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Instantly recognizable mask and costume?

Tragic backstory?

Iconic gimmick?

All of these attributes describe some of cinema’s greatest slashers, folks like Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, and, of course, Ghostface, back in cinemas in this year’s Scream.

But before Black Christmas, Italian gialli, and even Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, those were the attributes of comic book bad guys. Drawing influence from the gritty world of pulp fiction, comic books often featured costumed killers whose flair-filled approach to murder stands up to anything Chucky or Michael Myers could dish out.

So if you ever find yourself answering phone calls from Ghostface, and that particular vision wants to go deeper than asking about your favorite scary movie, here are some of comics greatest slashers. This knowledge just might save your life…

Mr. Zsasz (Batman, DC Comics)

While the Joker may hold the crown of killers in the DC Universe, Gotham City’s best pure slasher is Mr. Zsasz. A creation of writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle, Victor Zsasz made his debut in a 1992 arc of Batman: Shadow of the Bat. In his first appearances, Zsasz was a decidedly Hannibal Lector-esque figure, visible only as a mouth inside an isolation chamber. When he escaped, Zsasz revealed a body covered with scars, one for each of his victims.

Over the years, Zsasz has become one of Batman’s top antagonists. In fact, the character has made it to the big screen twice, as a minor criminal in 2005’s Batman Begins (played by Tim Booth) and as the sadistic henchman of Roman Sionis (Ewan McGregor) in Birds of Prey, Or the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, portrayed there by Chris Messina. But Zsasz works best by himself, a frightening figure always looking to scratch another scar onto his body.

Maniac Harry (Maniac of New York, Aftershock Comics)

At first glance, Maniac Harry, the titular killer in Maniac of New York, isn’t the most unique slasher on this list. With his white mask, inability to speak, and ever-present machete, Harry clearly recalls Mama Voorhees’s baby boy, Jason. From that familiar starting point, writer Elliott Kalen, artist Andrea Mutti, and letterer Taylor Esposito craft a story about inefficient government bureaucracy and our collective acceptance of avoidable evils.

The five-issue series focuses on mayoral aide Gina Greene, the sole member of the mayor’s purely ceremonial Maniac Task Force, and Zelda Pettibone, a detective who has been blacklisted for violating the NYPD’s blue veil of silence. Through the perspective of these characters, Kalan, Mutti, and Esposito bring slasher tropes into the real world, where Harry is just one more destructive force allowed to flourish by self-serving public officials and a brainwashed electorate.

Christine the Leather Slasher (Slasher, Floating World Comics)

To the average observer, data entry specialist Christine is a nondescript young woman. She works an unfulfilling job, has a strained but loving relationship with her mother, and a budding new romance. However, as Christine pursues the relationship, she discovers that only the sight of spilled blood can sexually arouse her. The revelation drives Christine to don a catsuit and travel across the country as the Leather Slasher.

Created by Igntaz Award winner Charles Forsman, Slasher views horror tropes through an indie comix lens. Forsman’s thin and nervous linework renders people as simultaneously figures of sympathy and horrifying grotesques. With its methodical pacing and simplistic coloring, Slasher is a surprisingly moving and frankly disturbing psychological drama.

Murmur (The Flash, DC Comics)

Whether it’s Barry Allen, Wally West, or even Bart Allen behind the mask, the Flash is generally considered a kind and understanding superhero. His rogues’ gallery is one of the best in comics, but Barry, Wally, and Bart treat the antagonists with respect, recognizing their fundamental humanity.

That’s not the case with Michael Armar aka Murmur. Despite his successes as a surgeon, Armar could not hush the voices in his head. When his mind finally snapped, Armar became Murmur and embarked on a mission to quiet the world. In addition to sewing his own lips shut, Murmur cuts out the tongues of his victims, allowing him to do his torturous work in sweet silence.

Deadpool (Marvel Comics)

Okay, I know Deadpool is a mercenary who sometimes acts heroically, but he earns his place on this list thanks to two recent miniseries.

In 2012’s Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe, writer Cullen Bunn, artist Dalibor Talajic, colorist Lee Loughridge, and letterer Joe Sabino give Wade Wilson’s self-awareness a nihilistic spin. Realizing that he’s in a comic book and that readers love shocking deaths, Deadpool murders all of Marvel’s heroes and villains in graphic (and, frankly, unlikely) ways. The creative team (with Goran Sudzuka inking and Miroslav Mrva taking over colors from Loughridge) returned for 2017’s appropriately-titled Deadpool Kills the Marvel Universe Again. This time, Captain America villain the Red Skull brainwashes Deadpool, making him see lighthearted hijinks as he murders members of the capes and tights crowd.

If there’s any truth to the rumors that actor Ryan Reynolds wants his next big-screen appearance as the character to be Deadpool Kills the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Deadpool may finally get the respect as a slasher that he deserves.

Bullseye (Daredevil, Marvel Comics)

A master assassin who never misses, Bullseye is more than a villainous version of Hawkeye. Bullseye takes genuine pleasure in the suffering of his victims, making him a sadist on the level of cinema’s greatest slashers. The character was a straightforward antagonist when writer Marv Wolfman and artist Bob Brown debuted the character in Daredevil #131 (1975). But during his legendary run on Daredevil, writer and artist Frank Miller reinvented Bullseye, making him something truly disturbing.

Nowhere is that clearer than in the defining issue of Miller’s run. In 1981’s Daredevil #181 (written by Miller, penciled by Miller and Klaus Janson, inked and colored by Janson, lettered by Joe Rosen), Bullseye escapes prison and exacts his revenge against Daredevil by murdering the Man Without Fear’s lover, the Greek assassin Elektra. Even before Bullseye impales Elektra on her sia, he leaves a bloody trail of bodies in his path, murdering people with everything from pistols to playing cards.

Slasherman (Random Acts of Violence, Image Comics)

More than a few observers have pointed out the misogyny of stories like Daredevil #181, in which a woman suffers in a fight between two men. In their 2010 graphic novel Random Acts of Violence, writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and artists Giancarlo Caracuzzo and Paul Mounts explore that and other aspects of violent comic books. The graphic novel, which was adapted to film in 2019, deals with the deadly aftermath of an indie comic book.

The comic book in question is Slasherman, a brutal series devoted to a killer in a welding mask who waxes poetical about art and suffering while dismembering various women. Despite concerns that writer Ezra is using the stories to vent about his ex-girlfriend, the series becomes a hit and he and his artist Todd are celebrities among the more bloody-minded members of comic fandom. After a poorly worded promotion challenges readers to design their own kills, Ezra and Todd see their creation in the flesh.

Jason, Chucky, Leatherface (Various indie comics)

Although this article opens by pitting classic movie slashers against comic book killers, the fact is that there is no truth to this dichotomy. Jason, Michael Myers, Chucky, Leatherface, and many other cinematic slashers have made the jump to comics. There’s no need to choose one medium over the other, as both are well suited to the hyper-visceral tropes of the genre.

Now, if someone would only put Ghostface into a comic…