Revenge of Graphic Content: Introduction

Welcome to the freshly exhumed corpse of Graphic Content.

My experience writing so much about horror last month was a huge deal for me. It gave me a creative outlet that I greatly enjoyed, and allowed me to discover new ways to approach horror films without focusing so heavily on criticism, which can be boring to do. I would rather find something constructive to discuss than drag a work through the mud. The marathon of October’s essays also became the genesis for this larger blogging project on my end for 2025.

I don’t want to engage with horror with the rapidity in which I did in October. Writing 31 essays in as many days continually would not be good for my health. However, I want to continue engaging with the genre I love, and I think I know how to do it.

Introducing…

In 2021 and 2022, I wrote a column for Haunted MTL called “Graphic Content.” This cleverly-titled series focused on reviewing horror comics. Between the main series and the “Just Swamp Things” sub-series, I had amassed about 50 installments covering many different comics, many of them ongoing titles. I didn’t start the numbering system until several editions into the series, but it was my longest-running project on the site.

For example, here is my final regular column, and the final edition of “Just Swamp Things.” I would write about everything from new releases to ongoing explorations of titles I was a huge fan of.

Thinking about it now, I realize that I can still use Graphic Content as a title, and merge it with the exploratory and emergent writing of the 31 Days of Halloween. I wanted to explore horror, but I also wanted to keep it organized. This confluence of a new approach and an old project seemed to sew together nicely.

So allow me to introduce you all to Revenge of Graphic Content (2025).

How has Graphic Content Evolved?

The idea is that every year I will take the column and rename it, taking from different classic horror titles to keep them fresh. I will also, similar to how I am handling 31 Days of Halloween, try to collect all of the essays into a single source, perhaps as a zine or book, wherever the funhouse leads me. But ideally, you just move from one sequel column to the next, year after year.

At least, I am aiming for this column to continue that long.

I am also expanding the scope while narrowing the approach. As far as the scope, I will be covering horror on the page, screen, and speaker. Wherever my whims take me, I now have the return of Graphic Content to allow me an outlet. As for the approach being narrower, I am less concerned with the nature of reviews, though elements of them may worm their way in, but rather, continue the essay approach I took during the 31 Days of Halloween project.

I feel good about this – I want to have nice, organized boxes in which to write and eventually break. I think Revenge of Graphic Content stands a chance of being a good sequel.

And with that, when you next see this column update, I’ll be writing about Terrifier 3.

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The graphic used for the 2025 edition of the header comes from the public domain comic Adventures Into Darkness #8.

Here is a full listing of Graphic Content articles at Haunted MTL.