Comics to Read While Your Favorite Shows are on Hiatus

The wait between television seasons can feel like an eternity, even with the wealth of streaming options we have these days. If a show drops all of its episodes at once, are you going to sit and savor them or watch them all in one epic marathon? (Either way, we won’t judge.)

Gone are the days of waiting for week-to-week releases. But once your favorite shows secure that coveted season renewal, there’s still the gap between that cliffhanger finale and the next premiere. If you’re looking to refresh your hiatus habits, why not skip the rewatch and check out a comic book that nicely complements the genre and narrative of the biggest streaming hits?

These independent comic releases are totally bingeworthy and make a great new obsession to ease the gap while you wait for the next seasons of Stranger Things, Good Omens, Cobra Kai, and more to return to your screens. We’ve curated a list of lesser-known books that match tone, genre, or the general plot elements for hit shows that we think you’re sure to love. And the best part is, these books all have collected volumes so you don’t have to sit around and wonder when the next chapter will be available.

Here are seven stellar comic books to read while your favorite streaming shows are on hiatus.

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Hungry for More Yellowjackets? Try The Nice House on the Lake (DC Black Label)

Cannibal teens with cabin fever and stomach-churning horror — there’s really nothing else out there like Yellowjackets on television currently. The Showtime smash-hit has officially been renewed for a third season, but fans will have a ways to wait before we get back to the wilderness. Deadline reports that the soonest we could see season 3 is 2025. A “bonus episode” that bridges the gap between the fiery season 2 finale and the start of season 3 is on its way, but if you’re hungry for more right now, check out The Nice House on the Lake from DC’s Black Label imprint.

This comic book series captures the looming dread and survival instincts of the television show’s 1996 timeline and blends it with the interpersonal intrigue and mystery of the 2021 adult timeline. The Nice House on the Lake shows what happens when 12 unique individuals arrive for a week’s vacation at a gorgeous lake house after being invited by their one mutual friend, a mysterious man named Walter. However, when they are told they can’t ever leave the property because the actual fire-and-brimstone apocalypse has begun just outside, the vacationers learn they don’t really know their friend as well as they thought they did. What’s more, the grounds of the retreat are covered in mysterious symbols and areas Walter forbids them to explore. How far are they willing to go for the truth of their situation?

With a chilling script by James Tynion IV and truly unsettling artwork by Álvaro Martínez Bueno, this horror comic should satisfy your appetite before the girls from Wiskayok return to our televisions.

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Missing Cobra Kai? Try Eight Limbs (Humanoids)

The wait for Cobra Kai season 6 (the final season) has really been showing fans no mercy! This revival of the Karate Kid universe took YouTube Originals by storm before changing dojos to Netflix. Combining the past generation of heroes and villains with a charismatic new cast of students ready to learn the tenets of Miyagi-do and Cobra Kai karate proved a winning formula for the franchise. While viewers are eager to see the martial arts series’ final bow, we want to recommend the graphic novel Eight Limbs for sports drama fans in the meantime.

Written by Stephanie Phillips (who pens another entry on this list) and illustrated by Giulia Lalli, this story centers on the world of competitive Muay Thai. When Joanna, a former champion who lost it all, takes a troubled girl under her wing, she suddenly faces an even bigger challenge than the one that ended her career. Especially because they’re so similar — down to their love of the fight. It’s equal parts LaRusso and Lawrence (for Cobra Kai fans) and features plenty of heart both on and off the mat. It’s a sporty slice of life/drama that will have fans ready for a rematch with this fabulous creative team any time.

Eight Limbs is available now from Humanoids, giving fans a complete narrative experience to enjoy while the Cobra Kai cast prepares for their ultimate outing on Netflix.

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Waiting on Only Murders in the Building? Try Know Your Station (Boom Studios)

The comedy mystery genre has been around for ages — just ask the suspects of Clue. With Only Murders in the Building, fans of true crime got a look at what it would be like if they were the heroes of a story, using all their podcast knowledge to get involved in suspicious shenanigans. It has been renewed for a fourth season on Hulu, but we still don’t know when that will release just yet. While high society and high rises are always a perfect place for murderous intrigue, Know Your Station ups the ante with serial killings in a luxury space sanctuary.

This airlocked-room mystery begins when the world’s wealthiest people abandon the Earth, ravaged by climate change, to board a private space station. However, someone aboard has a bone to pick with the 1%, and a series of gruesome murders have custodian Elise running around trying to discover who onboard has a hidden agenda. She has the help of the ship’s AI, a curious dry wit named St. Brigid, but the problem is more and more signs begin to point to Elise as the prime suspect. A recreational user of a drug called Blue, which causes her to forget swathes of time, she has no alibi when the bodies start to pile up. Know Your Station is a witty sci-fi/noir satire that comments on the effects of unchecked capitalist consumption, climate change, and social hierarchy — with a dash of AI ethics to boot.

The series is written by Sarah Gailey, who also penned the breakout social horror hit Eat the Rich, and is illustrated by Liana Kangas, with colors by Rebecca Nalty. Kangas’ expressive lineart and Nalty’s colors enhance the clever script, especially as each chapter boasts a more gruesome murder — from flayed skin to bisected bodies.

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Love What We Do in the Shadows? Try The All-Nighter (Dark Horse Comics/Comixology)

What We Do in the Shadows proved that even after all these years, vampires still have plenty of bite! This hit comedy is coming back for its sixth and final season on FX sometime soon, though an official release date has not been given. While fans will definitely miss seeing these immortal bloodsuckers on our screens, The All-Nighter is an original vampire series that also provides a unique take on the beloved monsters and the concept of found family.

