Horror YouTuber MRBALLEN takes to comics for an anthology filled with new dark stories

The internet has been a good friend to horror. Whether this is a positive or a negative is a matter of perspective. Horror storytelling has acquired a disturbing new dimension online because of how loose truth and fiction have become in it. The rise of Creepypastas, for instance, infused the genre with a sense of plausibility that made stories come across as true accounts of the weird that always seemed to happen to the friend of a friend a town over. The same goes for YouTubers that focused on exploring myths and urban legends, most of them supposedly based on “true” events, that featured either well-known cryptids (like the Mothman) or new UFO sightings and abductions.

One of the biggest names to have come out of this shift in mystery and horror storytelling is MrBallen (real name John Allen), a giant in the paranormal community that has millions of followers and millions of views per video. He specializes in strange phenomena, ranging from the unexplained screaming heard in parts of the Nahanni Valley to the Kandahar Giant found in Afghanistan, and even to his own brushes with the paranormal.

With the help of writer Robert Venditti and artist Andrea Mutti, MrBallen is bringing his brand of story to comics in an anthology titled MrBallen Presents: Strange, Dark, and Mysterious. The book will feature new stories that should appeal to both fans of the YouTube channel and newcomers alike.

The book will available October 1, 2024.

Mutti’s art is reason enough to get excited. He already possesses an impressive catalogue of horror comics done in collaboration with the likes of Cullen Bunn, Chris Roberson, and Elliot Kalan. His soft, watercolor-styled visuals carry a very grounded sense of reality that shocks whenever something violent breaks through it. He illustrates horror and violence as something that disturbs order, so he portrays it with the necessary force. It fits well with the tone MrBallen goes for.

Below you’ll find an exclusive excerpt from MrBallen Presents. The book is arriving just in time for Halloween, which is more than a great excuse to dive into a collection of strange, dark, and mysterious stories that’ll leave you questioning whether the screams you heard coming from the basement are imagined or actually real.