Does anybody think that horror stories can work within superhero fiction?

I've read quite a few horror titles published by DC and Marvel over time. Judged on their own merits, I've enjoyed them, but I'm asking, do characters or concepts from horror titles work when they appear in superhero books. What do you all think?

Personally, I think they can and do, although I did have a debate once with someone who thinks it doesn't work. Not every concept can work, in my view. Not sure Iron Man in a horror story would work as well as, say, Batman in a horror story, but I think superheroes and horror can be a good mix.

Certainly, I've enjoyed many, such as an issue of The Brave and The Bold years ago which had a Batman/House of Mystery adventure. I can also think of some battles I'd like to see such as The Incredible Hulk VS Dracula (has this ever happened, given that Marvel published Tomb of Dracula years ago?).

I like to think horror can have a place in superhero comics. I don't know if characters like Captain America or The Flash can work as well in a horror story, but then again perhaps it's down to what writers can do.

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Having done a few myself, obviously I'd vote yes!

Tho, looking back on my own work, there have been times when I did mix-and-match stories that maybe I would not do on reflection. Having Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman appear in BLOOD OF THE DEMON, for instance. I was doing some pretty rough stuff in that title -- a lot rougher than I would have in the home books of those three characters.

It's interesting to note that Joe SImon has apparently said, on occasion, that he thought of CAPTAIN AMERICA as a horror comic right from the start, long before it turned officially into CAPTAIN AMERICA'S WEIRD TALES.

Horror is about the human condition, and for the most human superheroes, like Batman, Green Arrow, Daredevil etc. horror stories probably wouldn't clash too much (although there is the recurring problem of R-rated stories for All-ages characters).

But with superpowered heroes like Superman, horror is difficult. How do you put Superman into a corner with a monster chasing him? Give it a kryptonite necklace?

I'm sure there are writers who could pull it off somehow, but superheroes just seem out of place in horror. Marvel Zombies notwithstanding.

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The main problem with that story, which was written full script, so I was mostly just Art Robot*, is that it wasn't really a HAWKMAN story. It was a vampire story with Hawkman in it. Just about any character could have fulfilled the same role.

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* That script was a classic example of writers who do not think in pictures. In several instances I was asked to draw things that simply could not be done. Hawkman flying between a guy's legs for instance, without knocking him over! Or art directions that asked for us to see "dark rings" under Hawkgirl's eyes -- while she was still wearing her mask!!

"since he is defenseless against the supernatural"

He's not defenseless against the supernatural, he just doesn't have any special resistance to magic. He can still fry a vampire from miles away with his heat vision, fly super fast, hit monsters with super strength etc. 

If somebody throws a magic spell on him, sure it would affect him as much as anyone else, but regular people in horror stories can still defend themselves from monsters or supernatural beings and so can Superman. Only more so due to his superpowers.

In Superman's encounters with magic, the writers have to specifically compensate for his powers by somehow limiting, inhibiting or removing them in order for him to become "defenseless".

In a standard "Buffyverse" setting, for instance, Superman could clean out Sunnydale in a matter of hours. Because you'd need some serious Mojo to stop him.

Sure superheroes and horror can mix. One of the great things about the Marvel and DC universes is that they are places where all sorts of genres overlap. You could walk several miles within Marvel's New York and find yourself in a noir Daredevil story, then an FF story that's science fiction, and then a Dr. Strange horror/ mystical story.

The first superhero comic I ever encountered was a Batman vs. vampires story drawn by Gene Colan.

My first Superman story was the Action Comics issue where Superman meets the Demon (by JB), and I think that certainly counts as a horror story.

As far as which superheroes can work in a horror story, I think they all can if the story is told correctly. The real question is which heroes should more often encounter elements of horror. Dr. Strange or the Demon or even Batman might be better fits for more frequent horror-type stories, but handled properly, a hero like Captain America might be very effective in a horror story as it comes outside his usual territory (the JB/ Stern story being a perfect example).