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40 Years of Scream!
NOT FOR THE NERVOUS!
Celebrating 40 years since IPC launched the UK's most iconic 'horror' anthology, this single volume collects all of the strips included in the 15-issue run of Scream!
Produced 'from the depths' of King's Reach Tower by the mysterious 'undead' editor Ghastly McNasty, the first issue of Scream! was unleashed on 24th March 1984. More tongue-in-cheek than horrific, the comic was an immediate hit with younger fans as it included a pair of fake vampire fangs attached to the cover and a number of fantastic new strips from such talents as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Jose Ortiz, Cam Kennedy, Tom Tully, Alan Grant and Eric Bradbury.
Celebrating 40 years since IPC launched the UK's most iconic 'horror' anthology, this single volume collects all of the strips included in the 15-issue run of Scream!
Produced 'from the depths' of King's Reach Tower by the mysterious 'undead' editor Ghastly McNasty, the first issue of Scream! was unleashed on 24th March 1984. More tongue-in-cheek than horrific, the comic was an immediate hit with younger fans as it included a pair of fake vampire fangs attached to the cover and a number of fantastic new strips from such talents as Alan Moore, John Wagner, Jose Ortiz, Cam Kennedy, Tom Tully, Alan Grant and Eric Bradbury.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
464 pages, Hardcover
Published May 22, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
May 23, 2024
As an 11 year old, I remember buying Scream!
I recall the gorgeous cover art and the odd panel from within. Mostly, I recall 'Terror of the Cats' for some reason.
Now, 40 years later, all 15 issues have been reissued in a gorgeous set, '40 years of Scream!'
I'm pleasantly surprised how well the stories hold up. Yes, they are mostly lightweight and occasionally conveniently plotted, but they are so much fun. A few dip into a daft humour that occasionally works. I'm sure a 9 year old might find them hilarious, yet I found the detour from the dark menace annoying. One story that does not work is 'Fiends and Neighbours'. A strip that would be better left in Whizzer and Chips, to be honest.
Tricky to pick a favourite, 'The Dracula File', 'The Thirteenth Floor', and 'Monster' were superb ongoing stories. It's a real shame that cancellation after Issue 15 meant these stories went unresolved.
'Tales From The Grave', 'Library of Death' and 'A Ghastly Tale' are more hit than miss and play out like Tales From The Crypt stories.
The real winner here is the artwork. A veritable feast for the eyes. From the lurid covers to the fine light and shadow work of Casanovas. I could flick through this book time and again picking out glorious panels to digest.
'40 years of Scream!' took this 51 year old back to his childhood home. It's Sunday morning, and I'm at the kitchen table. Simon Bates is on the radio, Mum is prepping dinner, and I'm sitting there reading the latest issue of Scream!
Might go out for a game of Kerbsies later.
I recall the gorgeous cover art and the odd panel from within. Mostly, I recall 'Terror of the Cats' for some reason.
Now, 40 years later, all 15 issues have been reissued in a gorgeous set, '40 years of Scream!'
I'm pleasantly surprised how well the stories hold up. Yes, they are mostly lightweight and occasionally conveniently plotted, but they are so much fun. A few dip into a daft humour that occasionally works. I'm sure a 9 year old might find them hilarious, yet I found the detour from the dark menace annoying. One story that does not work is 'Fiends and Neighbours'. A strip that would be better left in Whizzer and Chips, to be honest.
Tricky to pick a favourite, 'The Dracula File', 'The Thirteenth Floor', and 'Monster' were superb ongoing stories. It's a real shame that cancellation after Issue 15 meant these stories went unresolved.
'Tales From The Grave', 'Library of Death' and 'A Ghastly Tale' are more hit than miss and play out like Tales From The Crypt stories.
The real winner here is the artwork. A veritable feast for the eyes. From the lurid covers to the fine light and shadow work of Casanovas. I could flick through this book time and again picking out glorious panels to digest.
'40 years of Scream!' took this 51 year old back to his childhood home. It's Sunday morning, and I'm at the kitchen table. Simon Bates is on the radio, Mum is prepping dinner, and I'm sitting there reading the latest issue of Scream!
Might go out for a game of Kerbsies later.
May 27, 2024
If all nostalgia trips were this satisfying and warming then I would want more of them every bloody week. This collection of the far-too-few 15 issues of Scream that were published is a real treat for those who have any memory of it whatsoever, and also anyone who fancies some macabre treats for any younger members of their household. The art is often wonderful, the creativity is great, and I cannot think of any other comic property I appreciate more than The Thirteenth Floor.
Also, dammit, when will we get movie adaptations of that, as well as Terror Of The Cats, The Dracula Files, and Monster?
Also, dammit, when will we get movie adaptations of that, as well as Terror Of The Cats, The Dracula Files, and Monster?
August 26, 2024
I can tell from the reviews that a lot of UK readers remember these comics fondly. I'm sure if I had been in the UK as a child, I'd have loved it too!
As an adult, these aren't nostalgic to me since I had never read them, but overall these are still bloody good stories! (See what I did there?)
