It’s the… scream of the crop in this week’s So You Want to Read Comics.  This is our weekly feature where we take a look at a single topic or genre, then give you two comic book recommendations, perfect for new readers, based on that topic or genre.  It’s the season to be spooked, so we’re looking at the best horror books of 2023, that’ll be perfect for new comic book readers.

Since the earliest days of comic books as we know them, horror has had a home.  Tales of terror were often thrown in as backup stories for other more popular titles, with the first dedicated horror comic book being published all the way back in 1943, just 5 years after the first appearance of Superman, in case you were wondering.  Thanks in part to the success of anthologies released by EC Comics, horror became just as, if not more popular than the traditional superhero and crime comics.  Like most other comics though, horror titles received a lot of backlash and helped contribute to the outcry that led to the Comics Code Authority.  Horror then waned in the following decades, before seeing a resurgence in the mid-90s.  Today the genre is as alive as ever and being the source of some of the best comic books being published.

Here are two comic book series that were released in 2023 that will be sure to send shivers down your spine.

The Neighbors

Writer: Jude Ellison S. Doyle
Artist: Letizia Cadonici
Publisher: BOOM! Studios

Taking cues from the brand of horror most associated with the movie studio A24, The Neighbors is a tale that utilizes its horror as a metaphor for deeply personal tragedy and trauma.  In this series, a blended family led by Oliver and Janet has come to a new town, but it is quickly apparent that there is something fundamentally wrong with their new home.  Slowly the family starts to unravel in unique ways as the hidden pains of the characters start to come to light.  The Neighbors is the type of story that can hit you on multiple levels.  There’s plenty of surface-level freight and uneasiness to be had as things get more and more monstrous.  Then when read deeper, The Neighbors reveals a type of existential fear that comes not from any sort of outside influence but one that lives inside.  This series ran for 5 issues which can be purchased individually right now and it’s recent enough that you might still be able to find back issues at your local comic store if digital isn’t your cup of tea.

Where Monsters Lie

Writer: Kyle Starks
Artist: Piotr Kowalski
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

It just wouldn’t be an edition of, So You Want to Read Comics, if I didn’t give you a recommendation that is a bit odd.  Where Monsters Lie is based on a pretty simple premise: Slashers, monsters, and other various horror story mainstays all live in a gated community in between their various killing sprees.  Then it introduces a special agent who has already survived a couple of massacres as a child, who learns about this community.  On one hand, this series is a great exploration into role reversal and an examination of the horror genre itself and on the other hand, it provides a tasty little conspiracy story that feels akin to something like Cabin in The Woods.  Once again, all the issues of this series can be found individually.  Also, this series has already been collected in a volume if you’d rather have it all in one package.

What are your favorite horror stories this year?  What did you think of these recommendations? Let us know in the comments section below.

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