Coming in at over 530
pages, the Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics is well, Mammoth. It’s why I’ve not
read very many books this Halloween season. Though, technically, I’ve read about
50 horror comics. Of these 50 entries, probably a dozen comics are what made up
an entire issue. Most stories are from anthology horror comics, like Panic or
Ghostly Tales.
Sadly, there aren’t any DC
or Marvel offerings, though much is made of their horror titles in the 2-4
pages long chapters that introduced different periods of horror in the medium.
The best stories are from the 40s and 50 and the 60s and 70s chapters. The real
crime is that the granddaddy of all horror comics, EC Comics is notably absent
from this book. The 80s comics are very good too, but the contain graphic
nudity. The 90s and beyond chapter is the weakest in my opinion, mostly because
of the witchcraft (which just isn’t my cup of tea) and a focus on gore over
story substance. The 90s chapter also had a couple of picto-collage stories
which combine photographs with CGi-type effects. The jury is still out on whether
I’d consider those actual comics or not, but I liked what I read.
There are quite a few gems
in this anthology along with a couple of stinkers. I couldn’t read the
Lovecraft rendition of the Dunwich Horror because of the horrible imagery used
.There was another tale that was just full of pagan worship that turned me off
as well. For that reason, I’m gonna sell this book to a used book store for
some trade credit. Yet, there are other Mammoth editions about crime and sci-fi
comics that I am very interested in getting my hands on, so I am not opposed to
this series, despite a few bad apples.
An enjoyable book that
packs a heavyweight punch.
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
Fright Factor: 10 out of
10 stars.
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