Long ago, in the pre-Wertham days, horror was one of the most popular genres in comics, and EC ruled the newsstand. It never really went away, of course, but DC Comics and Joe Hill are trying to push it back to the top with their Hill House Comics imprint. It’s fitting that the week of Halloween to launches the imprint with Basketful of Heads #1.

After a bizarre prologue where the titular heads argue about their new living arrangement, the book takes us to 1983 in a small town in (where else) Maine. A young couple--he a police officer in training, she a psychology major--are enjoying the last days of summer. They’re interrupted by urgent police business; four convicts have escaped a prisoner transport and are at large. Also, the police chief has a glowing ax in his house for some reason. That’s about all that happens in this first issue, but don’t let that fool you--it’s an excellent setup for horror to come.

The book is written by Joe Hill, the accomplished horror novelist, and writer of the acclaimed horror comic Locke and Key (Hill also happens to be the son of horror maestro Stephen King). As always, Hill has a knack for creating well-rounded, three-dimensional characters in relatively little time, and for building a sense of dread mixed with humor that keeps the pages turning.

The art by Leomacs does a great job as well, with unique faces full of character and thrilling page compositions. The final page of the comic does an especially good job of evoking the lurid poses and chilling suspense of the EC era. Leomacs’ art is colored by Dave Stewart, who smartly eschews overly-sculpted three-dimensional coloring for an old-fashioned flat-toned sensibility. Letterer Deron Bennett does great work conveying character and building tension, as well.

It’s too soon to say if DC’s new Hill House label will be a hit, let alone if it will bring horror comics back to their pre-code days. Basketful of Heads #1 is an auspicious start, however, and is highly recommended.

Grade: A+