UPDATED! First Look Inside Oni's Exciting EC Comics Revival 3 3

[Ryan.]

Oni was never going to have the capital to pay the most top tier artists for this. The art is serviceable and the stories will likely focus more on mood, atmosphere and twist endings. Wally Wood ain't walking through the door.

[SpineTic]

• EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 | July 2024 

• CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 | August 2024

• EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2 | August 2024 

• CRUEL UNIVERSE #2 | September 2024 

• EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #3 | September 2024 

• CRUEL UNIVERSE #3 | October 2024 

 

EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1

WRITTEN BY BRIAN AZZARELLO, CHRIS CONDON, J. HOLTHAM & STEPHANIE PHILLIPS

ART BY JORGE FORNES, PHIL HESTER, PETER KRAUSE & VLAD LEGOSTAEV

COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO

COVER B BY ANDREA SORRENTINO WITH DAVE STEWART

EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY JAY STEPHENS

B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:50) BY RIAN HUGHES

HORROR HOST VARIANT (1:100) BY DUSTIN WEAVER

FOIL COVER (GOLD) BY LEE BERMEJO

FOIL COVER (SILVER) BY ANDREA SORRENTINO WITH DAVE STEWART

BLANK COVER ALSO AVAILABLE

ON SALE JULY 24TH | $4.99 (STANDARD) | $7.99 (FOIL) | 40 PGS | FC

IOC: 05/30/2024

FOC: 07/01/2024

 

CRUEL UNIVERSE #1

WRITTEN BY TO BE REVEALED!

ART BY TO BE REVEALED!

COVER A BY GREG SMALLWOOD

COVER B BY J.H. WILLIAMS III

EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY JAY STEPHENS

B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:50) BY J.H. WILLIAMS III

TOP-SECRET VARIANT (1:100) BY TO BE REVEALED!

FOIL COVER (SILVER) BY GREG SMALLWOOD

FOIL COVER (GOLD) BY J.H. WILLIAMS III

BLANK COVER ALSO AVAILABLE

ON SALE AUGUST 7TH | $4.99 (STANDARD) | $7.99 (FOIL) | 40 PGS | FC

IOC: 06/27/2024

FOC: 07/15/2024

Edited June 1 by SpineTic

[Robot Man]

Modern comics seem to have very little if any dialogue or story. Nothing like comics from the past. I actually learned to read from comics. It took a little time and effort to fully enjoy them. Folks today are lazy and in such a hurry. Modern comics reflect this. I have always felt that a good story line was equally important along with the art.

Original ECs delivered both. These do not. 

[Ryan.]

Have they released any preview pages with dialogue inserted yet? 

[Jayman]

On 6/1/2024 at 10:53 AM, Robot Man said:

Modern comics reflect this. I have always felt that a good story line was equally important along with the art.

Original ECs delivered both. These do not. 

I tend to agree but the ancient pull of the collector in me will urge me to pick these up to sample them. I will at least give them the chance to impress me. 

[Robot Man]

On 6/1/2024 at 8:51 AM, Jayman said:

I tend to agree but the ancient pull of the collector in me will urge me to pick these up to sample them. I will at least give them the chance to impress me. 

Fair enough. I will give them a thumb through on the rack. But at this point, spending 4 or 5 bucks on another comic to simply store, seems a little crazy to me. 

[SpineTic]

PORTLAND, OR (May 16th, 2024 ) – THIS SUMMER, THE MOST NOTORIOUS NAME IN TERROR IS BACK FROM THE GRAVE . . . AND FUELED BY VENGEANCE! Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to announce EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2 – the second shock-fueled installment of the all-new horror series resurrecting the eternal legacy of EC Comics with brand-new tales of terror and torment from the most depraved talents comics has to offer!  

 

On August 21st, EC Comics proudly presents another epitaph that’s good until the last balloon pops! In our next terrifying festival of fright from the most infamous and influential comic book publisher of all time, prepare yourself for three ALL-NEW tales of depraved intention and traumatic tension in the immortal EC tradition—culled from the fingertips of death-addled writers Jason Aaron (Thor, Southern Bastards), Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), and writer/artist Tyler Crook (Harrow County), and forever wedded to the bloodstained brushstrokes of artists Klaus Janson (The Dark Knight Returns, Daredevil) and Jorge Fornes (Rorschach, Danger Street)! 

 

THREE UNRELENTING NAIL-BITERS FROM FIVE MASTERS OF THE COMICS TRADE . . . You'd have to CRAZY to miss this issue—or DEAD! 

 

“As a kid I discovered the short story format from writers like Ray Bradbury and O. Henry,” said 2024 Eisner Hall of Fame nominee Klaus Janson. “As a teen, I was introduced to EC Comics and fell in love. Now, as an adult, I get to combine the two with the help of writer Matt Kindt to make the dream of doing an EC story come true!. We push the boundaries just a bit further for a modern audience and I couldn't be happier!”