Set in an all-American diner, this series blends the super hero and supernatural genres together as a small group of vampires work the night shift in order to blend into society. However, one ambitious bloodsucker has dreams of using his abilities to become a caped crusader and protect the innocent from what goes bump in the night. While less outright slapstick than What We Do in the Shadows, the story has an engaging cast of characters, playing on the idea that a family of vampires can all come from different eras and ages. Plus, other monsters exist in the world, adding layered drama and creature feature dynamics that supernatural fiction fans will love.

Written by Chip Zdarsky and illustrated by Jason Loo and Paris Alleyne, the final collection will release in November 2024. But until then, fans have two collected volumes to sink their teeth into while waiting for a WWDITS finale date.

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Eager for Stranger Things? Try DIE (Image Comics)

The pop culture juggernaut Stranger Things has been building to an epic finale, coming soon in the form of season 5 on Netflix. And while spinoffs and stage productions have been helping to fill the gap of time before the big showdown, fans might still be left craving more media like the horror in Hawkins. For those who proudly rock their Hellfire Club merch, there’s the goth gaming adventure DIE.

Named for the so-called “math rocks” present in so many tabletop RPGs, DIE blends the dark and terrifying aura of the Upside Down with the physics-bending playstyle of Jumanji. When a group of teens sit down to play an original TTRPG created by their friend, they find themselves sucked into the game world. They disappear from reality and return two years later, traumatized, missing limbs, and unable to speak about what just happened. The series picks up with them as adults 25 years after their return, all split apart and moved on from their shared hellish journey — until they are all summoned back to finish the game. The diverse cast of characters is fascinating, as they are forced to reconnect with the avatars they made when they were much younger and much more carefree. It’s grim, gorgeous, and occasionally gory, satisfying the gamer’s urge for epic storytelling with world-ending consequences.

Written by Kieron Gillen and illustrated by Stephanie Hans, the 20-issue series (see what they did there?) even has its own set of functional RPG rules. Thanks to a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign, fans can continue the world of DIE in their own homes (just like Stranger Things teamed with Dungeons & Dragons for maximum nostalgic crossover).

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Impatiently awaiting Good Omens? Try Grim (Boom Studios)

The ineffable immortals come to an inevitable end. Good Omens, based on Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchet’s apocalyptic comedy about the coming of the Antichrist, covered the entire novel in its first season. (A sequel novel was plotted but never penned before Pratchet’s passing in 2015.) But fans clamored for more, and following its course-charting second season, the series has been officially renewed for a third and final outing with Prime Video, coming soon. While all good things must come to an end, stories of angels, devils, and the afterlife are about as eternal as the ideas themselves — and those eager for more should turn their attention to Grim.

This afterlife adventure series from Boom Studios follows Jessica Harrow, a Reaper who must ferry souls to their eternal reward (or punishment). The only thing is, she can’t recall how she died and has no memories of her life before. To make matters worse, Death — the head honcho of the underworld — has disappeared. Jessica teams with her fellow Reapers to uncover her own mysterious demise and try to stop the battle brewing in the afterlife as other forces seek to fill the power vacuum left by the Grim Reaper’s absence. The series has had three collected volumes of 5 issues each, and will likely continue after a brief hiatus. After all, the end of the world is about to begin! The vibrant cast of characters is also a delight to follow, with Reapers from different eras of human history all connecting in the afterlife, each with their own tragic backstory.

Grim is written by Stephanie Phillips, illustrated by Flaviano, and colored by Rico Renzi. Fans have also been encouraged to create their own “Grim-sonas” and design Reaper characters to share on social media, if you’re looking for more ways to fill the Aziraphale-and-Crowley-shaped hole in your heart.

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Looking for more like The Last of Us? Try Human Remains (Vault Comics)

There have been many takes on the apocalypse genre, especially when it comes to zombies. The Last of Us took the natural concept of the cordyceps fungus and evolved it into a nightmarish but emotionally compelling narrative about the fall of society and what came next. With TLOU season 2 casting news underway for the highly anticipated sophomore outing via streaming service HBO Max, fans won’t have to wait forever for the next chapter. But those eager for even more creative takes on deadly contagion shouldn’t overlook Human Remains from Vault Comics.

This indie series shows humanity fighting a new plague in the form of extradimensional aliens that can smell intense emotions. From the joy of a wedding to the frustration of road rage, if anyone shows heightened emotion in public, the aliens arrive and cause indiscriminate carnage until the source is quelled. Of course, their arrival usually intensifies feelings of fear and dread, creating even more of a problem. The remnants of humanity have to repress themselves while trying to find ways to maintain connection with the world. Just like the Clicker zombies being attracted to sound, these aliens force survivors to keep composed in the face of abject horror.

Human Remains was written by Peter Milligan, illustrated by Sally Cantirino, colored by Dearbhla Kelly, and lettered by Andworld Design, and the full collection of 8 issues is available now. It released during the height of the pandemic lockdowns, providing a timely look at isolation and emotion that disaster flick fans should enjoy.

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With so many amazing streaming and reading options, this list (which works both ways) should provide geeks with plenty of exciting options for bridging the gap between seasons. Which of these stories are you already familiar with?

Join the conversation with other pop culture fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!