Basketful of Heads, written by Joe Hill, with art by Leomacs and Reiko Murakami, has an interesting publishing history. Originally meant for DC Comics‘s Vertigo line, with the dissolution of the label, the publisher launched two new imprints: Black Label, and Hill House. Basketful of Heads was published under the latter horror imprint, but as a collection is now back under Black Label, DC’s continuity-free, premium imprint.
Is that interesting? Did I sell you on why this is the perfect Halloween read? Probably not, so let’s get to the good stuff, now that the business is out of the way. The year is 1983, and June just wants to hang out with her boyfriend Liam. Only a group of criminals have other plans, bloodily cutting their way across Brody Island. That is until June picks up a mystical axe, chops one of their heads off, and discovers the head can still talk.
As you might be able to intuit, the series — which is collected in a trade edition — is a mix of slasher movie, Norse folk horror, comedy, and terror. It’s also extremely bloody, often hilariously so, as June protects herself and begins to fight back. Over the course of seven issues, the story also takes some twists and turns you definitely won’t be expecting, as June discovers more about the politics of the island.
To that point, the actual closest comparison here — despite the mystical axe, and talking heads — is Jaws. Hill named the main location Brody Island for a reason, after Martin Brody from the book and Steven Spielberg movie… It has a sense of those early Amblin flicks like Gremlins, though definitely skews older.
So if you’re looking for something wild and fun that doesn’t hold back from the splatter, Basketful of Heads is the book you’ll want to throw in your shopping basket this October. Just look for the Black Label logo on the cover. And Hill House. But not Vertigo.
Bonus: Hey, have you ever heard us mention this comic called Locke & Key? If not, don’t miss it, it’s a masterpiece of horror from Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez.
It’s spooky season, and you know what that means: time to curl up with a comic book or graphic novel that will scare your socks off. With that in mind, we’re posting a new horror book to check out every day of October, for our 31 Days Of Halloween Comics. Awoooo! Looking for the rest of our picks? Check them out on the Halloween tag.
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