How to Make a Monster: The Mechanics of Horror Comics

By: Kurt Amacker
Date: Wednesday, September 27, 2006

October draws nigh, COMICSCAPE faithful. Sure, it's a few days away. But, like a kid sneaking downstairs on Christmas morning, I celebrate my favorite holiday early. And, if the skeletons and jack-o-lanterns all over Target and Wal-Mart didn't already give it away, the shelves of your local comics haunt will in the coming weeks it's Halloween, kids. Comic publishers jump on Halloween as a chance to promote horror titles or, in Marvel's case, collect and reprint some of their classic Bronze Age material. I'm not complaining, though. You better believe I'll have the ESSENTIAL MARVEL HORROR collection in my hands the day it comes out.

Before my wife and I saw HOLLYWOODLAND today, we talked about horror comics and why superheroes still dominate sales. Having already written about that a year ago, I dismissed it as a column subject. But, it occurred to me that the visceral mechanics of horror comics stand ripe for exploration. I quickly called Steve Niles and asked if he'd like to chime in on his favorite subject. He agreed, and his thoughts appear further down. Hence, on this week's COMISCAPE, I present one of them there head-scratchin'-book-learnin'-college-boy columns, wherein I offer some scary speculation on the inner mysteries of horror comics. Given the comparably static nature of sequential art, I want to know how a comic can scare the hell out of you. Al and I still talk about breasts at the end of the column, so don't worry.


It occurred to me that comics can't scare you in some ways similar to movies. Most importantly, they can't set up the all-too-common jump scares that so many horror films rely upon. With film or television, the director can build tension with music and lighting before letting the ax drop. After ratcheting up the tension for a minute or two, the chain saw wielding maniac kicks the door in and all the girls in the audience squeal and grab their boyfriends. The boyfriends smile. Or, if you're me, you wait until the maniac runs onscreen to poke your girl and watch her jump three feet in the air. Alternately, the director can place the characters in a "safe zone" in public, at the doctor's office, or anywhere one doesn't expect monsters. Then, of course, all hell breaks loose and, ideally, the audience doesn't want to shower alone for the next year.

As a medium, comics don't enable jump-scare setups as effectively. Certainly, a creative team can show a character lifting a toilet lid on the last panel of a page and then a monster leaping out of the bowl on the next. But, that doesn't convey the sound and motion that make it so effective on film. The "boo!" option is off the table. That shouldn't matter, but for lack of creative vision, few horror films accomplish much more than startling the viewers. We've all come to expect jump scares, and few movies use them effectively. ALIEN comes to mind. The best horror films back the shocks up with something unfamiliar not a monster with eight sequels behind him and allow the viewer a brief glimpse of something terrifying. But, the jumps alone don't make a horror film great.

When I asked Steve how a writer makes a comic scary, he answered, "It's the same way a novelist does with the added tool of art. It's a combination of a lot of other tools as well; visual pacing, timing and using both images and text to get under people's skin. You can't have somebody jump up around a corner, but shocking events are shocking events regardless of the medium. I think I an image or an idea can be as unnerving and frightening as a moving picture."

Like effective horror films, comics can evoke disgust, disturbance, outrage, and unease. Almost all of the elements of a good horror film remain available to a creative writer. FRIDAY THE 13TH might make your girlfriend jump at the theater, but no one gives a damn after the credits roll. But HELLRAISER churns your stomach and stays with you for days, because the ideas and imagery linger. In this regard, comics can meet film for ten rounds and come out on top. I first read THE CROW at 13 years old, before I saw the movie. The scene where two of the thugs murder a newspaper salesman with Down's syndrome stayed with me for a long time. It still bothers me, along with the scene where Eric dreams of a white horse struggling in barbed wire. While not a pure horror comic, the principle remains comics can unnerve us. They don't have music and motion, but compared to screenwriters and directors, comic writers have it easy. The Motion Picture Association of America long ago bound the hands of filmmakers, who can only dream of the visual and thematic freedom enjoyed in comics.

Given the relative creative freedom afforded by the comics business, I asked Steve if he ever just pushes boundaries until he feels nauseated, to which he replied, "I always try to push myself, but without resorting to gratuitous images or ideas." Granted, no writer should aim to simply disgust readers. If nothing else, the shock of "extreme" storytelling wears off after a while and you start to look like Spinal Tap or something. Chaos! Comics springs to mind for excessive blood and gore (and cleavage) with nary a real scare in sight. And yet, a truly macabre idea with the right presentation can leap off the page into the reader's mind.

A couple of years ago, Vertigo released H.P. LOVECRAFT, a hardcover graphic novel by Hans Rodionoff, Keith Giffen, and Enrique Breccia. It presented a "generously adapted" biography of Lovecraft that included his torment by the macabre creatures about which he ultimately wrote. Though many fans chided the book for biographical inaccuracies, I only remember the chill I felt after finishing it. Breccia vividly created a nightmarish parallel world that tormented the fictional Lovecraft and left me looking over my shoulder. That remains one of the few comics to ever scare me. Granted, I never jumped like I did during JU-ON or anything, but it left me unnerved.

