Published Mar 20, 2026, 2:48 PM EDT
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The modern age of horror cinema owes a great deal of credit to John Carpenter, the director of many influential classics like 1978's Halloween and The Thing from 1982. The filmmaker is now transitioning his talents from the big screen to the pages of a new comic book.
John Carpenter is coming out with his first graphic novel called Cathedral, which will be published by Storm King Comics, which was founded by his wife, film producer Sandy King. The story revolves around an abandoned, fenced-in cathedral in downtown Los Angeles that becomes a source of great interest for Lieutenant Christine Marks when she suspects that it houses a monster responsible for her father's gruesome murder. Accompanied by detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield, she enters the church and discovers the unsettling secrets of the unspeakable evils that call it home.
The idea for Cathedral came to Carpenter in a nightmare. The artist is quoted as saying, "I saw it in a dream: a nightmare landscape deep underground filled with monsters too weird and sinister to exist in daylight. I knew instantly I had to get these things out of my head and into everyone else’s brains."
King adds, "We have a saying at Storm King, 'Every dream should be a nightmare.' By reading Cathedral, you can take John's dream and let it become your next nightmare."
In addition to writing Cathedral, Carpenter is also working on a soundtrack album to accompany the release. The filmmaker has been known to compose the music for most of his filmography, except Ennio Morricone's score for The Thing and Jack Nitzsche's work for his 1984 sci-fi romance, Starman.
Carpenter and King are joined by Sean Sobczak as co-writers on the project, which features artwork by Federico De Luca of Mindbender fame and Luis Guaragna, who has contributed to the current iteration of Heavy Metal. Sobczak actually worked as an assistant on the set of some of Carpenter's films, namely Village of the Damned and Ghosts of Mars, before collaborating with him and King on other comics.
John Carpenter Has A Previous History With Horror Comics
Image via Storm King ComicsCathedral may be the first graphic novel to come directly from John Carpenter's imagination, but it is not his first contribution to the comic book medium. In fact, he has put his name above the titles of many notable series.
Since 2015, Storm King Comics has been releasing John Carpenter's Tales for a HalloweeNight, an annual horror anthology comic that features at least one chilling story straight from the artist's chilling imagination. The graphic novel series is similar to John Carpenter's Tales of Science Fiction, which is a monthly release specializing in more bizarre and otherworldly curiosities.
Carpenter and Sandy King have published several other creepy, anthological titles through Storm King Comics, such as Dark & Twisted, Night Terrors, and, for younger readers, Storm Kids, as well as an ongoing, episodic series called Asylum. Carpenter also worked with Dark Horse Comics to release a tie-in prequel to his 2026 video game, Toxic Commando.
Of course, many of John Carpenter's classic films have also been adapted into comics, such as the overlooked The Thing sequel comic, The Thing from Another World, from 1991. There are also illustrated continuations for 1981's dystopian action thriller, Escape from New York, and his 1986 fantasy comedy, Big Trouble in Little China, which would also spawn a crossover featuring Kurt Russell's iconic characters from each, Snake Plissken and Jack Burton.
As for the state of Carpenter's career behind the camera, he has not directed a feature film since 2010's The Ward, but did direct an episode of his true crime miniseries, Suburban Nightmares. He has also recently toured as a musical performer and continues to compose scores for films like David Gordon Green's Halloween trilogy and an upcoming animated film by Bong Joon-ho.
Cathedral will haunt bookstores and online retailers on Aug. 4, 2026, and hit the shelves in comic book shops on Aug. 5, 2026.
English (US) · 