Horror Graphic Novel/Comic Series Junkie- All FREE on Hoopla

Let me hook you up with the sweet, sweet goods

Beneath the Trees- Don't. Murder. The locals. This is small-town serial killer, upstanding citizen, and adorable brown bear Samantha Strong's cardinal rule. After all, there's a sea of perfectly ripe potential victims in the big city just beyond the forest. by Patrick Horvath (like playing serial killers with Calico Critters)

Wait Till Helen Comes- In this graphic novel adaptation of master horror storyteller Mary Downing Hahn's spookiest and most popular tale, two siblings must save their stepsister from the clutches of a vengeful ghost. (One of my favorite childhood ghost stories!) by Mary Downing Hahn

The Night Eaters- Chinese American twins, Milly and Billy, are having a tough time. On top of the multiple failures in their personal and professional lives, they're struggling to keep their restaurant afloat. Luckily their parents, Ipo and Keon, are in town for their annual visit. When Ipo forces them to help her clean up the house next door-a hellish and run-down ruin that was the scene of a grisly murder, the twins are in for a nasty surprise. A night of terror, gore, and supernatural mayhem reveals that there is much more to Ipo and her children than meets the eye. by author Marjorie Liu and illustrator Sana Takeda (I have read both issues and fucking loved them. Hilarious and heartwarming)

Fruiting Bodies- All Frances wants is to start a new life with her new partner in the dreamy Pacific Northwest. To get there, she's forced to join a "bro's trip" with her brother, Charlie, and his annoying best friend, Trent. But their journey is abruptly altered when a wrong turn forces the trio to spend the night in the rain-soaked Oregon woods. As luck would have it, they come across a beautiful, friendly stranger, who is eager to help them-but is her convenient arrival their salvation, or something else entirely? by Ashley Robin Franklin illustrated by Ashley Robin Franklin (the artwork is so good and the story is perfectly disgusting)

Lady Killer- Josie Schuller is a picture-perfect homemaker, wife, and mother--but she's also a ruthless killer! She balances cheerful domestic bliss with coldly efficient assassinations. by Jamie Rich, and Joelle Jones illustrated by Joelle Jones (the 1950s vibes and the artwork are stunning. I was mesmerized)

When I Arrived At the Castle- Like many before her that have never come back, she's made it to the Countess' castle determined to snuff out the horror... but she could never be prepared for what hides within its turrets, what unfurls under its fluttering flags. by E. M. Carroll (sapphic, gorgeous, alluring, and unexpected)

Something is Killing the Children- When the children of Archer's Peak begin to go missing, everything seems hopeless. Most children never return, but the ones that do have terrible stories-impossible stories of terrifying creatures that live in the shadows. Their only hope of finding and eliminating the threat is the arrival of a mysterious stranger, one who believes the children and claims to see what they can see. Her name is Erica Slaughter. She kills monsters. That is all she does, and she bears the cost because it must be done. by James Tynion IV and illustrated by Werther Dell'Edera (the artwork is so brilliant and the story gets better and better as the series goes, worth the long term investment)

Locke & Key- Written by acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box) and featuring astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez, Locke and Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion, with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them... and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all...(I have been obsessed with this series forever. I have them all in hardcover editions but it’s cool they are free on hoopla)

Earthdivers- The year is 2112, and it's the apocalypse exactly as expected: rivers receding, oceans rising, civilization crumbling. Humanity has given up hope, except for a group of outcast Indigenous survivors who have discovered a time travel portal in a cave in the middle of the desert and figured out where the world took a sharp turn for the worst: America. Convinced that the only way to save the world is to rewrite its past, they send one of their own on a bloody, one-way mission back to 1492 to kill Christopher Columbus before he reaches the so-called New World. But taking down an icon is no easy task, and his actions could prove devastating for his friends in the future. Join Stephen Graham Jones and artist Davide Gianfelice for Earthdivers #1, the beginning of an unforgettable ongoing historical/sci-fi slasher! (I am on issue 6 I believe and own the original issues plus all the alt covers too—high-stakes, emotional, and badass. The artwork is on point too)

My Favorite Thing is Monsters 1 & 2- Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late '60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes, filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster magazine iconography. Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. When Karen's investigation takes us back to Anka's life in Nazi Germany, the reader discovers how the personal, the political, the past, and the present converge. by Emil Ferris (so great these are on here so folks can try before they buy, they’re really expensive, and rightly so—the most ambitious graphic novel, visually, I’ve ever read)

Harrow County- Emmy always knew that the woods surrounding her home crawled with ghosts and monsters. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she learns that she is connected to these creatures--and to the land itself--in a way she never imagined. by Cullen Bunn (You haven’t read any horror comics if you haven’t read this or any Cullen Bunn. Iconic status. This is ESSENTIAL)

Wytches- When the Rooks family moves to the remote town of Litchfield, NH to escape a haunting trauma, they're hopeful about starting over. But something evil is waiting for them in the woods just beyond town. Watching from the trees. Ancient...and hungry. Scott Snyder (it says “Part One” but I don’t think Part Two is ever coming. Which is a crying shame because this is GOOD. The artwork, the story, everything)

These are my recent reads and TBR

The Closet-Thom is moving cross-country with his family and dragging the past along with them. When his child, Jamie, sees monsters in the bedroom closet, Thom reassures him that the monsters will stay in the apartment after they move. But Thom is very wrong about many things, and the monsters continue to find young Jamie.

