If you're wondering what James Tynion IV is scared of, look to his comics

Popverse's top stories of the day

• Downton Abbey walked so that Bridgerton could f***
• WATCH: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 trailer unpacked and explained by Popverse's resident Tolkien expert
• Here's how (and when) to get New York Comic Con 2024 tickets... and how to get them early

What horrifies a horror writer? Especially one who writes all types of different kinds of horror comics with titles including Something is Killing the Children, The Nice House on the Lake, and The Deviant? During C2E2 2024, this question was well discussed when James Tynion IV took the stage to chat all things horror alongside colleagues and collaborators Soo Lee, Sam Johns, Tate Brombal, Fernando Blanco, Martin Simmonds, Joshua Hixson, and moderator Jazzlyn Stone.

The very first question that Stone asked the panel was: What are you afraid of? This is what Tynion had to say: “All of my writing comes from the things that terrify me the most. That all comes across in the body of my work. You can see throughlines. Theres a fear of where we are as a society. There are systems that were designed to protect us that aren’t working.”

Related: Upcoming horror movies: Where and when to watch werewolves, vampires, and assorted monsters, oh my!

He later added, “Me exploring each and every one of those fears is what drives me to work on the comics that I work on with these lovely people,” gesturing at the panel.

As for the first terrifying moment when it comes to film, Tynion chose one that resonated a lot with this writer, "The most terrifying movie in Steven Spielberg's repertoire, which is E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," Tynion said. “When Eliot runs into E.T. in the cornfield and screams… the scream itself is was one of the most unsettling, unhuman noises ever put on film. I would just start sobbing, it was like every single time it happened.”

Best of the scariest: The top 10 horror movies of all time