Comics have a great advantage over other storytelling mediums, in that their visual depictions stop not with a budget, but the creative team's imagination. And, given the comparably lax content restrictions, comics allow for a nearly limitless visual and narrative world. Granted, not every innovative or extreme comic will succeed, but it's much easier to release a comic called CHICKEN SOUP FOR SATAN than a film of the same name. And, horror thrives on innovation and works best in an atmosphere of creative freedom. You will never see a film where John Constantine prevents the Second Coming of Christ, much less doing so by having sex with the woman meant to carry the Messiah and infecting her with the blood of the demon Nergal. But, you can certainly see John Constantine blowing demons to tiny bits with the holy shotgun. That's safe. Granted, the whole Messiah-prevention bit isn't particularly scary, but the leeway allowed by the comics business means that equally radical and frightening ideas can make their way onto the page. You can't startle someone with a chain saw wielding maniac, but you can certainly leave them with an idea not easily forgotten. The challenge stands to overcome reader apathy and desensitization with an image and an idea so macabre that they'll sleep with the lights on.

The Spinner Rack
By Al Brown and Kurt Amacker

DARK HORSE COMICS

Berserk Vol 13 TP (MR) $13.95

Chickenhare House Of Klaus TP $9.95

Classic Kelloggs Character Statue #5 Cornelius Rooster $49.95
Kurt: If you buy this, I hope you die.

Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service Vol 1 TP (MR) $10.95
Al: Yeah, I really just want part of the corpse. Do you do arms?
Kurt: Look, we'll just get the family pack. You can have all the arms and I'll take the breasts and the legs. Do you want macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes for the side?

Sock Monkey The Inches Incident #1 (of 4) $2.99
Al: Kurt made a special sock monkey for his wife once. She called it "The Inch Incident."
Kurt: It's funny how your wife keeps asking me for the same thing. Take the cell phone away from her, man.

Usagi Yojimbo #97 $2.99

DC COMICS

52 Week #21 $2.50

Action Comics #843 $2.99

Albion #6 (of 6) (RES) $2.99

American Virgin #7 (MR) $2.99

American Way #8 (of 8) $2.99

Batman #657 $2.99
Al: Last issue started getting into the awesomeness we expect from Grant Morrison. Hopefully the trend continues.
Kurt: You know what would totally reek of awesomeness? Seven Soldiers #1. How much fkin' longer do we have to wait!?

Batman And The Mad Monk #2 (of 6) $3.50
Al: I still say this is the best Batman book on the stands, though.
Kurt: I read this book called Al Brown and the Mad Parents that I totally dug. Oh wait, that wasn't a comic.

Batman Journey Into Knight #12 (of 12) (RES) $2.99
Kurt: Jesus, finally. It's been, what, a year?

Bite Club Vampire Crime Unit #5 (of 5) (MR) $2.99
Kurt: Between Albion, American Way, and Journey into Knight, this must be the Week to Finish Stuff.

Blue Beetle #7 $2.99

Cartoon Network Block Party #25 $2.25

Enemy Ace Archives Vol 2 HC $49.99

Hawkgirl #56 $2.99

Jack Of Fables #3 (MR) $2.99
Al: Inessential even if you're a Fables fan, but still good fun.
Kurt: You know what else is fun? Al's mom when she's on a bender. Even the hobos down at the train track got lucky that night.

JSA Classified #17 $2.99

JSA Vol 11 Mixed Signals TP $14.99

Justice League Of America #2 $2.99

Justice League Of America Var Edition #2 $2.99

Justice Vol 1 HC $19.99

Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne Vol 5 $9.99

Losers Endgame TP (MR) $14.99
Al: Wherein they get lucky sometimes.
Kurt: Dude, "wherein," "whereupon," "therein," and "heretofore" are my words. How the hell do I maintain my air of pompous elitism if you steal my buzzwords?

Loveless #11 (MR) $2.99

Ninja Scroll #1 $2.99
Al: If I'm gonna read about ninjas, it's not because I like scrolls.
Kurt: Dude, you never shut up about scrolls when we're at the bar. Be a man about it.

Ninja Scroll Var Edition #1 $2.99

Otherworld Vol 1 Book One TP (MR) $19.99

Oyayubihime Infinity Vol 2 $9.99

Secret Six #4 (of 6) $2.99
Al: Wasn't this supposed to be an ongoing? Too bad. It's great.
Kurt: Actually, it wasn't. Sorry to get your hopes up.

Seimaden Vol 6 $9.99

Snakes On A Plane #2 (of 2) (MR) $2.99
Kurt: Wasn't there a movie of this or something? I forgot.

Supergirl #10 $2.99

Supergirl And The Legion Of Super Heroes #22 $2.99
Kurt: Okaaaay, why does she have two titles?

