Oni Press is in Sand Diego this week to talk about all the comics and graphic novels they have in the “coming soon” pile, but one title they’ll be talking a lot about is already out — Epitaphs from the Abyss, part of the EC Comics revival.
According to the publisher, Epitaphs is their “biggest Direct Market launch in a decade,” and with its success comes three pieces of news related to their EC Comics plans.
First, the planned five-issue miniseries has now been extended to 12 issues, taking the horror anthology into next summer. Oni also announced two new EC titles that will come out in December and January.
“With Epitaphs from the Abyss #1 now on store shelves, it’s safe to say the full-blooded return of EC Comics to store shelves worldwide has exceeded even our own aggressive expectations to become Oni Press’ biggest Direct Market launch in a decade,” said Hunter Gorinson, Oni Press president and publisher. “We owe a huge debt of thanks to the fans, creators and retailers who have supported this righteous resurrection for one of the most iconic and influential publishing houses in the history of the comics medium. It also means the second phase of our ambitious plans to strengthen the scope of our EC publishing program can now be revealed – beginning with a surprise expansion for Epitaphs from the Abyss and continuing into two new releases: this winter’s holiday-themed Shiver Suspenstories special and EC’s first-ever excursion in dark fantasy, Cruel Kingdom, beginning in January!”
Oni shared Lee Bermejo’s cover for Epitaphs #4, which comes out in October, and noted that Bermejo would continue to create covers for all 12 issues. Upcoming issues of the anthology will feature stories by Charlie Adlard, Corinna Bechko, Matt Bors, Chris Condon, Matt Kindt, Matthew Rosenberg, Mark Russell, Tim Seeley, Jay Stephens, Joanne Starer, Alexandre Tenfengki and more.
Shiver Suspenstories is a one-shot holiday special featuring a fun cover by Darick Robertson. Merry Christmas, kids! It’ll feature a mix of genres, including horror, science-fiction and frontline combat, by creators like Jason Aaron, Ben H. Winters (who works on TV’s Tracker), David Lapham, Kano and more – “plus a newly remastered and authentically restored holiday classic from the EC vaults.” It’ll contain 56 pages of comics and come out in December.
January sees the debut of another five-issue miniseries that will follow the science fiction anthology Cruel Universe (which is set to debut next month). Cruel Kingdom will contain dark fantasy stories by Cullen Bunn, Al Ewing, Justin Jordan, Leomacs, Chris Condon, Dennis Culver and more, as they conjure “tales of magic, myth and murder from forbidden realms long before our own.” Adam Pollina did the cover.
Expect some more details on all these projects to come out of the “EC Comics Lives Again at Oni Press” panel in San Diego on Friday.
“The expansion of the twisted EC Comics universe is a sight to behold with Oni at the helm! As we proudly further our dark endeavors with more issues of Epitaphs from the Abyss, we’re ready to enter a new mystical, magical, and malevolent realm with Cruel Kingdom,” said Corey Mifsud, Executive Director of William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. “Brace yourselves — there’s a lot more EC to come!”