GOAT (Grossest of All Time) Horror Comics Covers

The Thing! comic #7: eye injury cover

Looking closely at some horror comic covers is a fun discovery, with lots of little details to delight in.

Others, like this one, make you wince, look away, and wonder how they ever got published. Yuck.

Startling Terror Tales #11: LB Cole skull-spider cover

LB Cole has a very particular style, playing heavily on bold primary colors and high contrast imagery.

This is a departure. It's far more classically horrific like other horror comic covers of the era.

Fight Against Crime #20: decapitation cover

If you discount covers featuring headhunters shrinking their spoils, there are relatively few decapitation covers.

This, and Crime SuspenStories #22 (see below), are the most famous and sought-after.

Suspense Comics #3: Nazi sacrifice cover scene

This is by far the most valuable horror comic of the 1950s, with good reason.

It has bondage! It has Nazis! Nazis dressed as Klan members about to sacrifice a woman! Bats fluttering around in front of the full moon! A man with a spear attempting to rescue the victim!

It's a crazy creation, rare as hen's teeth, and extremely valuable in any condition.

Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11: Severed tongues cover

This cover is creative, disgusting, incredibly graphic and also very dumb.

Often, the dialog in speech bubbles is ten times more stupid than the artwork on horror comic covers.

"I know you are a mute, Miss Kimberley, but even if you COULD yell, the people downstairs couldn't call the police. You see... I already cut all their tongues out!"

Crime Does Not Pay #24: intensely violent cover image

Shocking. That's the only word I can find to describe the feelings this crime/horror comic cover brings to mind.

It's hard to believe it was ever published. I'm all for freedom of speech, but it's rather too realistic for my tastes.

I prefer my graphic violence fantastic rather than domestic.

Astonishing #30: Alien eye beams melt human victim

If pre-Code horror comics have taught me anything -- and to be clear, they have not -- then it's to avoid graveyards at all costs.

If you don't witness the dead bursting from beneath the ground, or aliens bursting from beneath the ground, or sexy women in evening wear with their hands and feet bound being hit on by walking dead, then you will get your flesh melted from your bones by giant alien eyes in the sky.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

Mister Mystery #14: head hunter collecting shrunken skulls

Collecting heads has many disadvantages. One of the worst is, they take up a lot of space.

Unless you boil them to shrink them down, which also has the benefit of helping to slow the putrefaction process.

This horror comic cover is gross, but fun.

Blue Bolt Weird #119: Demonic cover by LB Cole

When this dude chose his finest steel-gray suit to wear to work this morning, he had no idea that he would be wearing it for eternity.

The Demons on this cover are taking it in turns to throttle him for having the nerve to open the tempting Pandora-style box he unwittingly stumbled across. I hope they have dry cleaners in Hell...

Sensation Comics #109: man haunted by his own fingers!

By 1952, sales of Wonder Woman comic books had slowed to the point where they were almost cancelled (She got lucky: many others, including Flash and Green Lantern, didn't make the cut.)

Publishers attempted to pivot their titles into horror and suspense, jumping onto the bandwagon of better-selling titles in more adult genres.

The first sign of madness is hairs on the palm of your hand. The second is your fingers turning into psychopaths.

Haunted Thrills #9: Witch boiling heads cover

Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble...

Witches were a very popular theme in pre-Code horror comics. You can only imagine what that soup might taste like...

One of several decapitated head covers on this page.

Ghostly Weird Comics #122: Death Ship alien undead sci-fi story

Another classic LB Cole horror comic covers classic!

Billionaires considering a space tourism experience should check out the fate of these astronauts before committing their seven-figure deposits.

A nice blend of sci-fi and horror, in Cole's inimitable style.

Terrific Comics #5: classic bondage and torture cover

This is one of my favorite horror comic covers of all time!

A buxom blonde in manacles being lowered towards a spiked wheel, manned by serfs of a Klan leader.

There are guns and heroes attempting rescue. This one pretty much has it all.

Pep Comics #34: classic hypodermic needle cover

It's hard to believe that this cover was published on a book containing an Archie story!

The most horrendous depiction of Axis antagonists, with a Nazi looking like a vampire threatening a pretty brunette with lethal injection.

Witches Tales #9: Demonic torture cover

Another day, another blonde, another giant cauldron, another Demon, another helpless lover watching as his girlfriend is lowered into the broth.

Not especially graphic, but striking and a collectible retro horror comic.

The Vault of Horror comic #30: classic dismembered limb cover

An axe in the head was considered too much on Vault of Horror #32.

And yet, this dismembered arm hanging from a subway loop made the "cut".

It's hard to imagine the impact of this kind of imagery in the 1950s. Don't forget that comic books were supposed to be entertainment for children, primarily.

Chamber of Chills #7: bondage and undead cover

I'm not sure which is more disturbing. The shade of yellow of the victim's shirt; the gaggle of animated skeletons;

Or the woman chained to the wall with a manacle around her neck, and apparently a chronic Ozempic problem.

Witches Tales #25: decapitated head used as clapper for bell

This is one of the more creative horror comic covers of the 1950s.

A crazy lunatic using a severed head as the clapper for a church bell.

Look a little closer, and ask yourself: how did that rat get so damn huge?

Haunt of Fear #20: axe murderer carrying victim

This Haunt of Fear cover is classic EC Comics.

EC set the standard by which other publishers were judged.

They feature incredibly detailed and high-quality cover art, with uber realistic locations and faces full of wicked intent.

Spellbound Comics #4: headless woman haunts husband

Atlas horror comic covers aren't always the most graphic, but they have a certain period charm.

I prefer my blondes in red dresses to be the victims on pre-Code horror comics covers.

This one is the ghost of the hero's wife, who just realized in hindsight that her PMS wasn't all that bad after all.

Witches Tales #1: undead threatening bound woman cover

The things you think about when life gets stressful...

Is she brunette? A redhead? Or sort of auburn?

She's probably more concerned by the three freshly dug-up animated corpses who seem to regard the lunatic in the top hat as their dada.

Haunt of Fear #14: Demonic hoarde cover

Another classic EC Comics cover featuring a whole bunch of Demonic trouble.

There is a lot of detail and character here, much easier to appreciate in the larger image.

Venus comic #18: Tunnel of Love turns into terror

Venus comic was a very confusing title. Midway through the run, it pivoted from a vaguely girl-facing goddess type of deal into a horror/fantasy title.

I'd love to know who supplied all those fancy red dresses for women in distress on horror comic covers back in the day.

Weird Tales of the Future #8: living heart transplant victim

Weird Tales of the Future was a spectacular title, loaded with bizarre ideas and art.

If you're the kind of person who wears their heart on their sleeve, then count yourself lucky.

Haunt of Fear #7: Murderer meets his own justice when victim comes back from the dead

There are loads of examples from EC Comics of karma coming back to bite a bad person.

Robert might have been killed and buried in the bad guy's basement, but a heaping helping of justice served cold is just about to be dished out.

Weird Tales of the Future #3: Alien bursts out of the graveyard

This might be my all-time favorite graveyard cover.

Blonde, of the stacked variety. Red dress, because of course. Graveyard at night. Roses for some reason.

Alien. Giant ugly alien. Bursting out of nearby graves.

Totally awesome!

• Horror Comics of the 1950s
• Crime SuspenStories Comic Books
• The Vault of Horror Comic
• Haunt of Fear Comic
• Best Horror Comic Books to Find
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• Vintage Horror Comic Art
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