Revival- For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it's up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them. In a town where the living have to learn to deal with those who are supposed to be dead, Officer Cypress must solve a brutal murder, and everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.

The Low, Low Woods- Shudder-To-Think, Pennsylvania, has been on fire for years. The coal mines beneath it are long since abandoned. The woods are full of rabbits with human eyes, a deer woman who stalks hungry girls, and swaths of skinless men. And the people in Shudder-to-Think? Well, they're not doing so well either.

When El and Octavia wake up in a movie theater with no memory of the last few hours of their lives, the two teenage dirtbags begin a surreal and terrifying journey to discover the truth about the strange town that they call home. Like so many women in Shudder-to-Think before them, all they have is a void where the truth once was. But as time passes, El finds herself needing to know more about what has happened, while Octavia wants nothing more than to forget the forgetting. Can these two teens reconcile their differences before the horrible things lurking beneath their town emerge and swallow them whole? *CURRENTLY READING*

American Vampire-This volume follows two stories: one written by Scott Snyder and one written by legendary horror writer Stephen King. In Snyder's story set in 1920s LA, we follow Pearl, a young woman who is turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European vampires who tortured and abused her. This story is paired with King's story, a western about Skinner Sweet, the original American Vampire - a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before. (I actually did read the first 3 and own them but didn’t continue on, now I will!)

Dark Spaces: Good Deeds- Scott Snyder's Dark Spaces anthology line returns with an all-new story surrounding a deadly conspiracy from a creative team of rising stars! In search of a fresh start, teenager Cheyenne Rite and her mother, Rebecca, moved to St. Augustine, Florida, where they cross paths with Jean McKnight, a disgraced big-city journalist determined to pay her dues and rebuild her career, starting with a fluff piece on the town's upcoming 450th-anniversary celebration. When the quaint community's festivities give way to bloodshed and Cheyenne is the sole witness,

Eve- (Victor LaValle) When the ice caps melted, most of humanity was lost to the hidden disease that was released. Now, a mysterious girl named Eve has awoken in secret and must deal with a world that's nothing like the virtual reality she was raised in.
In order to save her father and be accompanied only by Wexler, her robotic caretaker and protector sheathed in her favorite teddy bear, Eve must embark on a deadly quest across the country. Along the way, she will have to contend not only with the threats of a very real world that await her but the lies we tell our children in the name of protecting them.

The Vampire Slayer (Sarah Gailey) In the first arc of WILLOWVERSE, trying to help Buffy heal from her trauma proves to be more than Giles and Willow bargained for! She's left without her powers or identity, and it's up to an unprepared and inexperienced new Slayer to take up the mantle-Willow. But thankfully Willow isn't alone, as the spell also leads to another newly-activated Slayer, serving as a guide for this speed-run of training. But even with the threat of 4 terrifying and sometimes zany monsters, the darkest threat may be Willow herself, as she struggles to cope. Can Willow's allies save her from herself?

The Breach- (Nick Cutter) Chief of Police, John Hawkins, must investigate a final case involving a mutilated body with strange wounds found on the banks of a river. I listened to the audiobook, can’t wait to read this!

The Harrowing- In award-winning author Kristen Kiesling and illustrator Rye Hickman's YA graphic novel The Harrowing, a psychic teen hunts potential killers until she discovers the boy she loves is her next target.

Clementine- Clementine and her new friends are rescued by an island community led by enigmatic doctor Miss Morro. But just as Clementine's scars are finally beginning to heal she discovers dark secrets that threaten to tear her new life apart.
Can Miss Morro be trusted? What about the rest of the islanders? And just how far will Clementine go to protect the ones she loves?

The Me You Love in the Dark-Writer Skottie Young (I Hate Fairyland, Deadpool, Strange Academy) and artist Jorge Corona (NO. 1 with a bullet, Super Sons, Feathers) follow up their critically acclaimed series Middlewest with a haunting new tale. An artist named Ro retreats from the grind of the city to an old house in a small town, hoping to find solace and inspiration-only to realize that the muse she finds within may not be what she expected. Fans of STEPHEN KING and NEIL GAIMAN will enjoy this beautiful, dark, and disturbing story of discovery, love, and terror.

Carmilla: The First Vampire- At the height of the Lunar New Year in 1990s New York City, an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young, homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one, especially the police, seems to care.
A series of clues points her to Carmilla's, a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighborhood, Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target, landing her at the center of a real-life horror story-and face-to-face with illusions about herself, her life, and her hidden past. (I loved this! Just need to read Part 2)

-Sadie

xx