I had already read the more popular features of the series that had previously been collected (Dracula File, Monster, Thirteenth Floor) but there is a lot of material here I had never read. This was a very interesting horror comic anthology with good art and mostly solid stories. I'm glad to see it all finally collected.
If you're a fan of horror comics, you should probably check this out.
As an adult, these aren't nostalgic to me since I had never read them, but overall these are still bloody good stories! (See what I did there?)
I had already read the more popular features of the series that had previously been collected (Dracula File, Monster, Thirteenth Floor) but there is a lot of material here I had never read. This was a very interesting horror comic anthology with good art and mostly solid stories. I'm glad to see it all finally collected.
If you're a fan of horror comics, you should probably check this out.
October 22, 2024
This one is perfect for the spooky season readers!
Years ago, back in the olden days kids used to love comics, yours truly included. We had The Beano, The Dandy, Whizzer and Chips to name just a few. But if you liked your comics a bit darker there was Misty and then there was (briefly) Scream! Now Scream! was a mid 80s weekly publication featuring creepy comic strips, supernatural adventures and gruesome horror stories. And it was edited by the terrifyingly named Ghastly McNasty. Turn the pages at your peril…
But sadly Scream! didn’t last that long - just a mere fifteen issues. And then it disappeared in a puff of smoke, just living in the horror fan’s memory.
Until now that is. When the truly brilliant Treasury of British Comics have reprinted ALL of the issues and bound them together in an utterly stunning hardback cased collection. 40 years of Scream! seriously is a comic fan’s dream come
There are an abundance of spooky stories and features, including Tales from the Grave, Library of Death, Terror of the Cats and Ghastly Tales. Heck there’s even a couple of ghostly snakes and ladder style games thrown in there to play too!
If you like comics or if you like horror or ghostly stuff then you’ll love this. It’s the best coffee table book I’ve ever seen. I’m going to gaze at my copy from now til Spring.
Years ago, back in the olden days kids used to love comics, yours truly included. We had The Beano, The Dandy, Whizzer and Chips to name just a few. But if you liked your comics a bit darker there was Misty and then there was (briefly) Scream! Now Scream! was a mid 80s weekly publication featuring creepy comic strips, supernatural adventures and gruesome horror stories. And it was edited by the terrifyingly named Ghastly McNasty. Turn the pages at your peril…
But sadly Scream! didn’t last that long - just a mere fifteen issues. And then it disappeared in a puff of smoke, just living in the horror fan’s memory.
Until now that is. When the truly brilliant Treasury of British Comics have reprinted ALL of the issues and bound them together in an utterly stunning hardback cased collection. 40 years of Scream! seriously is a comic fan’s dream come
There are an abundance of spooky stories and features, including Tales from the Grave, Library of Death, Terror of the Cats and Ghastly Tales. Heck there’s even a couple of ghostly snakes and ladder style games thrown in there to play too!
If you like comics or if you like horror or ghostly stuff then you’ll love this. It’s the best coffee table book I’ve ever seen. I’m going to gaze at my copy from now til Spring.
June 13, 2024
The best comic ever.
July 29, 2024
Just a pleasure to re-read these, years after I had collected them as a kid. I miss the free plastic fangs though!
Read
October 31, 2025I've long wished that they'd just collect the entirety of 2000AD in order, but when it's been running nearly half a century, I can see the problems with doing so. Much easier to put out this single, still-hefty volume for its creepy cousin Scream!, which managed less than four months before its slightly suspicious failure to resume publication after a strike. And you can see why, even if it never provoked quite the same outrage as Action, the publishers might have been content to quietly bury it; I'm sure there were a few nightmares inspired by the marketing campaign in other comics, reproduced in back, never mind the stories themselves, which sometimes amp up common childhood fears, as when merging a dentist with the Sweeney Todd archetype of a professional killing the luckless sod in the chair.
That's one of the Tales From The Grave, a series of gruesome yarns narrated by a leprous gravedigger and clearly inspired by old British anthology horror films and minor Vincent Price outings – none of which is a criticism. And in general, it was the shorter but still serialised stuff that I enjoyed most here. OK, Terror Of The Cats was ropey, being pretty much 'what if The Birds – but cats?' Newsflash: sometimes cats just be like that anyway, and it doesn't help to add a bollocks pseudoscience explanation at the end. There's also a prime Marenghi moment at the start: "The director of that government research establishment outside town – Dr. Ulrich Kruhl. That's spelt K-R-U-H-L... Though from what I hear C-R-U-E-L would suit him better...' Not Simon Furman's finest hour, but the John Richardson art is good, and he sticks around for its replacement, The Nightcomers by Tom Tully, with two kids investigating the death of their ghost-hunter parents. This is a really effective haunted house story, but especially once Baphomet gets involved, you can see why it might have inspired nervousness up top as much as chills among young readers.
The one-off short stories, on the other hand, tend towards a level of corniness and groanworthy twists to tax the patience even of a veteran Future Shocks reader. As for gag strip Fiends & Neighbours, ye gods. It would always have been an outlier, the Addams Family or Munsters by way of the Beano, a regular suburban couple living next door to a collection of horror tropes. But it could have been a nice addition to the mix, and the notion that it's the spooky family who are generally nicer is laudable. Alas, while artist Graham Allen is clearly working in the tradition of Leo Baxendale and Ken Reid, he's somehow never remotely amusing, though the leaden Les Lilley scripts certainly don't help. "Scream with laughter again next week!", implores the next issue box at the end, its desperation almost audible.
