Halloween has officially arrived, and with it, CGMagazine has compiled a list of blood-curdling graphic novels to keep fans in the Holiday spirit.
If you’re like me, you spend more time searching for what to spend your time on, rather than actually being entertained. This is true horror when you have free time: the endless slog of searching. It’s hard to select and commit to a feature when you always feel like you’re leaving something on the table, and instead of subjecting everyone to the endless search, this time we are reading horror and looking at bloody images. At CGMagazine, we have solid horror streaming recommendations and games to make your skin crawl; this Halloween-friendly list is for the readers who bite their nails while turning the page.
Graphic novels have always held a warm spot (or blisteringly cold) for me when considering entertainment, especially in the horror department. Horror gaming has recently had a renaissance, unleashing new asymmetrical horror with Halloween: The Game and single-player suspense in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, but graphic novels have always remained a source to get your blood moving. While certain supernatural affairs such as The Sandman are critically acclaimed (and have some truly graphic scenes) and carry themes of suspense and despair, we here at CGMagazine have compiled a list of the Top 5 Halloween graphic novels that will make you scream in horror.
While Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Invincible and Kevin Eastman’s The Last Ronin do fit the theme of Halloween, we are looking for something bloodier and more nefarious. That said, here are our top 5 Halloween picks for 2026.
From Hell
Taken from the first words of 1888’s infamous letter that starts with “From Hell,” this (extremely) graphic novel retells the horrific murders of Jack the Ripper in Whitechapel, London, during the Victorian Era. The graphic novel leans into a conspiracy that the murders themselves are a distraction from what the real story is: a potential birth that can derail the royal family.
While the novel uses real names and factual occurrences from the time period and the investigation into the murders themselves, it fills the blank space with fiction and compelling reasons for why the murders were committed, giving the audience a cold and calculated reason for why Whitechapel was painted red. Some seriously horrific scenes unfold, and I recommend you don’t read this one on the train. While the Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell tag team on the graphic novel remains the best way to consume this story (in my opinion), there’s also a film of the same name that stars Johnny Depp, in case you wanted to watch it instead of read.
Uzumaki
Uzumaki is the tale of the town Kurouzu-cho, which is subsequently overrun by a mysterious curse of spirals. The curse that has befallen the town has a side effect: it makes the residents of the town loaded with spiral-mania, and whether it makes them feel good or otherwise, it slowly becomes the only thing anyone can think about.
Depending on the condition of the cursed, their bodies contort to a horrific degree, showcasing the truly warped mind of Junji Ito and how human skulls, insects, and other barbaric imagery can fuse with spirals. High-school student Kirie Goshima and her boyfriend, Shuichi Saito, are the town’s last hope, and they run into some fleshy high stakes and even more grotesque imagery that can genuinely shock the consciousness of the mind.
By the time its residents grow wise to its self-fascination with spirals, the horror has already unfolded to a critical degree, and everyone’s inner monster is brought to the surface in Lovecraftian fashion. With Saito’s ability to detect when the curse is present, Junji Ito injects true despair into Uzumaki’s pages, carrying the story with anxiety and a spiral into madness with every page. This is one for the true horror fan, and one suspense junkies can’t miss for Halloween.
Hellraiser Omnibus Vol. 1
With the latest Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, everyone has had Hellraiser fever this Halloween, me included. So after listening to the doom-filled Gregorian chant of Doug Bradley behind the walls of Revival, I thought the best way to dig further into the madness of the Hellraiser franchise and see the further depravity of the Cenobites would be another Clive Barker creation, and I was right. The Hellraiser Omnibus Vol. 1 is loaded with everything a thrill-seeking fan could want, including a deeper and more nefarious plot by the Cenobites enacted after the events of the second film. According to this mythos, it’s as if the third film in the horror franchise, Hellraiser III: Hell on Earth, didn’t occur.
This collection takes the complete 2011 BOOM! Studios Hellraiser #1–20 run and Hellraiser Annual #1, written with Clive Barker’s direct oversight, and compiles them into the graphic novel that is the Hellraiser Omnibus Vol. 1. Clive Barker has such sights to show you, indeed.
Creepshow
Based on the film of the same name, Creepshow is a graphic novel that adapts the five short stories portrayed in the George A. Romero film, and has advanced, believable horrific themes that feel grounded in reality. In typical Stephen King short story fashion, each story starts with mystery and intrigue, and slowly goes off the rails with alien intervention, monsters, and zombies that can’t stay dead.
While Creepshow can be watched in its film form (and some of the short stories that are adapted can be read in their original, black-and-white paper form also), the graphic novel has camp-laden artwork from the 1980s directly inspired by the 1950s Entertainment Comics (EC) style. Creepshow is good to watch, but feels undeniably wicked to read along with.
Attack on Titan Colossal Edition
Attack on Titan is one of the most popular anime ever created, and the same goes for its colossal manga series. Luckily for fans who may not have read or watched the series, there is an Attack on Titan Colossal Edition out that comes in seven towering volumes which recount the entire horrific journey of Hajime Isayama’s animated and political epic. An epic centred around gigantic flesh humans eating—well, other humans as snacks.
From the first chapter, it’s clear the odds are stacked firmly against the protagonists’ favour: gigantic fleshy humans are staggering through the streets and eating people, just like how an innocent grandmother would sneak to try a grape at the grocery store. What holds the reader’s attention is the raw humanity uncorked within its pages, and how communal suffering against true despair (I mean, its huge people eating others) can help beat back even the worst odds. After you get past its sinewy exterior, Attack on Titan Colossal Edition unravels a story of politics and intrigue, and it remains horrific to witness from beginning to bitter end. A serious horror for Halloween.
While there is a literal sea of honourable mentions like Junji Ito’s Gyo, or Locke & Key, due to the many Halloween graphic novels out there, everyone’s list of favourites may look different from each other, and that’s okay. The tomes listed are my current favourite horror graphic novels out now (including the Hellraiser Omnibus Vol. 1). Usually, recency bias gives me my favourite comic, like Dark Souls: The Willow King. While it is a great read (especially for Dark Souls fans), I consider the options above better suited for horror.
Fans who need more suggestions for Halloween can head over to CGMagazine’s Halloween section, with many recommendations including Halloween TV specials, Anime, and more for more spooky content during October.
