Top 13 Scary and (Hopefully) Memorable Comic Book Reads for Spooktober!

Just what kind of nightmares can be delivered in comic book form depends on how vivid your imagatioin gets fired up after reading this list of must-reads for the Halloween season!

Comic Book Alice Cooper #1Just when I thought there weren’t enough comic book reads for the Halloween season during the past two years, a lot has changed since then. The publishers heard the screams and lamentations from not only myself, but others too. Thus, for this year, they must have upped the game to make sure releases for the spooky season memorable.

Without further ado, I present the best top thirteen titles I recommend checking out this spooktober! What I offer is a mix of both ongoing releases and one-shots.

Alice Cooper (Dynamite)

Oct 11, 2023

In this new ongoing series, Alice Cooper, the Nightmare Lord, has reclaimed the seat of power in his own dark realm. This series started in September, and here, his dreamworld was being invaded. Ever since the release of Welcome to My Nightmare (Amazon link), which came out in 2015, fans like me have been wanting more, and we finally have it! In the October issue, Alice must face-off with the Lord of Hell himself, Lucifer! Joe Harris is the team lead of this series as the writer, with Eman Casallos handling the artistic chores.

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When an Endless Summer Sets a New Tone for the Cartoon World of Dungeons and Dragons

Hopefully, more stories are being planned to feature heroes from the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. Endless Summer is teasing at a grander story arc!

Dungeons and Dragons Endless Summer Comic Book CoverAlthough Summer is over in the real world, IDW Publishing’s continuing the adventures of the six teenage heroes and a unicorn with another Saturday Morning Cartoons comic in a one shot titled, “Endless Summer.” It shows the team finally taking R&R from all the questing they’ve done since arriving in this world of Dungeons and Dragons–otherwise known as “The Realm.”

Back when this animation was being broadcast, the writers rarely gave viewers a sense of how long they’ve been here. In two episodes, a week has passed on Earth whereas in the fantasy realm, more time has elapsed. Fans know this because of the episode, “City at the Edge of Midnight,” and when they come home is foretold in “The Girl of Dreamed of Tomorrow.”

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Let’s Hope The Birth of the Blue Beetle is Not Shortlived

Just why this scarab known as the Blue Beetle exists isn’t fully explained in what is clearly the first film in a series, but will we see more movies made?

Blue Beetle Movie PosterÁngel Manuel Soto‘s take on DC Comics Mesoamerican hero, the Blue Beetle shows plenty of promise, but sadly the likelihood of more films is slim. What’s set up deserves a proper trilogy. But because of James Gunn and Peter Safran now handling the chores of managing the DC Cinematic Universe have other plans, if the Bluey’s adventures continues, this director will need the boss’s approval.

Unlike other origin stories, just how this director charts Jaime Reyes (Xolo Maridueña) transition to becoming a superhero is at least a bit different. Instead of being at the wrong place at the wrong time, he’s been given a gift. Just how he uses it depends on how much of a pure heart he has.

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When Dreams Becomes Horrific Nightmares in Panya: The Mummy’s Curse #2

Just what lurks in the dreams of Panya in this latest issue hints that all is not well for her!

Panya The Mummy's Curse #2 Comic Book CoverDark Horse Comics
Spoiler Alert

In issue #2 of Panya: The Mummy’s Curse, we get to see how some places of worship have rebuilt themselves after Akhenaten’s rule. Now that he’s fallen, the old gods are back. As for the title character, she’s much older now, and is quite the dutiful caretaker as life is as it once was.

But her days are being tormented in gentle ways. Something is calling to her in her dreams, and while what we see is her role in the ongoing fight between Apophis and Re in their animal forms, there’s something else calling to her in the aether. Also, like the past issue, there are lots of cats! As for who the new antagonist is, it’s hard to tell. Since the heretic king is no longer present, someone else will have to get involved.

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Examining IDW’s Dungeons and Dragons: Saturday Morning Exciting Adventures in Full, and Hoping There Will Be More.

There’s a few more months left to the 40th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures and let’s hope there’ll be more product to enjoy!

Dungeons and Dragons Saturday Morning AdventuresIDW Publishing
Trade Paperback due Nov 7, 2023
(Available to preorder on Amazon USA)

I often say it’s best to wait for the collected edition of some comic book mini-series than to buy the monthly releases, and Dungeons and Dragons: Saturday Morning Adventures is no exception. That’s because an episode is parted out as four issues/chapters. While I applaud bringing back a beloved 80s cartoon to print, it’s a much better read when I have them altogether. A lot of ongoing titles depend on how well this title sells.

With this release, the goal is to put them in another Saturday Morning Adventure where they’ll one day realise home is where the heart is. Either fans can cue in Elvis Presley’s song or interpret this phrase differently.

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Digging for the Truth in Panya: The Mummy’s Curse

At long last, we get to know the story of one of the Mignolaverse most enigmatic characters in Panya: The Mummy’s Curse.

Payna: The Mummy's Curse #1 Comic Book CoverDark Horse Comics
Now Available

Panya: The Mummy’s Curse is a wonderful story that brings more of Ancient Egypt to the Mignolaverse. Not even the Heliopic Brotherhood of Ra has formed. This first issue of the four-volume series has a lot of nuances nestled in every page, and for a budding Egyptologist like me, it offers everything I love about this ancient world!

While long time readers of Hellboy know of the mummified version of this character, this story is about her growth from child to sorceress. Here, the title character is thrilled to learn about the old ways, and the true gods. She loves hearing about the eternal war between Ra and Apophis. But when Akhenaten changed the rules in who to worship, anyone who speaks of them better say it in hushed tones, otherwise they’ll be recognised as heretics.

Without spoiling too much, the tale offers everything I’d want to see about this world realised in a fictional form. Between that and showing Tutankhamen got me hooked. Whether this prince has a greater role to play, I’m not sure. I’ll be picking up the next issues rather than waiting months down the road to grab the trade paperback to find out!

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