Superman Up Up And Away TP $14.99

Teen Titans #39 $2.99
Al: Introducing Zatara, the teen magician...who is a boy.
DC Editor: Know what would make Zatanna even awesomer? If she was a boy!
Me again: Uh...no.Kurt: I got that bottle of K-Y Warming Ultra Gel you asked for, Al. I couldn't get two copies of that Zatara book, because the other ones sold. Try not to mess this one up too badly.

Teen Titans Go #35 $2.25

Trials Of Shazam #2 (of 12) $2.99

Uncle Sam And The Freedom Fighters #3 (of 8) $2.99

Warlord #8 $2.99

IMAGE COMICS

Deadworld Dead Killer TP $14.99
Image Editor: I dunno, I'm still not sure that the whole "death" concept is coming across strongly enough.
Death: Nobody likes me.

Invincible #35 (RES) $2.99

Lions Tigers & Bears Vol 2 #3 (of 4) $2.99

Spawn #160 $2.95

Image comics for $300: True Story Swear To God Image ED #1 $2.99
Sean Connery: What is, "I just had sex with Kurt's mom?"Alex Trebeck: I'm going to go home and put a gun in my mouth.

Walking Dead Vol 5 Best Defense TP (MR) $12.99


Al: Finally, a month after I got everyone's hopes up. Jerks.
Kurt: I get my hopes up every time you get drunk and run out into traffic, but I'm always disappointed.

MARVEL COMICS

All New Off Handbook Marvel Universe A To Z #9 $3.99

Amazing Spider-Man #535 Cw $2.99

Black Panther #20 $2.99
Al: The marginalization of Storm continues. What's the female version of emasculation, anyway?
Kurt: I had a really sick joke here, but it probably would've landed me on a black list at Human Rights Watch or something.

Cable Deadpool #32 Cw $2.99

Captain America #22 Cw $2.99
Al: Brubaker finally gets around to looking at Civil War. Cool.
Kurt: Did your mom finally get around to having that sore looked at? She wouldn't shut up about it the other night.

Civil War Front Line #6 (of 11) $2.99

Civil War Young Avengers & Runaways #3 (of 4) $2.99

Daily Bugle October Newspaper (PP #729) PI

Daredevil #89 $2.99
Al: New arc! A "swashbuckling noir adventure!" Good times!
Kurt: Just add vampires, pirates, and lesbians, and I'm on board.

Daredevil Sketch Var #89 $2.99

Daredevil Vol 6 HC $34.99

Daughters Of The Dragon Samurai Bullets TP $15.99

Essential Tales Of Zombie TP (MR) $16.99
Kurt: I love that Marvel cleans out their back catalogue of Bronze Age horror every October. Marvel loves that they clean out my bank account every October.

Essential Thor Vol 3 TP $16.99
Al: By "Essential," they mean "Not a psychotic clone."
Kurt: Dude, do you really want to get the Thor clone mad at you?

Eternals #4 (of 6) $3.99

Eternals Romita Jr Var #4 (of 6) $3.99

Haunt Of Horror Edgar Allan Poe HC (MR) $19.99
Kurt: This was really good. I wish Marvel would publish more weird sh-t like this, but I doubt it sold as well as the new X-book of the week.

Heroes For Hire #2 CW $2.99

Marvel Milestones X-Men & The Starjammers Part 2 $3.99
Al: Yes, this truly was a milestone.
Triumph: For me to poop on!

Marvel Select Flip Magazine #17 $4.99

Marvel Tales Flip Magazine #16 $4.99

Punisher #38 (MR) $2.99

She-Hulk 2 #12 $2.99

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane #10 $2.99
Kurt: And I love Al's mom. And his wife. And his sister. And that six pack of Schlitz I stole from his fridge.

Stan Lee Meets Spider-Man $3.99
Al: Well, it does include a story about an "interdimensional cross-time comic book convention" by Joss Whedon and Michael Gaydos. That sounds fun.
Kurt: Except it's Whedon, so it'll be rife with cute pop culture references and conspicuously strong female characters.

Thor Eternals Saga Vol 1 TP $24.99

Ultimate Iron Man Vol 1 TP $14.99

Ultimate Spider-Man #100 $3.99
Al: You gotta be psyched for this.

Ultimate Spider-Man Bagley Var #100 $3.99

Ultimates 2 #12 $3.99
Al: You gotta be psyched for this too.
Kurt: You know what I'm psyched about? I'm going to see the Horrorpops and Reverend Horton Heat tonight. All right, that was completely unrelated.

X-Men #191 $2.99

Zombie #1 (of 4) (MR) $3.99
Marvel editor: Hey guys! I hear the kids are into zombies! What other crap can we spew out at them?
Al: You ain't gotta be psyched about this.
Kurt: What are you, a communist? Everyone loves zombies.

Questions? Comments? Let us know what you think at comicscape@cinescape.com.