Dread the Halls by writers Jordan Hart & Chris Ryall offers an alternative to the jolly festive stories of the holiday season. With artwork from Walter Pax, Jimmy Kucaj, Fabio Veras, and Lee Ferguson, Dread the Halls shares with us frightening tales of yuletide horror.

The perfect holiday stocking stuffer-a collection of horror tales to read curled up by the light of the Yule log “Be of Good Fear!” Long before Americans celebrated horror on Halloween, the Victorians did it gathered around a fireplace on Christmas Eve. Dread the Halls honors this macabre tradition by wishing you and yours “Happy Holidays” with stories of ghosts, ghastly abominations, and vile creatures.

Dread the Halls captures the essence of Christmas traditions while blending supernatural horrors with festive celebrations. Each story told within the pages of the his one-shot comic is crafted to engross us in the holiday season while telling dark and macabre tales. The creative team has intertwined horror elements with traditional holiday motifs to create stories that are both unsettling and enchanting.

Amongst these pages lie stories featuring beloved holiday characters such as Santa Claus and those less beloved like Krampus as well as other creatures. Jordan Hart & Chris Ryall manages not only to entertain but evoke nostalgia by integrating these iconic characters into their Christmas stories.

Each tale in Dread the Halls stand apart not just because of its storyline but also due to its distinct artistic style. The artistic team of Walter Pax, Jimmy Kucaj, Fabio Veras, and Lee Ferguson each craft unique illustrations to set their story apart from the others. Some more detailed, while others more rough. This allowed me to tell the difference in each story and enjoy them all individually. Not to mention the fantastic cover contributions from Maria The Wolf and Marguerite Sauvage, along with Jordan Hart’s wrapping-paper variant and Lee Ferguson’s homage cover to classic horror comics.

Dread the Halls is the perfect comic for this time of year. Jordan Hart & Chris Ryall, along with the artistic team, craft tales that weave together horror and holiday cheer in a macabre dance. This collection of tales is great for those looking for something a bit darker than the tradition festive holiday stories.

Dread the Halls #1 hits local comic shops on December 4, 2024 from Syzygy Publishing / Image Comics.