Leading up to San Diego Comic-Con, Dark Horse Comics made the exciting announcement of the HEADLESS HORSEMAN HALLOWEEN ANNUAL, a Halloween-themed anthology featuring five stories from some of today's best and most exciting horror comic book creators. During Comic-Con, it was my pleasure to host the Horror Comics panel, where David Dastmalchian and Leah Kilpatrick teased the story they worked on together for the anthology, which is due out on October 23rd. But, you won't have to wait that long to get a taste of the terror that's to come! Featuring artwork from Tyler Crook, we are excited to exclusively share preview pages from their story with Daily Dead readers that will have you clawing for more!
In Horror House, "Things take a twisted turn when a group of teens enter a haunted house and discover something more sinister than they had ever imagined...."
As you'll see below, Tyler Crook's artwork gives off the perfect retro-Halloween vibes that immediately sets the tone for this horror tale and David Dastmalchian and Leah Kilpatrick talk about their reaction to first seeing Tyler's artwork for the story:
"Tyler Crook's artwork is something I have always adored and I am elated to see his masterful style bringing to life this horrifying story that I created with my writing partner, Leah Kilpatrick. We both squealed like a couple of vampire bats when we saw his first images!" - David Dastmalchian
"I'll never forget when my writing partner David Dastmalchian and I opened up our emails to see Tyler Crook's artistry bring our story to life. Tyler's relationship with color immensely added to the overall horrifying feel we wanted to come across in this piece." - Leah Kilpatrick
From the Press Release: "Boils, ghouls, vampires, monsters, and creatures of all kinds, welcome. Take a seat, go on, fill the aisles, relax your fangs, and sit with us for a while. Follow a macabre and magical journey through all the haunts and spooks that keep you up at night. Here you’ll revel in darkness for a chilling, nay PETRIFYING experience as the Headless Horseman presents a collection of five terrifying tales to warm up your cold soul. Hurry up now, you won’t want to keep them waiting…
This Halloween the headless haunt, our Dark Equestrian, saddles up for a one-shot gathering creepy tales perfect for a night of nightmares. The Headless Horseman Halloween Annual is a new Halloween anthology from Dark Horse Comics and contains macabre merriment from a host of haunting creators, including: Angela Slatter (Castle Full of Blackbirds), Lukas Ketner (Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter), Olivia Stephens (Darlin’ and Her Other Names), Phillip Sevy (Tomb Raider, The House), Christie Porter, Leah Kilpatrick, David Dastmalchian (Count Crowley), Valeria Burzo (Castle Full of Blackbirds), Tyler Crook (Harrow County), Frank Cvetkovic (The House), and more. These five stories are presented by creators who share a love of shudder-inducing, spine-tingling imagery and spooky tales!
“Doing a Halloween-themed anthology has always been a dream of mine, and we were able to assemble a fantastic crew of creators to help carry out that vision. The book is full of fun, creepy, and iconic stories that will scare and delight readers, I can’t wait for everyone to get their hands on it!” said editor Megan Walker.
“Being able to write Horror House with David was such a gift to my spooky heart and seeing Tyler’s beautiful artwork bring it all to life was something truly special.” said writer Leah Kilpatrick. “It’s such a treat to be able to be a part of an anthology series and when that series is about Halloween what more can you want!”
“There is a controlled kind of magic in one-shot, anthological storytelling that follows a tradition of EC Comics, short films and even well-crafted jokes. Getting to collaborate with the amazing Leah Kilpatrick and one of my favorite artists, Tyler Crook, under Megan Walker’s guidance has been the perfect laboratory to cook up a twisted Halloween tale!” said writer David Dastmalchian.
If you’ve ever gotten lost while trick-or-treating, if writer’s block gives you a disproportionate sense of dread, if you won't walk past that certain house down the road… just in case, if you have ever wondered why the new kid came to town or what could possibly make those spooky horror games even scarier, and especially if you think nothing can frighten you, this anthology is for you.
With plenty of thrills and chills, the 56-page (6.625” x 10.1875”) Headless Horseman Halloween Annual with the main cover by Lukas Ketner will be in comic shops on October 23, 2023. Variant covers by comics icon Mike Mignola (with colorist Dave Stewart) and Mark Spears will also be available. Get “a-head” of the Halloween rush and pre-order at your local comic shop for $7.99."
After spending more than 10 years as a consultant in the tech and entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his interest in horror and sci-fi. Since then, it has grown into an online magazine with a staff of writers that provide daily news, reviews, interviews, and special features.
As the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Dead, Jonathan is responsible for bringing the latest horror news to millions of readers from around the world. He is also consulted with as an expert on zombies in entertainment and pop culture, providing analyses of the zombie sub-genre to newspapers, radio stations, and convention attendees.
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