Ha ha no, Cujo is definitely not a comfort read, though I did appreciate its message. Once. Others of King's are for me, though. I think I've read The Stand every year or so for the last 30 years.

I totally agree about how good King is at character intros and bringing you into the story. It's gotten me to read so many of his books with premises that I would probably not enjoy from any other writer. There is indeed something oddly relaxing about how he does it - it's very readable and enjoyable, even when you know all hell is about to break loose. I also like that, as you say, he doesn't rush into the hell and in fact the horror or even plotty elements often don't get going for quite some time.

I'm also really impressed at how good he is at two diametrically opposed types of stories which are both very technically difficult for seemingly opposite reasons: stories with huge ensemble casts, and stories that mostly involve one character doing things alone. (For that matter, stories in tiny enclosed locations and stories with multiple locations.) It all comes down to character, story, and atmosphere. But when you look at his actual range, it's mind blowing.