As we are now knee deep into Summer and resting inside tents, just what scares can comic book publishers offer? Between melting in Montreal (okay, technically we’re not as our coverage of Fantasia Film Festival is remote) and wanting some time to relax in between films, thankfully all is cooler in the Pacific Northwest. With this mid-Summer comic book guide, I had to let readers know just what I’m reading.
Just what series can make for a scary summer depends on what’s your jam, and as some publishers are readying for All Hallow’s Eve already, that doesn’t mean what’s out now can do the job. There are enough monster mash-ups, gothic revivals, and tributes to make this bright season look good.
Here’s my top picks on what to read if hiding out from the sun if your thing.
Cathedral
Storm King Comics
On sale: August 4, 2026 (bookstores/online), August 5 (comic shops)
Sixteen years after The Ward, >John Carpenter is back in horror, just not behind a camera this time. Cathedral is his first-ever original graphic novel, co-written with his wife and longtime producing partner Sandy King, plus Sean Sobczak. The pitch reads like a lost Carpenter script: a fenced-off, forgotten cathedral sits in the middle of downtown LA, ignored by everyone walking past it, until a murder drags it back into the light and reveals the centuries-old evil buried in its catacombs. This creator said the whole thing came out of a genuinely vivid nightmare, which is either terrifying or extremely on brand for the guy who made The Thing.
The art team of >Federico De Luca and >Luis Guaragna gives the book its visual backbone, with >Sian Mandrake on colours and Marshall Dillon lettering. And because Carpenter can’t resist a good soundtrack, there’s a companion metal album dropping days later on Sacred Bones Records, recorded with his son Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies, with each track lining up to a chapter of the book. It’s a multimedia haunted house, basically. 120 pages, $22.99.
Kingdom of Earth:
Monsters Finally Get The Lease
Dark Horse Comics
On sale: July 15, 2026
No, although the title implies the coming of Godzilla, writer >David Dastmalchian has other ideas. After spending his time crafting tales about Count Crowley, he’s doing something different with partner Leah Kilpatrick. The premise is 2036, two years after monsters rose out of the earth and sea and devoured most of civilization before realizing they needed humans around after all. Now people have two options: serve or become dinner. When a kid named Frankie narrowly dodges getting turned into livestock, they find out surviving the first close call was the easy part.
Soo Lee’s art carries a lot of the load here, and given her Bram Stoker win, that tracks. Dastmalchian himself has called the book “the ultimate mash-up,” which is a pretty honest way to describe a comic that apparently throws every folklore creature you’ve ever heard of into one apocalyptic sandbox. Four issues, and issue one hits shops July 15 for $4.99.
The Beast of Boriken
Dark Horse Comics
July 1, 2026
Julio Anta (Frontera; Sí, Se Puede) and Daniel Irizarri (Xino, Cementary Kids Don’t Die) has their own interpretation on what the Chupacabra is, and I suspect it’s time to be afraid, very afraid. According the official synopsis, what’s presented honours the legend a lot more than making it another monster of the week program.
In contemporary Puerto Rico, Loli Flores is a fierce activist fighting the overdevelopment of the island by outside investors. When a ground-breaking ceremony is violently interrupted by a supernatural force, Loli discovers that the stories of el Chupacabra are not just echoes from the past, but a brutal protector of generations extending back to the indigenous people of the island. As Loli uncovers the horrors firstand, el Chupacabra is on a parallel path with elemental destruction left in his wake.
Stay cool, Drac.
In runner-up place is:
Dungeons & Dragons:
Ravenloft #1
Dark Horse Comics
Aug 19, 2026
When Ravenloft is falling apart, and nobody knows why, it’s up to someone to save the day … but why? For the would-be heroes, Ez D’Avenir must escape the grisly laboratory and ghoulish flesh golems of Victra Mordenheim. The Weathermay-Foxglove twins must fend off the seething bodytaker plant on the misty moors of Mordent. And detective duo Alanik Ray and Arthur Sedgewick must deal with the cult of Mother Lorinda in a Tepest village. When the proteges are reunited, it’s in a fight for the fate of Ravenloft! And whether the gates will be sealed forever, this pocket universe may have life of its own to make final say! This read may well be written for fans of this realm, and as a late entry to Wizards of the Coast relaunch of beloved campaigns, is worth mentioning.
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