Halloween Boy Vol. 1: Last of the Halloween Boys

by Dave Baker

From Eisner Award–nominated writer and illustrator Dave Baker (Mary Tyler MooreHawk, Forest Hills Bootleg Society) comes the collected voyages of the man known only as Halloween Boy—an adventurer without a past and a combatant of the impossible.

Working as an archaeologist-for-hire, magical ghost hunter, and super-scientist explorer, Halloween Boy has a simple mission: help those who cannot help themselves. From routine artifact rescues gone wrong to helping the surviving members of an ancient religion enact a cosmic funeral dirge, Halloween Boy finds himself operating as the patron saint of the impossible. And yet, just how long can he win in this never-ending battle before things spiral out of control? When will the dark secrets of the Demon Who Lives finally rear their ugly heads? Find out in the pages of this thrilling compendium!

Halloween Boy: Last of the Halloween Boys collects issues #1–5 of Baker’s self-published Halloween Boy series for the first time in a premium collected edition!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy

Kindle Edition

Published May 26, 2026

Reviews

[Alex Sarll]

This began life as a Phantom pitch, something I suspected even before the backmatter confirmed it, what with our hero being known as 'the demon who lives' and his base being a skull cave, albeit one turned up to 11 – it's on a floating island with, as all floating islands should have (for dramatic if not practical reasons), a waterfall perpetually tumbling over the edge. Like Baker's Mary Tyler MooreHawk, with which it lightly crosses over, it's a riot of pulp invention, characters called stuff like Dirthik the Wolvensoldier, High Priestess of the Order of Infinite Voice, or Illuminatus the Unconquered. But also like MTM, the grand sieges, impossible locations and battles between weird, colossal monsters are harder to appreciate than they should be because of the terrible colouring. Which is at least gradations of dirty peach here, rather than bubblegum pink, but still robs the art of some of the immediacy it needs for this kind of OTT, action-packed project. If Baker ever finds the colourist he needs for his own books, he'll be unstoppable; until then, I might stick to reading him on collaborative projects like the lovely Punk'n Heads.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Dan]

My thanks to NetGaley and Oni Press for an advance copy of this graphic novel telling the stories of a mysterious stranger with an unknown past, who helps those that need it, gives shelter to those without, all while trying to unlock the mystery of who he is, and why he is named after a holiday.

The past makes a person. Those memories, those mistakes lessons learned, and pain always pain, help us deal with the affairs that make up life. Letting strangers into traffic on highways, helping a child lost in a mall, even helping ghosts find their way to the afterlife. We learn from the past, but what happens when the past is a mystery. When only rumours and dreams tell one about how they were raised. What happens then? Can one deal with the world, be ready for what might come. Or will one be lost, unsure of what the future holds, and uncertain in how to deal with it. Especially when one is named for a holiday, and no matter how much time passes, is always thought of being a boy. Halloween Boy Volume 1 is written and illustrated by Dave Baker and tells of an adventurer without a past, his trials and tribulations and the upcoming battle that will decide everything, even who he is.

Halloween Boy has no idea about his past. Named after making a choice that saved two lives, one his training computer said would be impossible, Halloween Boy travels the lands as a mercenary ghost hunter, archeologist and saver of people who need it. From his floating Skull Island Halloween Boy has lived many adventures, been consort to a Queen, and yet has ideas about a father he can't stop thinking about. And a nagging fear that something bad is coming.

This is a big pulpy adventure story about memory, loss, and understanding. All really well illustrated. As one reads one can see many of the influences, from names to characters and even a bit of settings. Baker admits this started as a modern telling of The Phantom, as one can see from the costume of Halloween Boy. There is a bit of Marvel influence, a bit of Mike Baron's Nexus, and more. The story is sprawling, but makes sense. The art really does a lot for the story. The characters are all unique, cute in some ways, evil in others. The backgrounds are really good, with lots of little things hidden away, and with splash pages that make one lose time in looking at them.

I loved Mary Tyler Moorehawk, and consider it one of the best graphic novels I have read in quite a few years. This is good in a different way, a pulpy story about fathers and sons, legacies and bad things. I really enjoy Baker and his work, stories that are both entertaining and touching. I really can't wait to read more by him.

