In honor of Horror Month, artist Todd Herman sat down with us and talked about his upcoming trade paperback, Fall of Cthulhu: Nemesis, out October 28. Herman has been working in comics for years, popping up in high-profile horror projects like Cut, written by Dark Horse Comics’ publisher, Mike Richardson, and The Fog, with his fellow horror aficionado Scott Allie.

While he’s been a working cartoonist for a long time–with forays into animation at Will Vinton Studios–he has really ramped up this year with several projects with Boom! Studios, including the pirate-western Galveston and the latest chapter of the popular Fall of Cthulhu series. Watch the video below to eavesdrop on our conversation about essential elements of horror and how Herman went from a comics fan to a working artist:

Here, Todd talks about his favorite horror movies, including John Carpenter’s The Fog and Spielberg’s Poltergeist, as well as offer tips for aspiring artists:

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The Apocalypse is upon us! Since the beginning of the Fall of Cthulhu storyline, readers have been anxiously awaiting the moment when all the tale’s threads begin to tie together into the ultimate war between gods and men. As of now, they wait no longer. Let the Apocalypse begin!

These comics and graphic novels are selling out fast, so make sure to check out our entire stock of Fall of Cthulhu titles. While you’re at it, check out Fall of Cthulhu TPB Vol. 06 Nemesis, currently in pre-order at 20% off:

Michael Alan Nelson concludes his Fall of Cthulhu maxi-series with Nemesis, an epic origin story revealing the secret history behind Nyarlathotep’s favorite companion. Who is Nemesis you ask? Be prepared for the shock of your life, as BOOM!’s best-selling horror title comes to its shocking conclusion!

White you’re here, be sure to check out our other horror titles!

I mean seriously, it’s a high school movie that’s rated “R”–of course it wasn’t going to take world by storm. I was pretty impressed with Diablo Cody’s (Juno) writing, and for as much flack as Megan Fox has gotten in the media, I think this was the perfect movie for her to star in. The acting all around was great, and the movie was just, well, fun. I think this one’s destined to be one of those cult classics that just didn’t live up to expectations during its theatrical release.

Nobody’s gonna buy a $20 hardcover for the funnybook adaptation of a movie they’ve never seen. But if you’ve already seen the movie and dug it like I did, you’ll probably want to pick up Jennifer’s Body HC.

If you haven’t seen the flick yet, I’d say check out the matinee this weekend. Now through 10/9, nab Jennifer’s Body HC for the pre-order price–just $19.99!

Check out other horror books here

So what did you think of Jennifer’s Body? Think I missed the mark? Let us know below.

Boom! Studios was nice enough to give us an advanced look at three of their releases for 5/13/09 (a.k.a., this Wednesday), so I’m being nice enough to give you spoiler free reviews, right here, right now. What a nice guy I am!

The Unknown #1 – Mark Waid is such a veteran writer that he sometimes forgets we don’t have all the story experience he does, and as such a lot of his first issues recently feel, for the first half, like we the readers are playing catch-up. There’s something to be said for just throwing people into the mix, but between this and Irredeemable, I don’t think Waid is doing a casual reader any favors. By which I mean, someone who picks up this issue in the store and flips through the first half of the book will find themselves understandably confused; there’s almost no introduction of the characters, and it isn’t until the second half that things really start churning. But once they do… Oh man. I hesitate to say anything even remotely spoilery about this, but I’m a complete sucker for locked room mysteries. Add in a scifi element, and a strong female protagonist with plenty of secrets of her own, and I’m pretty much sold. I hesitate to say “only pick up the second half of this issue,” because that’s, you know, impossible. But for those who stick it out through the first half, you’ll be rewarded with a great, fun mystery, solid characters, and a story that’s like what would happen if a female Sherlock Holmes ran smack dab into an Issac Asimov novel. Oh, and that’s not even bringing into account the killer last page twist.

Unthinkable #1 – Mark Sable is a perfect fit for Boom, which makes its bread and butter on pitchable comic book ideas. Sable’s previous books could all be boiled down to easily translatable-to-movie-script ideas, and this is probably the strongest idea he’s had so far. I’m being purposely vague here, because saying almost anything could ruin the twists of the book, but essentially it’s like Basic Instinct, but for Tom Clancy, and from the author’s perspective. This will make more sense after you read the issue. Probably. What I’ve occasionally found lacking (and when I say lacking, I don’t mean “bad,” I just mean “not his strong suit”) in Sable’s writing is his dialogue/pacing, and follow-through. And while I can’t say anything about the follow-through quite yet, I will say that this issue is probably the best thing he’s written so far. There’s a ton of exposition to get through in this issue (almost a decade’s worth of character development), but it never feels like a chore to read, because the characters and scenarios are all very engagingly drawn. With all the set-up out of the way, and a last page reveal reminiscent of the end of the first issue of Ex Machina, this could turn into a fun thrill ride of a book. I’m looking forward to the second issue.

Potter’s Field Hardcover – I don’t have much to say about this, other than, if you’ve never read Potter’s Field, you’re missing out on one of the best noir comics of the past… Well, ever. This collection is well worth your $25.

Hexed is a new miniseries coming out of Boom! Studios, and from what I have heard, is going to be a major product in their lineup. Boom! Studios clearly has good taste. The art is lovely, and the plot line is intriguing enough that I want to see where it’s going. The main character is a teenage girl nicknamed Lucifer. She’s a professional thief who deals in occult items and uses magic of her own to get them.

The plot so far isn’t anything unique, but it’s more than enough to keep me interested, and all the magic stuff is well done and sometimes pretty spooky, which makes this a much nicer read. You can tell the writer, Michael Alan Nelson, already knows where he wants to go with this, and what kind of girl Lucifer is. Plot wise, I only rolled my eyes once, after the book used a really old, really worn out cliché, made worse by the writing surrounding it being pretty solid. Having a character say “I hope I didn’t forget anything,” followed by a close-up of a forgotten object hurts to read. But if that’s my biggest complaint on a new book like this, that’s pretty damn good. I was confused at first by a scene of her stripping down to her underwear and tank top to get to another dimension, but it’s a dimension where I think a set of clean dry clothes would be a good thing to have once you’re back on Earth. Her method of getting to the other dimension is particularly creepy, and made much creepier by the penciller, Emma Rios, who knew just how much detailed gore to add without it being over the top and silly looking.

Speaking of art, the art and colouring were really well done in this book. It’s colour on top of fairly rough pencils, but it’s a good style for the book, and the colourist, Cris Peter, has a great eye for contrast and lighting. The actual colouring is fairly simple, mostly cel shading and the occasional gradient, but the palette is well chosen and it works with the pencils. Lucifer has a fairly understated appearance, but it suits her character well, and I’m particularly glad that this tomboy thief doesn’t have the usual trappings of lipstick, nail polish, and D-cups. The big point I’m trying to get across is that Hexed is cool and you should buy it.