The horror! The horror! In his column for The Decatur (Ala.) Daily, blogger Franklin Harris provides a nice overview of the work and influence of horror writer Steve Niles:

"Although other companies, including Marvel and DC, published horror titles, most of these post-Code books were bloodless imitators or, by the late 1980s, a mix of horror and fantasy. Old-fashioned, blood-splattered horror was hard to find.

"But in 2002, everything changed. Niles released a miniseries called 30 Days of Night. At first, no one noticed. But Niles had worked some seriously potent black magic, and soon word was spreading about his comics. The first, hard-to-find issue shot up in value. (Today, copies go for about $30.) Hollywood came knocking. And like Dracula with a transfusion of virgin blood, comic-book horror was back in all of its gory glory."