Fright Rags Presents Tales from the Morgue

Horror comics need an endless supply of victims, whose deaths will leave readers amused, rather than mournful. Thankfully, the world has an endless supply of “influencers.” Problem solved. Fright Rags, the purveyor of horror themed merch, probably cultivates influencers, but they happily kill them off in their first published anthology comic, Tales from the Morgue (published inn cooperation with American Mythology), which releases today.

As fate would have it, Fright Rags really is head-quartered in a building that once housed the local morgue, or so they say. Talk about inspiration. Predictably, in the wrap-around narrative (written by James Kuhoric and illustrated by E.V. Cntada), a group of influencers break in, hoping to find and film creepy traces of the building’s macabre history. They encounter Andy, the night watchman, who claims he also served as the morgue’s final coroner. Andy has some stories to tell about his former clients.

Consciously appealing to fans of 1980s horror, S.A. Check’s “Pyromaniac” (also illustrated by Cantada) follows a group of supernatural obsessed Gen Zer’s (who are definitely influencer “adjacent”) as they try to raise the homicidal Jacob Stocker, a fireman with a criminal history similar to Kruger’s. Notoriously, Stocker caused an entire orphanage to burn down.

The Pyromaniac’s sinister fire-fighting suit definitely evokes My Bloody Valentine vibes. He really pops off the page. Previously, Fright Rags released an original soundtrack to a fictional Pyromaniac movie, so they clearly believe he has franchise potential. Cantada’s images will definitely further the cause.

G.O. Parsons’ “Maul Santa,” illustrated by Emanuele Tommarelli, also introduces a character who could have a lot of kills in his future. Fittingly, it is set in a mall, which are always nostalgic for horror fans (thanks too classics like Dawn of the Dead and Chopping Mall). In this case, Parsons evokes the sad decline of malls during the mid-2010’s. Doug Chanski was still employed as the mall Santa, but when a pack of Millennial meatheads started bullying him, Chanski snapped, impaling one on the rotunda Christmas tree.

Chanski took refuge in mall’s service passages, like the Phantom of the Opera. The bad press closed the mall for good, so Chanski was never seen again. However, he is rumored to still live in the abandoned retail complex. Who would venture into the shuttered property in search of Chanski? Influencers, that’s who.

All three threads are entertaining, because they deliver slyly knowing “fan service” for longtime horror comic readers and horror movie watchers. The editorial tone and visual style perfectly channel all the classic horror titles, with the gore somewhat amplified to reflect current expectations. However, even by anthology standards, both constituent stories feel a little short. It is quick, but it is fun. Recommended for fans of EC Comics and every horror anthology that came after, Tales from the Morgue is now on-sale at Fright Rags.