Amongst this selection stands the amazing Adventures into the Unknown. The title was released in the fall of 1948 by B&I Publishing (later known as American Comics Group) and enjoyed a run of 174 issues for nearly two decades, ceasing publication in August 1967. Though not the first horror comic published (one-shot Eerie Comics of January 1947 holds the distinction), Adventures Into the Unknown was the first horror comic to enjoy regularly scheduled publication.

The comic will feature a series of essays by Bruce Jones, focusing on the long-running horror anthology and the climate that led to the Comics Code Authority. Adventures into the Unknown managed to dodge the mass cull of the 1954 Comics Code Authority due to a focus on ghost stories and spooky goings on rather than rampant canabilism and sexy ladies.

The pre-Code delights found in this anthology include exciting tales such as “The Living Ghost,” “Kill, Puppets, Kill,” “The Affair of Room 1313,” and the ongoing “True Ghosts of History” feature—and contributions from Golden Age greats Fred Guardineer, Al Feldstein, Leonard Starr, Edvard Moritz, and others!

Check out the preview…

Also available in this range: Silver Streak, Crime Does Not Pay, and Forbidden Worlds.

The comics found in these collections are incredibly hard to find, expensive, and full of freewheeling, pre-Code fun (and sometimes viscera). It’s a joy to be able to handle these comics and work on these collections—but a bigger joy comes from being able to bring these stories to new readers and to finally assign credits to some creators who have been uncredited for decades!

said Dark Horse editor Philip Simon.

The comics in these anthologies are seen as revered and influential—but they’ve been impossible to find. Now Dark Horse is making these gems available in affordable collections for discussion, dissection, and inspiration!

Adventures into the Unknown Archives Volume 1 is on sale May 30, 2012.

Silver Streak Archives Featuring the Original Daredevil Volume 1 is on sale June 27, 2012.

Crime Does Not Pay Archives Volume 2 is on sale July 11, 2012.

Forbidden Worlds Archives Volume 1 is on sale December 12, 2012.

In Dark Shadows/Vampirella #1, when the disappearance of a family friend brings Barnabas Collins to New York, he is ill-prepared for the seedy underworld of clubs that awaits him! And Vampirella’s quest to find the “Big Apple Butcher” sends her on a collision course with the vampire of Collinsport! Will Vampirella and Barnabas uncover the shocking identity of this madman before they kill each another?

“Barnabas Collins and Vampirella are two classic characters in vampire lore, so getting the chance to pen their first meeting is a blast,” says writer Marc Andreyko. “I remember watching Dark Shadows reruns and sneaking peeks at the Vampirella magazines when I was just a wee lad, so getting to do this book seems like fate! And I’m not going easy on Barnabas or Vampi in this series, either! They are going to be put through a gauntlet of terror before this book is through!”

Jim Pierson, spokesman for Dark Shadows rights owner Dan Curtis Productions, adds, “It’s fun to further expand the reach of Dark Shadows and hopefully expose the classic characters to new fans who might just be discovering Barnabas with the new Johnny Depp movie.”

“Cross-overs get a bad rap when they’re not done right, or they feel forced,” adds Dynamite editor Joe Rybandt. “But this one felt like a natural the moment we had the idea. The setting, the characters, the bad guys…the whole thing has come together so naturally, and Marc and Patrick are the perfect pair to make it happen.”

Source Comic Book Resources

Viper Comics is proud to announce its Digital 1st comic series which is being launched today, “Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter”. Get your digital copy for only .99 cents at Graphicly, iVerse, Comixology, iBooks and Amazon.

The series launched with the release of Issue #1 in March. Issue #2 followed on April 18th. Issue #3 is released on May 16 and Issue #4 releases on June 13. The trade comes out on July 11th. Just in time for Comic-Con 2012.

Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter
Written by Russell Nohelty | Art by Renzo Podesta

Ichabod Jones is a deranged, mentally unstable psychopath. He’s also on a mission to save the world. At least that’s what the bossy voice in his head tells him. The same voice that led him to be interred in a maximum security mental asylum in the first place. Now, he must escape from the asylum and rid the world of monsters in the midst of the Apocalypse. Of course he’s a psychopath, so who knows if anything going on in his head is real in the first place.

