Horror master and Goosebumps creator R.L. Stine just revealed that he will be writing a comic book for Marvel. His very first comic book ever in fact, which begs the question: Which one?
R.L. Stine is most famous for his series of young adult horror books Goosebumps, which range from camp silly to genuinely terrifying. While he might have made his name scaring youths, Stine definitely knows horror, and the success of his books are evidence of this.
Stine went on Reddit today to answer a few questions from his longtime fans, including whether or not he will put out an adult horror book in response to Stephen King’s first children horror book (he is, it’s called Red Rain), what kind of methods Stine uses when crafting new horror stories, and whether he has ever considered writing a comic book. The latter leaving fans speculating what series Stine could potentially be penning.
Stine working on a comic is almost perfect considering comics were what Stine read growing up. “I read mostly comics — Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, MAD. When I was nine, I discovered Ray Bradbury. Changed my life,” Stine answered when a fan asked the author what he read growing up. Clearly the comic book influence featured heavily into his later work.
While it’s unknown just how far away (or near) Stine’s comic is to release, the fact that Stine can’t reveal it yet must means that the project is still in development. For someone of Stine’s flexibility in genre, the potentials are practically limitless.
For instance, if we take this news at face value, Stine could be working on Marvel’s scarier titles like Venom, Carnage, Scarlet Witch, or even Spider-Man. If, however, Stine’s more young adult sensibilities take precedent, he could be working on any number of stories ranging from Rocket Racoon, Howard the Duck, to again, Spider-Man. Is Stine writing a Spider-Man story?
Until we get a confirmation from either Marvel or Stine, all of this is just guesswork. However, Stine working on his first comic book — and for Marvel — is great news for fans, and whatever title it ends up being ultimately, will probably be fun, spooky, and maybe even a little silly.
