SCARY GODMOTHER RETURNS: Beloved Comic Comes Back to Print with All-New Stories (2024)

Get out the Jack-O-Lantern trick-or-treating buckets because Scary Godmother is returning to comic shop shelves this October. The spooky childhood classic originally published by Sirius Entertainment returns under Image Comics with all new stories from the original creator, Jill Thompson. The adored classic is popular with audiences young and old and lives on as a Halloween staple. Teaching children that Halloween is nothing to be afraid of, Scary Godmother is a comforting tale about overcoming your fears.

Centered on a scaredy-cat little girl named Hannah and the "Scary Godmother" that teaches her that Halloween frights are harmless fun, Scary Godmother serves as a child-friendly whimsical tale. The newly included stories will surely recreate the childhood wonder of the original.

Published in 1997 by Sirius Entertainment, the series is now in the hands of Image Comics, which is sure to honor what made Scary Godmother so special in the first place. The comic line has been adapted into two made-for-TV movies that are just as nostalgic as the books. Many Millennials and Gen Z kids are rekindling their love for the films through social media, and October of this year is the perfect time to drop the new collected edition.

The Scary Godmother Returns

A Childhood Classic is Returning to Shelves From Image Comics

Scary Godmother was written with cover and interiors by Jill Thompson, who has worked on titles such as Sandman and Grant Morrison's Invincible. The book was created in response to a lack of appropriate children's Halloween books. To bridge the gap between adult and child readership in comics, Scary Godmother is a hit with young and old alike, gripping audiences with a timelessly nostalgic tale that paints Halloween terror as friendly and fun. Winning two Eisner Awards for Best Title for a Younger Audience and Best Painter/Multimedia Artist and a Lulu Award, Scary Godmother has a place on every graphic novel shelf, delighting readers for decades.

Image Comics will release the new edition on Wednesday, October 2. There currently isn't much information about the newly included entries, but according to Image Comics readers can expect to "board the nostalgia bus and journey back to the Frightside to revisit Scary Godmother and her friends." Hannah, Mr. Pettibone, Bug-A-Boo, Harry the Werewolf, and others are guaranteed to make return appearances. The campy stories will honor the whimsy-goth aesthetic of the late 1990s comics, and will surely have the same charming art and storybook delivery that drew fans in the first place.

Child-Friendly Frights are Sure to Captivate Readers

Scary Godmother is an Excellent Introduction to What Goes Bump in the Night

From the early '90s Goosebumps to the modern-day Five Nights at Freddy's, children's horror has been a lucrative market for years. Kids like to be scared, but there's a stark lack of child-friendly frights for younger consumers. Enter Scary Godmother, which gives children that taste of a spooky atmosphere while being palatable for ages ranging from toddlers and up. It can be read as both a bedtime story for the Halloween season or as a nostalgic deep-dive in adulthood.

Taking concepts usually designed to scare children and using them to teach lessons about overcoming fears, Scary Godmother bridges that childhood gap between terror and enjoyment of the macabre. This is intentional. According to Thompson, "There's really nothing scary about the Scary Godmother. She's fun and macabre; reminiscent of childhood with a little bit of social commentary mixed in." Introducing children to the concept of monsters, haunted houses, and literal skeletons in the closet in a non-threatening way not intended to scare is an excellent childhood introduction to Halloween tropes.

The return of Scary Godmother marks a swift shift in focus towards nostalgia. As Milllennials and Gen Z age into nostalgia, it only makes sense for Image to republish the festive comic line this fall. Image Comics represents independent comic book creators, giving them a major platform to showcase their work while still maintaining the rights to their stories. This means that all new works included in the Scary Godmother Compendium will have that Jill Thompson touch, which is sure to give readers that same taste of joy as crisp fall leaves and pumpkin air.

Source: Image Comics