Critical Approaches to Horror Comic Books: Red Ink in the Gutter John Darowski (University of Louisville, USA) 9781032195704

• This volume explores how horror comic books have negotiated with the social and cultural anxieties framing a specific era and geographical space
• Paying attention to academic gaps in comics' scholarship, these chapters engage with the study of comics from varying interdisciplinary perspectives, such as Marxism, posthumanism, theories of adaptation, sociology, existentialism, and psychology
• Without neglecting the classical era, the book presents case studies ranging from the mainstream comics to the independents, simultaneously offering new critical insights on zones of vacancy within the study of horror comic books while examining a global selection of horror comics from countries such as India (City of Sorrows), France (Zombillenium), Spain (Creepy), Italy (Dylan Dog) and Japan (Tanabe Gou's Manga Adaptations of H.P. Lovecraft), as well as the United States
• One of the first books centred exclusively on close readings in an under-studied area, this collection will have an appeal to scholars and students in horror comics studies, visual rhetoric, philosophy, sociology, media studies, pop culture, and film studies
• It will also appeal to anyone interested in comic books in general and to those interested in investigating intricacies of the horror genre

John Darowski is a PhD candidate in Comparative Humanities at the University of Louisville, USA. He has edited an essay collection on Superman adaptations (2021) and has published several essays on the history of superheroes.

Fernando Gabriel Pagnoni Berns (PhD) works at the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina. He teaches courses on international horror films and has authored a book about Spanish horror TV series Historias para no Dormir (2019) and has edited a book on James Wan's films.

This collection on horror comics does the essential work of bridging the gap between the well-beaten path of EC horror and the much-needed study of independent and international horror. The dominant orientation in the chapters is effectively based in cultural studies but they also make overtures to other theories-demonstrating an aspect of this collection that is very welcome. Finally, Darowski and Pagnoni Berns' organizational scheme highlights a rightly expanding focus of horror comics studies (on race and gender) and enlarges the general discussion in a truly important way (with horror and philosophy). Scary good and strongly recommended.

Terrence Wandtke, author of The Comics Scare Returns: The Contemporary Resurgence of Horror Comics, 2018

The greatest plus of the book is the strong international focus; a gripping study, not necessarily for comic book fans only.

Dr. A. Ebert, popcultureshelf.com