And then there are the stories which go through the whole run, all of which have been separately collected already. I didn't bother rereading Monster; its first episode may allow the collection that frankly cheeky Alan Moore credit on the front (those four pages are his only contribution to these 460), but it remains a wearying Frankenstein/Hulk knock-off. The Dracula File, with the Count loose in shabby eighties Britain against a Cold War backdrop, retains a post-Hammer charm, but the real star is The Thirteenth Floor, a utopian fantasy of a UK where not only were tower blocks not systematically under-resourced to the extent that they became bywords for squalor – they were run by benign supercomputers, one of whom is prepared to protect his tenants by any means necessary. This was one of the strips continued in Eagle after Scream! disappeared, but it soon went tame and then silly. These first few months, though, are glorious. And for all the mixed results elsewhere, you can see why Scream! as a whole has had the fondly remembered afterlife it does.
That's one of the Tales From The Grave, a series of gruesome yarns narrated by a leprous gravedigger and clearly inspired by old British anthology horror films and minor Vincent Price outings – none of which is a criticism. And in general, it was the shorter but still serialised stuff that I enjoyed most here. OK, Terror Of The Cats was ropey, being pretty much 'what if The Birds – but cats?' Newsflash: sometimes cats just be like that anyway, and it doesn't help to add a bollocks pseudoscience explanation at the end. There's also a prime Marenghi moment at the start: "The director of that government research establishment outside town – Dr. Ulrich Kruhl. That's spelt K-R-U-H-L... Though from what I hear C-R-U-E-L would suit him better...' Not Simon Furman's finest hour, but the John Richardson art is good, and he sticks around for its replacement, The Nightcomers by Tom Tully, with two kids investigating the death of their ghost-hunter parents. This is a really effective haunted house story, but especially once Baphomet gets involved, you can see why it might have inspired nervousness up top as much as chills among young readers.
The one-off short stories, on the other hand, tend towards a level of corniness and groanworthy twists to tax the patience even of a veteran Future Shocks reader. As for gag strip Fiends & Neighbours, ye gods. It would always have been an outlier, the Addams Family or Munsters by way of the Beano, a regular suburban couple living next door to a collection of horror tropes. But it could have been a nice addition to the mix, and the notion that it's the spooky family who are generally nicer is laudable. Alas, while artist Graham Allen is clearly working in the tradition of Leo Baxendale and Ken Reid, he's somehow never remotely amusing, though the leaden Les Lilley scripts certainly don't help. "Scream with laughter again next week!", implores the next issue box at the end, its desperation almost audible.
And then there are the stories which go through the whole run, all of which have been separately collected already. I didn't bother rereading Monster; its first episode may allow the collection that frankly cheeky Alan Moore credit on the front (those four pages are his only contribution to these 460), but it remains a wearying Frankenstein/Hulk knock-off. The Dracula File, with the Count loose in shabby eighties Britain against a Cold War backdrop, retains a post-Hammer charm, but the real star is The Thirteenth Floor, a utopian fantasy of a UK where not only were tower blocks not systematically under-resourced to the extent that they became bywords for squalor – they were run by benign supercomputers, one of whom is prepared to protect his tenants by any means necessary. This was one of the strips continued in Eagle after Scream! disappeared, but it soon went tame and then silly. These first few months, though, are glorious. And for all the mixed results elsewhere, you can see why Scream! as a whole has had the fondly remembered afterlife it does.
January 13, 2025
I hadn't heard of Scream until recently, but when I found out that it was written by 2000AD alumni under pseudonyms I was completely sold on it. A very short-lived UK Childen's horror comic, which we need more of this kind of thing. For kids to explore their fears in a consensual and safe environment for them to do so.
What 2000AD was often great at in the early days was distilling some very adult concepts into things that Children could latch onto, with characters Strontium Dog, Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper in the spotlight.
Thankfully that entire magic from the early 2000AD strips is in this and it's a fantastic read from start to finish.
The only negative I would say here is that Scream has been reprinted exactly how it was, in the weekly format instead of printing via each story for easy access, but it's only a minor nitpick at this point.
What 2000AD was often great at in the early days was distilling some very adult concepts into things that Children could latch onto, with characters Strontium Dog, Judge Dredd and Rogue Trooper in the spotlight.
Thankfully that entire magic from the early 2000AD strips is in this and it's a fantastic read from start to finish.
The only negative I would say here is that Scream has been reprinted exactly how it was, in the weekly format instead of printing via each story for easy access, but it's only a minor nitpick at this point.
December 13, 2024
Read Scream as a child, can remember as an eleven year old back in 1984 going into my local newsagent and buying the first edition with its free Dracula fangs. So great to revisit them all these years later all together in a lovely looking book.
October 27, 2025
A stunning glossy paged hardback book containing all the Scream comic strips from 1984. An absolute must for any horror comic fan. I loved every single page
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews