I have begun a new geeky journey, sort of. The reality is after fifteen years of not reading comic books, I have returned to their warm embrace. Thanks to Free Comic Book Day for sucking me back in with the release of a new Strangers in Paradise story arc. Since May I have gotten sucked into a small number of indie press comic books, namely those from Aftershock Comics.

I asked my Local Comic Store (LCS) what titles they could recommend that were horror themed as I wanted to something I could read for gaming inspiration and they did me a number of solids! They recommend a couple of titles of AfterShock Comics and it was all happily downhill from there. I have been reading the titles listed below.

Pestilence: A Story of Satan – is set in the Middle Ages post the Black Death or so man thought! Through a new outbreak of the plague, Satan enters the world bent on corrupting everything and seeking retribution for those that thought they had eradicated the plague the first time. The story and writing after two issues is fantastic! There are lots of ways to take this story and make it easily fit into the rules of several horror roleplaying games.

The Lost City Explorers – a coming of age story with a huge twist. The main character’s father is a scientist and has disappeared and is reported killed in an underground gas explosion. Following his funeral, another scientist approaches the girl and her friends claiming that her father may still be alive and trapped underground in the lost city of Atlantis. After one issue I am hooked. I am sure there are some gaming applications here, but I need the story to evolve further to get a better feel for what I could do with this.

A Walk Through Hell – This story oozes freaky horror and mind-twisting turn of events. Two agents have gone missing inside a huge warehouse; local police will not follow into the building and have called for additional agents. Two veteran agents arrive on the scene and boldly enter the building only to be knocked seemingly conscience. Upon waking, they hear gunshots and arrive on the scene to witness one of the missing agents repeatedly shooting himself in the head–seeming still alive. I can already see several ways to take this story and adapt it to the Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying game.

If you’re looking for either some great indie comics to read for fun or looking for new inspiration for roleplaying games, comics are a great source that should not be overlooked! Don’t hesitate to visit your LCS and ask what they recommend in the way of indie comics that will both provide you with reading pleasure and inspiration for the type of roleplaying games you like to run.

Cover images Credit: Comixology.com

~ Modoc

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