ICv2 compared the sales of horror comics by retailers using the ComicHub POS system during the period May 1 - August 14, 2025 to the same period in 2024, limiting the analysis to the top 1,000 comics as measured by unit sales.
This year's sales trends amplify last year’s (see "Horror Comics Growing in Direct Market"): A year ago, the top sellers were comics by James Tynion IV and nostalgia and legacy properties. In 2025, the top sellers include a new Tynion series (with a clever twist) and a comic based on retro-themed trading cards.
The breakout hit of Summer 2025 was Exquisite Corpses, by Tynion, Michael Walsh, and a host of other creators (see "‘Exquisite Corpses’"). The first two issues of this series were the top-selling horror comics in terms of both unit and dollar sales, with the third issue close behind. While Tynion is certainly a marquee name in the world of horror comics, and Walsh is not far behind, the success of this comic is also due to the fact that they are energetically promoting it with a year-long tour featuring signings and question-and-answer sessions. There's even a TCG (see "Tiny Onion Plans ‘Exquisite Corpses: The Game’"). Meanwhile, Tynion's other horror titles, Something Is Killing the Children, The Department of Truth, and W0rldtr33, continue to be strong sellers.
While Tynion dominates the indy side of the category, other creators are finding a niche. Patrick Horvath's cozy serial killer tale Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees has been a consistent best seller, first in comics, then as a graphic novel, and a new arc launched in July (see "IDW Announces Sequel"). Also selling well during this period are two newer sci-fi/horror titles from Image, Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar's Bug Wars and Chris Condon and Jeffrey Alan Love's News from the Fallout.
The other big trend in horror is nostalgia and legacy properties, with Mark Spears' Monsters comics, based on his retro-themed trading cards and published by Keenspot (see "Exclusive: Keenspot to Launch ‘Mark Spears Monsters’ Comic"), the big seller in the summer of 2025.
Like Spears' comics, successful legacy horror such as Oni Press's EC comics and Skybound/Image Comics' Universal Monsters offer new readers fresh takes on formats and characters they are already familiar with, and the presence of new Spawn and Predator titles on the chart show that readers are still interested in new stories about long-established properties.
| Top 20 Horror Comics (Units) - Summer 2025 (ComicHub via ICv2) | |||
| Rank | Title | Publisher | Price |
| 1 | Exquisite Corpses #1 (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 2 | Exquisite Corpses #2 (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 3 | Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1 | IDW Publishing | $4.99 |
| 4 | Exquisite Corpses #3 (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 5 | Mark Spears Monsters #5 | Keenspot Entertainment | $5.99 |
| 6 | Mark Spears Monsters #4 | Keenspot Entertainment | $5.99 |
| 7 | Spawn: The Curse of Sherlee Johnson #1 | Image Comics | $5.99 |
| 8 | Something is Killing the Children #42 | BOOM! Studios | $3.99 |
| 9 | Something is Killing the Children #41 | BOOM! Studios | $3.99 |
| 10 | Predator: Black, White & Blood #1 | Marvel Comics | $5.99 |
| 11 | Medieval Spawn #2 (Of 4) | Image Comics | $3.99 |
| 12 | Spawn #365 | Image Comics | $2.99 |
| 13 | Predator Kills The Marvel Universe #1 | Marvel Comics | $5.99 |
| 14 | Something is Killing the Children #43 | BOOM! Studios | $3.99 |
| 15 | Spawn #364 | Image Comics | $2.99 |
| 16 | Mark Spears Monsters #6 | Keenspot Entertainment | $5.99 |
| 17 | Medieval Spawn #3 (Of 4) | Image Comics | $3.99 |
| 18 | Bug Wars #4 (Of 6) (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 19 | Vampirella #2 (2025) | Dynamite Entertainment | $4.99 |
| 20 | News From the Fall Out #1 (Of 6) (Mature) | Image Comics | $3.99 |
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| Top 20 Horror Comics (Dollars) - Summer 2025 (ComicHub via ICv2) | |||
| Rank | Title | Publisher | Price |
| 1 | Exquisite Corpses #1 (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 2 | Exquisite Corpses #2 (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 3 | Mark Spears Monsters #5 | Keenspot Entertainment | $5.99 |
| 4 | Mark Spears Monsters #4 | Keenspot Entertainment | $5.99 |
| 5 | Spawn: The Curse of Sherlee Johnson #1 | Image Comics | $5.99 |
| 6 | Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1 | IDW Publishing | $4.99 |
| 7 | Exquisite Corpses #3 (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 8 | Predator: Black, White & Blood #1 | Marvel Comics | $5.99 |
| 9 | Predator Kills The Marvel Universe #1 | Marvel Comics | $5.99 |
| 10 | Mark Spears Monsters #6 | Keenspot Entertainment | $5.99 |
| 11 | Something is Killing the Children #42 | BOOM! Studios | $3.99 |
| 12 | Something is Killing the Children #41 | BOOM! Studios | $3.99 |
| 13 | Bug Wars #4 (Of 6) (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 14 | Vampirella #2 (2025) | Dynamite Entertainment | $4.99 |
| 15 | Medieval Spawn #2 (Of 4) | Image Comics | $3.99 |
| 16 | EC Blood Type #1 (Of 4) | Oni Press | $4.99 |
| 17 | Bug Wars #5 (Of 6) (Mature) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
| 18 | Hello Darkness #10 (Mature) | BOOM! Studios | $5.99 |
| 19 | Something is Killing the Children #43 | BOOM! Studios | $3.99 |
| 20 | Universal Monsters: The Mummy #3 (Of 4) | Image Comics | $4.99 |
The unit and dollar sales rankings in the charts above are based on sales tracked at point-of-sale by the ComicHub system at stores selling American comics around the world. During the period for which these reports were generated, there were over 125 stores using the ComicHub system. As this is a small, non-random sample of over 3,000 stores selling American comics worldwide, these rankings may not be typical for all stores, but do represent a variety of locations and store emphases.