I love comic book trailers, take a look at this one below.

Find out more about Viper Comics by visitng www.vipercomics.com/

Back from the Depths and The Theatre of Terror are delighted to announce a new member of the team for 2012.

Starting this week, Decapitated Dan, aka Dan Royer, the horror comic journalist, blogger, podcaster, and THE head of horror heads, will be providing horror comic reviews and news here on this site!

Dan is a horror comic journalist living in Illinois. He has been covering horror comics since 2009. He hosts two podcasts; Discussions with Decapitated Dan and Tales From the Water Cooler. Dan is also the founder of Dan Con, a local comic book convention in Chicago, IL. He is also the founder of the Ghastly Awards, awards that honor excellence in horror comics.

We’d like to welcome Dan to the team and we hope you’ll enjoy his horror comic reviews as much as we do.

You are the bottom of the food chain. A fading point of light in the course of evolutionary history. A dying species. You are human. You are a child – and Ellen Grace is coming to collect you. The ‘Enormous’ have ravaged the planet. In their wake of destruction, mankind has fallen. The race to stave off extinction has begun.

This 64 page one-shot is described as being suitable for fans of:

Genre-based survivalist fiction like The Passage, The Terror, On The Beach, Alas Babylon, The Walking Dead, World War Z, The Mist, Monsters, Troll Hunter, Cloverfield, The Host, Giant Monsters, Kaiju, Godzilla, THEM!, The Blob, Universal Monsters, Hammer Films, Ray Harryhausen and more!

It’s clear from this list that writer, Tim Daniel, has a certain fondness for monsters and the apocalypse, so we know what to expect from Enormous, yet we can see that he is also treading new ground.

Check out this preview gallery below:

What really stands out about this project is their lovely looking website which has been slowly expanding in content over the last year. The Enormous team have been enlisting the help of artist to create teasers and pin-ups, running art competitions on forums and posting little bits of info on their website since April 2011. This new approach to slowly and organically growing interest in their project has helped to accrue a fan base prior to the launch.

This approach is a fantastic idea and should definitely be a part of every comic creators marketing scheme. If you’re putting together a comic you need a website as a point of interest for potential fans or distributors. Why not make it a great site? It can only help to increase excitement in your project and foster a connection with your audience.

Enourmous will be available July 2012. In the mean time take a trip to their feature-filled Enormous website for more on this exciting new comic.

The Etcetera Theatre, Camden will play host to this year’s Festival, which welcomes a broad range of horror theatre, comedy, magic and performance art, from psychological spine-chillers to all-out splatter, improvised ghost stories to grotesque stand-up and séance magic to body horror, and almost anything else imaginable. The purpose is to foster new talent as well as nurturing the already burgeoning live horror scene within the UK.

Applications are now open for this year’s festival, and they’re happy to accept submissions from performers or companies regardless of whether they have explored the horror genre before. If you like a bit of performing arts then they’re looking for exciting and committed groups looking to push the boundaries of live entertainment.

Visit http://www.londonhorrorfestival.com/ for more details.

It’s not like we’ve ever needed an extra reason to look at men’s mag Playboy but this month issue features an origin story of fan’s favourite Michonne written and drawn by series creator Robert Kirkman and art regular Charlie Adlard.

Check out the strip in its full glory below.

• EDGAR ALLAN POE’S TALES OF MYSTERY (Graphic Classics). Includes Murders in the Rue Morgue.
• FLESH AND BLOOD: BOOK ONE (Monsterverse). The Hammer film that never was, by Robert Tinnell and Neil Vokes.
• GODZILLA: KINGDOM OF MONSTERS (IDW). Eric Powell tells a human story amidst the monster rallies.
• BOB HOWARD: Plumber of the Unknown by Rafael Nieves and Dan Dougherty. Ordinary jobs don’t stop this monster hunter.
• HELLBOY: THE FURY (Dark Horse). Can this really be the end? Mike Mignola surprises everyone.
• MONSTERS AMONG US (monsters-among-us.com). Celebrating the four-color fun of monstrosities.
• PLANET OF THE APES (Boom!) Daryl Gregory and Carlos Magno pick up the story from Battle.
• THE STRANGE CASE OF MR. HYDE (Dark Horse). Jekyll is dead. Then who…? By Cole Haddon and M.S. Corley.
• 30 DAYS OF NIGHT (IDW). Steve Niles and Sam Kieth revive the true world of vampires.
• THE WALKING DEAD (Image) Robert Kirkman and Charlie Adlard go far beyond the TV series.
• XOMBI (DC). John Rozum and Fraser Irving resurrect David Kim in this dark tale of snow angels and mummies.

