We are not gonna top the title of Ham Helsing: Vampire Hunter. We won’t even try. We’ll just tell you it’s a new hardcover graphic novel, written and illustrated by Rich Moyer. “Ham Helsing is the descendant of a long line of adventurers and monster hunters–who don’t often live to rest on their laurels. Ham has always been the odd pig out, preferring to paint or write poetry instead of inventing dangerous (dumb) new ways to catch dangerous creatures. His brother Chad was the daredevil carrying on the family legacy of leaping before looking, but after his death, it’s down to Ham. Reluctantly, he sets out on his first assignment, to hunt a vampire. But Ham soon learns that people aren’t always what they seem and that you need a good team around you to help save your bacon!” Ooo, pretty scary kids! Look for it now from Penguin Randomhouse.
Horror
They Bump Back. Hard.
After several entries for young readers, now it’s time for something truly different…! “Bigfoot, the Jersey Devil, the Loch Ness Monster. All are age old folklore fodder, but could they actually be real? In recent years the myth of Man Goat and The Bunny Man has grown locally, and many have claimed sightings of the two unique creatures; yet no concrete evidence exists… And that’s exactly how they want it! Dealing with the things nightmares are made of so we don’t have to – deranged mutants, satanic cults, demons, summer vacationers – Man Goat and the Bunny Man protect us from the evils that hide in plain sight. But they don’t want your adoration, they just want to be left alone!” Issues of Man Goat and the Bunny Man (created by Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini, and Edgar Salazar) are available now from Zenescope.
Spaghetti and a Nice Chianti?
Okay, this has us scared… We just came across this article at Slash Film: “Gary Dauberman is producing Stray Dogs, a movie based on an upcoming Image Comics title from Tony Fleecs [My Little Pony] and Trish Forstner. Plot details aren’t readily available, but the project is described as Silence of the Lambs meets Lady and the Tramp. [!] The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop on the Stray Dogs movie, reporting that Paramount Animation and Gary Dauberman have picked up the rights, with Game Night writer Mark Perez tackling the script.” Image Comics is set to release the Stray Dogs comic in 2021, so we’ll know more of what we’re in for then.
No He’s Not a Ninja
Loggerhead is a new apocalyptic monster comic by Bryan Silverbax. “The world as we knew it changed after the last of the great wars leaving a large portion of North America a dead wasteland. It’s in that wasteland that tales of a monster only known as Loggerhead exist. Within this wasteland valuable elements and minerals have been unearthed creating a hotbed of illegal mining and overrun with scavengers. When some children find themselves endangered while witnessing an illegal scavenger mineral hunt, a protector rises from the murky depths of the wasteland to exact retribution.” Issues (and other merch!) are available now from Scout Comics. There’s a preview video up on YouTube also.
Return of a Classic Werewolf
Werewolf By Night is a legendary horror comic from one of Marvel’s golden ages, the late 1970’s. Now it has returned in a new incarnation, this time written by Taboo (of the band Black Eyed Peas) and Benjamin Jackendoff. From Marvel’s web site: “The pair previously worked together on a story for Marvel Comics #1000 that focused on Red Wolf and will now be teaming up with acclaimed comic artist Scott Eaton on Werewolf By Night. The series will introduce a brand-new character to the Marvel Universe in a story set in Arizona. The new Werewolf will be a young man named Jake who will be dealing with the effects of a family curse while trying to protect his people. The events of the story will also be driven by the outcome of March’s Outlawed one-shot.” Issues of this 4-issue miniseries are on the shelves now.
Look, Just DON’T Move to the Country, Okay??
Famed horror director John Carpenter came up with something interesting last year, in the form of a dark new comic book series. “Monica Bleue and her father move away to the country to start a new life after the death of her mother. Though she’s not speaking to her dad, she begins to find her way out from her anger and grief in her new surroundings. But while out wandering the forests near their home, she comes face to face with a hidden horror that changes her forever. Steve Niles and Damien Worm bring you Monica Bleue: A Werewolf Story, the first story in the new monthly anthology series, John Carpenter Presents Storm Kids.” Funny thing? Previews lists this as a “kid friendly” title…
Let’s Eat!
Hey! Remember when the worst thing we had to worry about was killer pizza robots? The folks at Scholastic do… “Don’t miss the first-ever graphic novel for Five Nights at Freddy’s, an adaptation of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel The Silver Eyes, illustrated by fan-favorite game artist Claudia Schröder! Ten years after the horrific murders at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza that ripped their town apart, Charlie, whose father owned the restaurant, and her childhood friends reunite on the anniversary of the tragedy and find themselves at the old pizza place which had been locked up and abandoned for years. After they discover a way inside, they realize that things are not as they used to be. The four adult-sized animatronic mascots that once entertained patrons have changed. They now have a dark secret . . . and a murderous agenda.” It’s available now in hardcover and trade paperback at Comixology.
“Were” to Find Them
It’s a bit late for Halloween-y stuff, we know… but maybe we’re just getting the jump (pounce?) on next October! Fab Press have brought us The Frightfest Guide to Werewolf Movies. “The crimson eyes of the werewolf have stalked us across the centuries. We are now most familiar with the wolfman courtesy of Hollywood. Over the past century, a diverse pack of lycanthropes has manifested on the silver screen – in big-bucks blockbusters and zero-budget B-movies – each revealing a little more of the nature of the beast. Within these colorful pages we encounter reluctant wolfmen and shape-shifting sadists, big bad fairy tale wolves and lycanthropic nymphomaniacs. Our guide is acclaimed author, broadcaster, occult historian – and lifelong werewolf obsessive – Gavin Baddeley. By finding fresh perspectives on established classics, uncovering neglected gems, and even examining a few howlers among the definitive selection of werewolf movies reviewed, Baddeley shows how the myth has adapted and transformed: Whereby werewolves become analogies for alcoholism or adolescence, or ciphers for sexual awakening or serial murder. Providing our foreword is the award-winning director, writer and producer Neil Marshall, whose brilliant debut feature Dog Soldiers reinvigorated the werewolf movie for the 21st Century.” The book is available now in trade paperback.
Monsters by Disney
The most interesting and unusual things seem to keep coming out of Disney’s Italian wing… now just in time for Halloween we find out about two new full-color graphic novels from Dark Horse Publishing, Disney Dracula Starring Mickey Mouse and Disney Frankenstein Starring Donald Duck. Both are adapted by Bruno Enna with art by Fabio Celoni. According to the write-ups (here and here) both try to stick pretty close to the original Gothic works upon which they’re based. Go on and judge for yourself, if you dare!