse.

Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham

Author(s): Mike Mignola and Richard Pace
Artist(s): Troy Nixey
Publication Date: From November 2000 to January 2001
Publisher: DC Comics

Taking inspiration from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, this Elseworlds comic reimagines Batman as a daring adventurer, much like the heroes found in 1920s pulp magazines and tales. In this story, Batman confronts a host of monsters inspired by Lovecraft’s work, and these creatures have surprising connections to members of his well-known Rogues Gallery.

Jughead: The Hunger

Author(s): Frank Tieri, Michael Walsh
Artist(s): Frank Tieri
Publication Date: March 2017 – currently ongoing
Publisher: Archie Comics

Riverdale is being terrorized by a serial killer, and Jughead Jones makes a shocking discovery: he is both the killer and a werewolf. Betty Cooper, coming from a family with a hidden history of werewolf hunters, is hesitant but ultimately persuaded by Archie Andrews to use Wolfsbane. Their goal isn’t to kill Jughead, but to control his Transfiguration and stop his transformations.

After several months, Archie and Betty find Reggie Mantle’s body and begin searching for Jughead, who is evading capture. They receive help from the Cooper family, a group of hunters led by Elena, who is Betty’s aunt. Meanwhile, Reggie, having become a werewolf, changes form and gathers other people in Riverdale to seek revenge against Jughead.

Marvel Zombies

Author(s): Robert Kirkman
Artist(s): Sean Phillips
Publication Date: From December 2005 to April 2006
Publisher: Marvel Comics

This story takes its inspiration from a crossover event that first appeared in Ultimate Fantastic Four. It begins with Mister Fantastic being transported to another universe where Earth’s greatest heroes have been transformed into zombies. The cause of this transformation will eventually be revealed to be an alternate reality version of Sentry.

The end has started – a terrible apocalypse. All the superheroes are infected and now have an insatiable craving for human flesh, driving them to madness if they don’t get it. What makes things even worse is that they’re incredibly hard to defeat, because they are essentially already dead. The only way to truly destroy them is to destroy their brains.

A filling meal only briefly restores their clear thinking, as the feeling of hunger soon comes back. Heroes like Luke Cage, Iron Man, Spider-Man, and Wolverine have therefore become beings without feelings, endlessly wandering and searching for food. Hunger has stripped them of their humanity.

A small band of heroes, those who managed to avoid the infection, stand against this threat. They are led by Magneto and are fighting to stop the chaos caused by his former allies and enemies. Their goal is also to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading to other universes.

From Hell

Author(s): Alan Moore
Artist(s): Eddie Campbell
Published: 1999 (as a collection)
Publisher: Knockabout Comics / Eddie Campbell Comics

During Victorian England, Queen Victoria’s grandson, the Duke of Clarence, secretly had a love affair with Annie Crook, a shop assistant from London’s East End. This relationship led to a private Catholic wedding and the birth of a child.

Queen Victoria intervened, resulting in the Duke’s removal from the capital. Annie Crook, following a surgical procedure that impaired her mental abilities, was committed to a mental institution. This effectively ended the situation.

Sadly, a few sex workers, who were friends of Annie’s, attempted to use this opportunity to get the money that a local gang of criminals was demanding from them.

When I learned about this awful blackmail attempt, it broke my heart. Apparently, Queen Victoria, desperate to protect the reputation of the throne, asked her trusted physician, Sir William Gull, to discreetly deal with the people involved. She wanted to ensure not even a hint of scandal could touch the English monarchy. It was a sad time, and she felt she had no choice but to act decisively to preserve the dignity of the crown.

2025-10-02 20:49