Man, I’ve been waiting for this news. Michael Dougherty’s horror anthology film Trick ‘R Treat has become a staple of the holiday and has achieved cult status since its release in 2007. And now, Legendary Pictures has announced that a Trick ‘R Treat graphic novel will be released this October in order to bridge the gap between the first film and its upcoming sequel.
With this news, Dougherty promises to bring us back into the world of Sam and his Halloween haunts with 4 all-new tales of terror spinning out of the world of this scary classic. While the sequel, which was announced in late 2013, has yet to receive an official release date, this book shows us that the gears are still in motion and further announcements may be sooner than we’d think for Trick ‘R Treat 2. On the graphic novel, Dougherty takes on story duties along with Zach Shields and Todd Casey, while the book itself will be written by comic book veteran, Marc Andreyko. The art supplied for the book will be by Fiona Staples (of Image Comics’ Saga fame), along with Stuart Sayger, Stephen Byrne, and Zid.
Alongside Trick ‘R Treat, Dougherty and Co. are also exploring the Christmas horror icon “the Krampus” with the appropriately named film Krampus, which is currently in production with Dougherty directing. In addition to the Trick ‘R Treat graphic novel, Legendary is also releasing a Krampus graphic novel this November.
The Krampus graphic novel promises to further delve into the creature who steals children from their beds, places them into a basket, and beats them with reeds (in the original tales of course). The Krampus certainly doesn’t have the pull and “brand recognition” that Santa Claus does, but it’s a pretty creepy concept all the same. The original story team from Trick ‘R Treat returns for this one, with writer Brandon Seifert taking on the writing duties for the graphic novel, and art supplied by Michael Montenat, Stuart Sayger, Maan House, and Christian DiBari.
Look for these tales of Holiday Horror to drop in October and November of this year, respectively. Read Dougherty’s thoughts on the matter below:
"I've been having way too much fun working with Legendary and the rest of my team bringing the ancient legend of Krampus to the big screen, and I look forward to expanding the film's dark Christmas mythology onto the comic page. And hopefully the fans who've been patiently waiting for Trick ‘R Treat 2 will enjoy this deeper peek into Sam's world until he finally rises from the pumpkin patch once more. Happy Holidays.”
