When I was a kid, my mom used to recite a Halloween poem during October. It was short, but very effective in igniting the macabre and magic of Halloween in my imagination. I hope it does the same for you! Happy Halloween from The Ghoulie Guide.

I don’t know a horror fan who has not heard of Gris Grimly and his wonderfully sinister collection of brilliantly illustrated children’s books such as “Wicked Nursery Rhymes”, “Monster Museum”, “Creature Carnival”, and “Sipping Spiders Through A Straw”. Now Grimly has a new sketchbook for sale called “Atrum Secretum” that contains his darkest most private sketches and scribbles he has collected over the past 13 years. If you aren’t familiar with Grimly’s work, take a tour through his site Mad Creator Productions.

It’s been ten years since the Zombie War began. The world as we knew it is gone and will never be the same. What happened? It’s all documented in Max Brooks post-apocalyptic horror novel, World War Z. In his follow-up to the 2003 book “The Zombie Survival Guide”, Brooks puts together a collection of first-person accounts of the political, religious, and environmental aftermath of the Zombie War. And it’s not pretty. If your a conspiracy theorist, this is a must read. And if you have nightmares of what the world would be like in some kind of biblical catastrophe, or how nations would react, you should read this and get prepared! World War Z was met with positive reviews from the media when it was published in 2006. For those of you with long commutes to work, there is an audio version of the book that won an Audie Award in 2007.

And now for the bad news…Paramount Studios is making the book into a movie. This was actually good news for fans until recently when we learned that the synopsis for the film adaption is NOTHING like the book. Absolutely disappointing, as only Hollywood can be. Instead of taking place after the bloody wars, the movie will take place during the beginning of the outbreak. Brad Pitt will star as a United Nations employee running around trying to save the world from zombies. Seen it…a hundred times. Well, let’s wait for Rotten Tomatoes to give it its final judgement. In the meantime, pick up a copy of the book or audiobook then judge for yourself.

Well its out… this year’s Martha Stewart Halloween magazine! It has become a tradition of mine to riffle through the magazine while I’m standing in line at my local grocery store. Every year I find so many cool ideas in it, I wind up throwing a copy into my basket. That wickedly talented staff at Martha Stewart gathers the most clever recipes, decorations and Halloween ideas and packages them all into a wonderfully designed magazine. And once again, this years edition does not disappoint. Spoiler..the theme this year is B-Movie Madness, a tribute to the classic low budget horror flicks we all know and love. So check your local news stand and pick up a copy.

This is the second part of the horror highlights you may have missed this year at San Diego Comic Con! Enjoy…

Creepy Comics

With all the big Hollywood studios muscling their way onto the Comic Con convention floor each year, one cannot forget the original purpose of this now massive event, to advertise and sell comic books! When I first started going to Comic Con I used to wander through the crowded aisles and rummage through boxes of superhero comics searching for something a little more dark and edgy. I was always looking for something that had that Creepshow-esqe appeal. At times, my search came up short, and I’d go home slightly disappointed at the lack of horror representation. These days, however, horror comics are seeing a resurgence and becoming popular once again.

IDW Publishing announced a new on-going comic series starting this October, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT based on the original comic miniseries that helped spawn the popular movie. The original co-creator, Steve Niles, will be introducing a whole new cast of characters. Together with artist Sam Kieth, Steve will introduce a terrifying new tale… “a letter from Barrow, Alaska, carries a cryptic warning to a young, curious woman, leading her down a rabbit hole and face-to-face with her desires… and likely her demise. Elsewhere in Los Angeles, a vampire resurrection ignites, which could threaten the very way of life of all mankind.”

If you like a little romance in your horror soup, you might want to check out the upcoming DC Comics series, I, VAMPIRE from writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Andrea Sorrentino. In this story, Andrew Bennett is a vampire who turned the love of his life Mary, into a vampire as well. Only problem is when she turned, she was infected with “evil”. How’s that for a complicated relationship!

Another recently new comic, WITCH DOCTOR, is on the shelves and looks to be frighteningly fun. Check out their free online, seven page preview of issue #2. Click To Preview. If zombie apocalyptic stories are much more your style, you might want to check out WE WILL BURY YOU from IDW publishing. A story about two female lovers in the 1920′s that are not only dealing with their own relationship issues…but have to find a way to survive against hordes of zombies.

If your like me, you love classic Universal monsters such as the Wolfman, Frankenstein, and of course Dracula. Well, how bout a comic anthology that is hosted by Bela Lugosi? Check out the horror comic BELA LUGOSI’S TALES FROM THE GRAVE from Monsterverse. Issue #2 will be on sale soon with gorgeously designed cover-art by make-up legend Rick Baker.

Monsterverse is also releasing a new graphic novel this October, FLESH AND BLOOD, which will bring a modern, more mature update to the classic monsters.