There are plenty of other horror categories all competing for the coveted awards so get yourself over to the website and vote quickly, before something terrible happens!

Fans of indie horror comics, who like to feel the rustle of paper against their fingers, will be pleased to know that you can now purchase print versions all all 3 Hallowscreams from Lulu. Revel in the gloriously glossy covers and steel your nerves for the beautiful black and white horror filled pages inside.

Visit Lulu and order your copies today.

For those who just want to see what all the fuss is about before you part with your hard earned cash, you can download all 3 issues of Hallowscream for FREE in the left hand menu of this site. Don’t forget to check out the BlackFriars special by Michael Crouch too!

The high-flying original comic series Locke & Key is created and written by acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Horns, Heart-Shaped Box) and features astounding artwork from Eisner nominated Gabriel Rodriguez. Entering its fifth volume in summer 2012, Locke & Key tells the tale the Locke family and Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion. The mystery of Keyhouse is the magical keys and fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them, and a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all.

Competition and cooperation meet in this card game that dares you to overcome the supernatural challenges of Keyhouse. You and your fellow players will face these horrors together, but who will be by your side when the dust settles? On this journey, you’ll make decisions on when and where to help your fellow players, but your resources are not endless. Through careful management of your cards, you can help the family overcome challenges, and you’ll be rewarded for the assistance . . . sometimes.

Locke & Key: The Game boasts enthralling competition for three to six players, and includes 150 strength cards, 19 challenge cards, 15 specially designed key cards based on the powerful keys in the series, plus one 3D stand-up, an initiative marker and a comprehensive rulebook. Players compete to acquire strength cards and key cards to overcome the various challenges on the path towards victory. Players can mix and match these cards to create powerful combinations and new strategies as they decide whether to compete or cooperate with the other players to overcome the supernatural challenges of Keyhouse. Take a look at what cards you can expect in the game in our gallery below.

Nocturnal monsters stalk astronauts marooned on Mars. Zoe is the swashbuckling captain of Earth’s first off-world colony. Isolated on the farthest frontier of civilization, order breaks down when the unfamiliar hostile invades. Zoe faces mutiny, death and dishonor; she must sacrifice her humanity if she hopes to survive. It’s Star Trek meets Lord of the Flies for horror fans.

The series follow the tale of the isolated captain Zoe on Earth’s martian colony as she encounters a group of less than friendly beasts. Her struggle to survive is not a pretty one to say the least. The awesome red and black color theme adds a great sense atmosphere that pulls you right into the book. Take a look at this cool trailer…

Check out the covers from the initial run in our gallery below.

The Ghastly Award Judges are proud to announce the 2011 Nominees. The nominees, which were chosen by the entire comic creating community, reflect the wide range of horror material being published in print and web comic form today.Named for acclaimed comics creator “Ghastly” Graham Ingles, the awards are in their 1st year. Created to honor excellence in Horror Comics, every comic creator has a say in who the nominees are by nominating for their favorites throughout the year.

The 2011 Nominees are:

The 2011 judging panel consists of Decapitated Dan (www.decapitateddan.com), Lonnie Nadler (www.Bloody-Disgusting.com), Steve Banes (www.thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/), Mike Howlet (www.facebook.com/pages/The-Weird-World-of-Eerie-Publications) and Mykal Banta (www.bloodypulptales.com/).

Winners will be announced March 31, 2011.