 

“Being asked to contribute a story to these new EC books is a dream come true,” said multiple Eisner Award nominee Tyler Crook, who will helm his EPITAPHS tale as both writer and artist. “Like a lot of my peers, I am obsessed with the classic EC horror stories and have learned a lot about storytelling and cartooning by pouring over old reprints. I just hope that I’ve been able to make something that is half as good as the stories that I grew up with!”

 

“What an honor to get to craft a new story in the gloriously twisted tradition of EC Comics,” said writer Jason Aaron. “My frightful little ditty is very much a tale of modern horror, starring one of today's most potent tools of misery and human suffering. But told in the same gleefully wicked style as the EC classics of yesteryear. Brace yourselves, all you freaks and fiends. EC is back.” 

 

Corrupted even further by the malign influence of cover artists Lee Bermejo (Batman: Damned, A Vicious Circleycle), Adam Pollina (X-Force, Rise of Apocalypse), Jay Stephens (Dwellings), and Rian Hughes (The Multiversity), EC Comics’ terrifying return barrels forward with fearsome velocity on August 21st, only in EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2!

 

But first . . . EC Comics enters the 21st century with a jugular-pounding, 40-page horror milestone on July 24th in EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 – featuring four self-contained exercises in adrenaline from Brian Azzarello (Batman: Damned) and Vlad Legostaev (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Chris Condon (That Texas Blood) and Peter Krause (Irredeemable), J. Holtham (Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale) and Jorge Fornés (Batman), and Stephanie Phillips (Harley Quinn, Grim) and Phil Hester (Green Arrow), and more deadly surprises — including the first glimpse of EC’s new cast of horror hosts...!

 

And then . . . Two short weeks later on August 7th, bizarre tales of time and space enter our dimensional plane on CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 – featuring 40, all-new pages of destructive wonder with cosmic implications from the irradiated imaginations of Hugo Award nominee Corinna Bechko (Invisible Republic, The Space Between), rising star Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), Eisner Award nominee Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), and Edgar Award winner Ben H. Winters (CBS’ Tracker, The Last Policeman).

 

Edited June 1 by SpineTic

[Yorick]

I like that first cover posted.  Might grab that one and see if it inspires buying more.

[Latverian Tourism Board]

Cruel Universe is a great name, imo, but Epitaphs from the Abyss is pretty clunky. I’d say drop the Epitaphs, and just call it From the Abyss. Much better horror name, imo. The interior art will improve if it takes off, I think. I’d like to see more gritty/inky styles to set the mood. Drop shadows, bugs in the background, dirty it up a bit, stuff like that. 
 

Edit to add: The covers are great so far. 

Edited June 1 by Latverian Tourism Board

[Jayman]

On 6/1/2024 at 12:25 PM, SpineTic said:

 

 

See now I like the black and white of this cover more. I didn’t even notice the skull above the rose tattoo in the colored version. 

Edited June 1 by Jayman

[Ryan.]

On 6/1/2024 at 2:37 PM, Jayman said:

See now I line the black and white of this cover more. I didn’t even notice the skull above the rose tattoo in the colored version. 

I agree, though I tend to like original line art better than the colorized versions in most cases.

[Telegan]

On 6/1/2024 at 11:25 AM, SpineTic said:

 

 

 

I had a creepy EC moment earlier today while reading this thread.  I was scrolling down and I SWEAR exactly as I scrolled down to this cover, a character on tv (Andy Griffith on the Andy Griffith Show) said "you hit the nail on the head".  I put the phone down and ran out of the house.

Edited June 1 by Telegan

[ADAMANTIUM]

On 6/1/2024 at 6:20 PM, Telegan said:

I had a creepy EC moment earlier today while reading this thread.  I was scrolling down and I SWEAR exactly as I scrolled down to this cover, a character on tv (Andy Griffith on the Andy Griffith Show) said "you hit the nail on the head".  I put the phone down and ran out of the house.

Given I watch the show too, currently, I'll join you! 

 

[Jayman]

On 6/1/2024 at 7:20 PM, Telegan said:

I had a creepy EC moment earlier today while reading this thread.  I was scrolling down and I SWEAR exactly as I scrolled down to this cover, a character on tv (Andy Griffith on the Andy Griffith Show) said "you hit the nail on the head".  I put the phone down and ran out of the house.

 

[SpineTic]

 

Edited June 2 by SpineTic

[OtherEric]

I'll be giving these a look for at least the first couple issues of each title.  The art without the text really doesn't tell me much.

[Telegan]

On 6/1/2024 at 7:15 PM, Jayman said:

 

Actual scene (see?! I wasn't lying!) :

 

 

 

Edited June 2 by Telegan

[OtherEric]

On 6/1/2024 at 5:21 PM, SpineTic said:

Where did he get 1944 as the year for the first EC?  I've got Picture Stories from the Bible New Testament #2 as the first Educational Comics indicia publisher, and Picture Stories from American History #1 as first book with the EC logo, and those were both 1945.

[Jayman]

I’m kinda liking the kid versions of the classic covers too!

[OtherEric]

On 6/1/2024 at 5:24 PM, Jayman said:

I’m kinda liking the kid versions of the classic covers too!

I'm afraid these are ratio variants, unfortunately, which is too bad because they're easily my favorites so far.