[Bryan Miller]

2 1/2 stars: The pencilled artwork and layouts were, at times, brilliantly rendered; the coloring, however, every page awash in orange and browns, often muddled the action, making the story in places harder to follow. The concepts here were fun, the action and pacing near constant; however, they often felt a bit "too familiar," riffing on tropes and concepts that readers of these adventure/fantasy genres have seen before, just remixed here in ways that felt only slightly novel.

I do admire Dave Baker's "homemade" aesthetic and enjoyed the interview with him on his craft in the back of the book, but he may definitely want to reconsider the pace at which he works and splurge for a decent colorist (at least). I didn't even mind the DIY look of his un-inked pencils, as they felt fresh and engaging to me. This hardcover's overall cover design and presentation is quite delightful.

In summary, I applaud Baker's creativity and passion for the pulps et al.--it's just that, in the fervor of creation, he maybe sacrifices too much originality at the alter of his influences. Again, His penciled art, I think, is a blast, though often muddied by washes of monochromatic color that sometimes obscure the action.

[Peter]

On Goodreads right now, as I write this review, it’s sitting at 3.5 stars for this comic. I think that’s fair, for this comic fantasy adventure and quest. This wasn’t a comic that I zoomed through. For one thing it’s big, a number of small connected stories. Our hero, Halloween Boy, has a mission to save those in peril. To wage war to protect and save. But his thoughts are slightly muddled with a quest to find his father. The artwork is different, very blobby with a ‘Castle Greyskull’ hiding in there too. It certainly fills the page and there’s lots for your eyes to roam over. The story line is not a new idea, but is fun. Thank you to ONI Press and NetGalley for the Comic ARC. The views expressed are all mine, freely given.

[Marcy Lewis Glover]

***ARC from NetGalley***

Halloween Boy specializes in the impossible. He lives on a floating rock named Hades, raised by robots. He works as an archaeologist/adventurer who also rescues people and things. Over the course of the story, he saves a shapeshifter who becomes his sidekick, refugees, an engagement. His overarching problem is that he has "daddy issues," which are also resolved in this omnibus.

The story is told in tones of orange throughout almost the entire issue. The author explains that full color is not his skill set, which I appreciated. Some of the drawings are a bit difficult to make out, but that is the artistic style and just requires time to adjust to. There is also a Batman Easter egg!

[Chad]

It's pretty clear from the outset that this started off as a Phantom comic that Baker turned into his own thing when the project fell through. The afterword confirmed it. Baker needs to find a colorist or just go full black and white. His coloring to just slapped on the page as splotches of orange and purple. It really obscured the artwork. The story is all pulp, but set in space. There's some weird stuff in there, including a character that is clearly a riff on the Kool-Aid Man. There's some interesting stuff here, but it's all obscured by overly busy art and just the worst coloring I've ever seen.

[Radwa]

The lore is so interesting, even if the art style wasn't 100 percent to my taste all the time.
I loved the overall arch of our main character: halloween boy doesn't know who he is, but he knows that he has one objective and that is to cocnquer the impossible in helping people, and his goal is to know more about his family and father and his past really.

[Ashley (Red-Haired Ash Reads)]

DNF pg. 45

This isn’t really working for me. I don’t like the art style at all. It looks very incomplete and messy, especially with the color palette of just light orange, black and white. I am also not really enjoying the story of Halloween Boy so far.

*ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

[DollarBin ComicWin]

One of the most original graphic novels of late, Halloween Boy is an amalgam of genres and tropes that come together in its own unique way. The closest example may be Robin still being Robin without ever having met Batman, but to a new, galactic extreme. This is a fun, action-packed adventure, heavy with lore, and is exactly why independent creators are so vital!

[Wayne McCoy]

This pulp-inspired graphic novel follows an enigmatic, super-powered adventurer who works as an archaeologist-for-hire, ghost hunter, and super-scientist, fighting impossible monsters while untangling secrets about his own forgotten past. Is it always coherent? No. Did I enjoy reading it? Definitely yes!

[doowopapocalypse]

Enjoyable, but kind of feels stuck between stations. Does it want to be Joann Sfar or Christopher Gooch, or something more geared to younger audiences?

[John Shaw]

An odd book to be sure
A bizarre combination of
Pulp Heroes
Occult Adventurer
And Lovecraft-esque
weirdness.

I had a hard time
trying to decide
if I cared
and turns out I did not.

[Ramsey Ess]

Just finished issue 6 (in floppy form) and I loved it. A love letter to pulps, but so much more than that.

[Richard Burley]

Clever and inventive, pulp vibe-y goodness!