CROSSED: WISH YOU WERE HERE follows two dozen human survivors who survived the Crossed plague, a worldwide outbreak that transformed a percentage of the populace into violent, insatiable murderers. While other CROSSED tales follow people who are constantly on the move and trying to avoid detection by bloodthirsty hordes, Spurrier and Barreno’s tale sees a group determined to hold their own, to convert an island into a defensible stronghold.

March is going to be a head-burstingly exciting month for fans of insane apocalyptic horror series Crossed. Beginning on March 14th, 2012, the much-anticipated Crossed: Wish You Were Here webcomic will be available over on www.CrossedComic.com. This new weekly series web comic, written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Javier Barreno, originally pencilled in for October, is now just weeks away!

Wish You Were Here artist, Barreno, also supplied the art for Crossed Volume 2: Family Values so has the pedigree to pull-off another exceptionally horrific story. We hope this is the case as the web comic format the have adopted for the new series has the potential to run for a long time. Avatar Press have already seen success in the area with Warren Ellis’ FreakAngels, an on-going story that is looked upon by many as the blueprint for a successful web comic.

Check out this great interview with writer, Si Spurrier, over on Bleeding Cool.

The Crossed universe, created by Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows, already has several volumes under its belt and has proven to be hugely popular thanks to its extreme content and anything goes attitude. On May of 2011 Crossed released a 3d version which caused some uproar with its deplorable imagery popping straight out the page thanks to some very lovely Crossed 3D glasses.

The web comic launch will coincide with the worldwide ‘C-Day’ celebration of all things Crossed, including the new bi-weekly Crossed: Badlands print comic series, which sees Ennis and Burrows return to their monstrous creation for the first story arc. ‘C-Day also sees the release of David Lapham’s Crossed: Psychopath miniseries as a collected trade paperback. It’s sure to be a day that will live in infamy.

We’re massive fans of Crossed here on The Theatre of Terror and whole-heartedly recommend all the disturbing books that this series spews out in to the world. They’re sick, but then so are we!

Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child is the story of a half-breed, outcast and heir to the Voodoo Queenship of New Orleans, if she can live long enough to claim her birthright. New Orleans is the most haunted city in America: a town of centuries-old ghosts and newly drowned spirits; where vampires, voodoo spirits and loups-garous make their home. Ruling over this all are the powerful Voodoo Queens, whose influence stretches into politics, business and crime as they maintain a delicate balance between the mortal and supernatural worlds.

But in the aftermath of Katrina, all that has changed, for someone or something has murdered the Voodoo Queen and most of her court. The number one suspect is Dominique Laveau, a grad student at Tulane who is about to discover that her entire life has been a lie. Now Dominique must forge alliances with those out to kill her while seeking to uncover the truth behind the royal murders, as she is ultimately forced to deal with a destiny she could never have imagined.

Vertigo has long been a good source for supernatural and occult-themed titles, such as Sandman and Hellblazer and by all accounts this new comic is pretty good.

6 page preview is available over on io9.

The book features 36 pages of self-contained, full-color stories and retails for £3.50. It is currently available at the publisher’s website, www.londonhorrorcomic.com, for £3.50 worldwide. Previews of all four issues are also available at the site.

In issue four: a traveller takes a paranoid train journey on London’s Underground. A super villain has to deal with life in the real world when he becomes a trainee in a local coffee shop. And the terrors of working the night-shift and repercussions of the credit crunch are also covered in three other stories.

You can see a preview of the comic here.

A new animated manga style series of Blade about to be unleashed in Japan. Animax, a division of Sony dedicated to anime TV shows, is already hitting it big with Iron Man and Wolverine series and is now looking to add two more with Blade and X-Men, both of which were announced at San Diego Comic-Con last year.

Harold Perrineau voices Eric Brooks, the supernatural Daywalker known as Blade, making his animated series debut with more action, terrifying villains, and bloodthirsty monsters than you’ve ever seen before. Following in the steps of other hit Marvel anime series, Blade offers viewers 12 half-hour weekly episodes destined to leave you wanting more, exclusively on G4.

Blade’s mother was bitten by a vampire while pregnant, imbuing her unborn son with vampire strength and a thirst for blood, but without the vulnerability to sunlight. A master of weaponry with a desire to avenge the death of his mother, Blade finds himself in Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia in an effort to take down the evil villain, Deacon Frost. With vampire hunter Makoto at his side, they will stop at nothing to destroy Existence, a vampire organization with roots deeply embedded in Asia.

The animation is done by Japanese company Madhouse and is a combination of traditional animation with computer generated imagery to boot. Released this January.

You can find this festive 4 page freebie by clicking and releasing your mouse (in that order) just here.

At 112 pages it’s a bit of a monster, weighing in at just over 53MB, so may take a short while to download.

Don’t forget there is still a chance to get hold a printed version of the comic by pledging money to the Hallowscream IndieGoGo Appeal. There’s only a few hours left to show your appreciation so click on the link above, watch the appeal video, and give generously to this worthy cause.

Full contents are as follows…

• Page 3 : Passenger Story by Chris Sides, Art by Chris Travell
• Page 9 : Storage Story by Lizzie Boyle, Art by Louis Carter
• Page 14 : Pirates Story by Tim West, Art by Nathaniel Allen
• Page 19 : Man-Eater Story by Alec Robertson, Art by Christopher Geary
• Page 25 : Charles Wynford Lodge Movie Posters by Julian Jones
• Page 26 : Deep Ship by Gordon Innes
• Page 31 : Terrorvision Guide by Malcolm Kirk
• Page 32 : Deccappucino Story by Jeff Edmond, Art & Adaptation by Vin Davis
• Page 39 : Vampire Vixens of The Wehrmacht Pin-up by Alex Ronald
• Page 40 : The Wandering Man Story by David Hailwood, Art by Chow
• Page 45 : Spatial Bewareness by Gordon Innes
• Page 49 : The Offering by Emilio Martinez
• Page 55 : Old Georgie Jigsaw Story by Jeff Edmond, Art & Adaptation by Vin Davis
• Page 61 : Charles Wynford Lodge Movie Posters by Julian Jones
• Page 62 : Donation Story by Richard Worth, Art by Christian Berg
• Page 65 : Mag, Scientist (Dinnertime of The Dead) by Malcolm Kirk
• Page 66 : Wonderful World of Serendipity Story by Dirk Van Dom, Art by Tony Rothwell, Lettering by Jim Campbell
• Page 72 : A Wolf At The Door Story by Kenneth Thurtell, Art by Harry Shotton, Lettering by HdE
• Page 77 : Dead Time Story Story by Scott Hartman, Art by El Chivo,
  Lettering by David Withers
• Page 80 : Speed Date 2 : Cruz Control Story by Dirk Van Dom, Art by Bhuna, Lettering by Chaingun Chimp
• Page 86 : Ubek Naren-Ka Story by Matthew McLaughlin, Art by Ghostpockets,
  Lettering by Bolt-01
• Page 91 : Monster Story by Erick Lipkowski, Adaptation by Tim West,
  Art by Carol Kewley
• Page 97: Death Pitch Story by Jose Cruz, Art by Annie Cox
• Page 103 : Teddy Bear’s Picnic Story by Tim West, Art by Glen Ostrander
• Page 105 : How Can You Like That Horror Stuff? by Huw Evans
• Page 111 : Deadvertisements by Malcolm Kirk
• …and… Page 112 : Back Cover Skull by Malcolm Kirk

In the mean time feast your eyes on the gorgeous front cover below.

The tenth issue of HAUNTED magazine, (Nov/Dec 2011), is now on sale at selected branches of WH Smith and newsagents across the UK.

For just £3.99, it contains over a hundred pages of cool eclectic stuff covering all things paranormal and includes the like of interviews with James Randi and Warwick Davis, articles and features on the Pendle Witches, Oakley Court Hotel, Alton Towers, British horror toys, loads of mediumistic, ghosthunting and spiritual stuff, and lots, lots, (lots), more. Scream! comic even gets a brief mention.

…and in among all this is an exclusive single-page promotional Hallowscream comic strip by yours truly, (with a couple of teensy panels by Matthew Soffe and Liam Matthew Byrne).

Sound interesting? Go buy the thing then.