Published May 21, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT
CBR senior staff writer Brian Cronin has been writing professionally about comic books for over fifteen years now at CBR (primarily with his “Comics Should Be Good” series of columns, including Comic Book Legends Revealed). He has written two books about comics for Penguin-Random House – Was Superman a Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed and Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? And Other Amazing Comic Book Trivia! and one book, 100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, from Triumph Books. His writing has been featured at ESPN.com, the Los Angeles Times, About.com, the Huffington Post, Vulture and Gizmodo. He features legends about entertainment and sports at his website, Legends Revealed and other pop culture features at Pop Culture References. Follow him on Twitter at @Brian_Cronin and feel free to e-mail him suggestions for stories about comic books that you'd like to see featured at brianc@cbr.com!
The following contains some spoilers for Dread the Hall H 2026 #1, on sale in July from Image Comics
After being a great success last year, Image Comics' Dread the Hall H (a title riff on Image's popular Christmas horror anthology, Dread the Halls) is back for another year of comic book convention-themed horror stories.
When it was initially announced, the book's co-creator, Jordan Hart, noted, “Each Dread the Hall H story centers on familiar convention experiences—celebrity panels, show exclusives, overnight sidewalk camping, sleep deprivation—and pushes them to absurd levels of satire and horror. From a superpowered protector of attendees called the CONcluder to a literal board game about standing in line for an exclusive, I haven’t had more fun making a comic book.”
The other co-creator, Chris Ryall, added, "It’s that special time of the year once again—convention season!—and on every page of Dread the Hall H, we once again celebrate all that makes convention culture both exhilarating and slightly terrifying. And as with every issue of Dread, we’ve got some special things planned that push the potential of this con-thology into exciting and unexpected directions.”
CBR has an exclusive preview of one of the stories in Dread the Hall H, "Live by the Sword, Buy by the Sword,” by Ryall and artist/colorist Tom Williams.
What is the solicitation for Dread the Hall H?
DREAD THE HALL H 2026 (ONE SHOT)
WRITER: Jordan Hart, Chris Ryall
ARTIST: Tom Williams, Chris Anderson, Marianna Ignazzi, Luana Vecchio, C.P. Wilson III
COVER A: Maria Wolf
COVER B: Luana Vecchio
COVER C: Jordan Hart
COVER D: Tony Fleecs
COVER E: Zach Howard
JULY 22 / 48 pages / FC / / $6.99
DREAD THE HALL H is back with your VIP pass to 48 pages of convention-related horror stories! Attending this show are CHRIS RYALL, CP WILSON III, and TOM WILLIAMS, with panel-breaking stories of the variant craze gone amok; and JORDAN HART alongside artists LUANA VECCHIO, MARIANNA IGNAZZI, and CHRIS ANDERSON, spreading con-tales, tasty custom ads, and a board game, too!
What happens in the preview pages from Dread the Hall H?
The description of this story from Image is:
The ongoing quest to create perfect convention cosplay involves more than just the outfit itself—it also requires being armed with the perfect accessories, too. Which is the mission a couple of innocent con-goers undertake in this tale by Chris Ryall and Tom Williams, not suspecting that their search is about to be derailed by a particularly murderous deranged from another story…
Chris Ryall also had some exclusive commentary for CBR about the story, "“While all the stories in Dread the Hall H stand on their own. There is a through line that links them all in some ways. And in ‘Live by the Sword, Buy by the Sword,” that line happens to be colored blood-red. Tom Williams’ cartoony art perfectly brings to life the unique quest to not only find the perfect replica weapon but also to survive a convention experience gone horrifically wrong.”
Dread the Hall H is set to be release on July 22, 2026, just in time for Comic-Con International at San Diego.
English (US) · 