The spooky season is upon us, and DC Comics is leaning into the word horror with two tales of terror that might torment your dreams in the pages of DC Horror Presents #1.

DC HORROR PRESENTS #1

Publisher: DC Comics
Release Date: October 23, 2024
Cover Price: $3.99

SOLICITATION: Bones Crunching, worms munching, blood splattering… these are a few of our favorite things! From some of the most dark and cunning minds in horror comes DC Horror Presents… a new collection of gruesome tales set in the DCU. This anthology will have die-hard horror fans quaking with fear.

DOLLHOUSE IN “LOVE YOU TO PIECES”

Writer: David Dastmalchian and Leah Kilpatrick
Artist: Cat Staggs
Colorist: Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Editor: Katie Kubert

Matilda Matthis, aka Dollhouse, has discovered her boyfriend has fallen (jumped) to his death from the top of a building, and she will do anything – ANYTHING – to bring him back. Of course that means killing and mutilating others for the necessary parts to make Max whole again. And she’s going to need her father, The Dollmaker, and his creepy minions to restore his life. “Love You To Pieces” is a lot to endure, as there are plenty of blood and guts on display that may be a bit too disturbing for those who get squeamish. Cat Staggs renders the gristle and viscera with an art style that had me looking a way a time or two to avoid all the splatter. From the mind of David Dastmalcian, the twist at the end makes perfect sense, and the overall tale nails everything one could want in a splatter-fest tale.

UNTITLED

Writer: The Boulet Brothers
Artist: Butch Mapa
Colorist: Kristian Rossi
Letterer: Simon Bowland
Editor: Katie Kubert

While Dollhouse can lean into the horror with ease, the Wonder Woman tale, featuring the ghoulish return of Diana’s mother, who proceeds to kill everyone around her, is a bit harder to get into. Not for the lack of trying, as Donna Troy and others get ripped to shreds, but rather because the art style by Butch Mapa feels a bit more cartoony than the more realistic take Staggs brought to the first story. For many, the return of their dead mother is scary enough, but to then have to send one’s mother to the Underworld heightens the tension. Of the two, the Wonder Woman story is less intense, and that is okay, as not every scary story needs to be a non-stop-in-your-face-gore-fest.

BOTTOM LINE: SOMETHING FOR EVERY HORROR FAN

As the kick-off issue in the four-issue run, DC Horror Presents #1 does a good job of giving horror fans what they want this holiday season. Had this been from DC Comics’ major competitor, there would have been a red band warning on the cover and increased price. Instead, DC Comics gives us a Superman cover that tells us exactly what we can expect to find inside — which is terrifying. DC Horror Presents #1 is not for the faint of heart but may not be everything fans of gore desire.

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