Here's Your First Look Inside Oni's Exciting EC Comics Revival

Here's what you can expect from Cruel Universe and Epitaphs From the Abyss!

By Russ Burlingame - May 30, 2024 11:17 am EDT

Oni Press has provided ComicBook with an exclusive first look inside their upcoming revival of EC Comics, the beloved horror line that reshaped comics in the 1950s before being run out of business by the U.S. government amid a moral panic. In advance of initial orders for this summer's relentless resurrection of EC Comics – due this week for Epitaphs From the Abyss #1 in advance of the double-sized, 40-page debut's July 24th street date – Oni Press is advising retailers and comic shop customers that Epitaphs From the Abyss #1 and the first issue of its science-fiction companion title, Cruel Universe #1, will be limited to first printings only, with no second or subsequent printings to follow. Presumably, there will eventually be collected editions, but nothing has been announced yet.

In tandem with their no-reprint policy, Oni will be producing a sizable overprint for both issues in order to ensure adequate supply to meet retailer re-orders for both titles as the infamous and influential EC Comics line returns to shelves with its first new stories in nearly 70 years.

"The full-blooded revival of EC Comics at Oni Press is already registering as one of the year's biggest events for comic shops, and it's our mission to bring as many fans and readers into stores for the launch of Epitaphs From the Abyss #1 on July 24th as possible," said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. "To that end, we've been arming retailers with a battery of tools – double-sized first issues, wide-ranging returnability across our first three issues, and a raft of in-store promo materials – with even more yet to come. In the weeks ahead, we'll begin to reveal the terrors and delights that await within the pages of the Epitaphs From the Abyss and Cruel Universe, as brought to life by one of the most razor-sharp rosters of dangerously minded comics talent working in the industry today. These are high-impact comics that fully embody EC's bold and bloody legacy – miss them or forever suffer the consequences!"

Ahead of FOC, Oni also announced that it is reaffirming its previous announcement that all non-incentive A cover and B covers for the first three issues of both series – spanning Epitaphs From the Abyss #1-3 and Cruel Universe #1-3 – are returnable with no qualification for all orders placed through both Diamond Comic Distributors and Lunar Distribution.

Below, Oni and ComicBook have a look at the very first look ahead at the very first interior artwork from EC's star-studded, jugular-pumping return from a glorious cast of "all-slaughter" comics talents primed to reaffirm the power and potency of EC's trademark styles in horror and science fiction in the weeks ahead:

Epitaphs From the Abyss #1 Solicitation Text

EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1

Cover A by Lee Bermejo

On Sale July 24th

THE MOST NOTORIOUS NAME IN TERROR IS BACK – WITH A VENGEANCE! From the publisher that drove Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, and many more into the depraved hearts of an unsuspecting world, the immortal EC COMICS returns . . . with its first ALL-NEW series in nearly 70 years!

In our first extra-sized, 40-page dose of fear, witness shocking tales of torment and tension in the undying EC tradition-as wrenched from the grave by the vile intentions of acclaimed writers Brian Azzarello (Batman: Damned, 100 Bullets), Chris Condon (That Texas Blood, Night People), J. Holtham (Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale), and Stephanie Phillips (Harley Quinn, Grim) and realized into bloody reality by "all-slaughter" artists Jorge Fornes (Rorschach, Danger Street), Phil Hester (Family Tree), Peter Krause (Irredeemable), and more!

What the Comics Code Authority couldn't kill has only made it stronger . . . EC COMICS LIVES AGAIN IN EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS!

Featuring:

"INTRODUCTION" by Dustin Weaver
"US VS. US" by Brian Azzarello & Vlad Legostaev
"KILLER SPEC" by J. Holtham & Jorge Fornés
"FAMILY VALUES" by Stephanie Phillips & Phil Hester
"SENATOR, SENATOR" by Chris Condon & Peter Krause
EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 – Interior Art by Peter Krause
EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 – Interior Art by Phil Hester

Epitaphs From the Abyss #1 Cover A

Epitaphs From the Abyss #1 Cover B

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EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2

EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2

Cover A by Lee Bermejo
On Sale August 21st

EC COMICS PROUDLY PRESENTS . . . ANOTHER EPITAPH THAT'S GOOD UNTIL THE BALLOON POPS!

In this month's terrifying festival of fright: Three ALL-NEW tales of depraved intention and traumatic tension-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) and Jorge Fornes (Batman)!

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

Featuring:

"SOUNDS AND HAPTICS" by Jason Aaron & Jorge Fornes
"GRAY GREEN MEMORIES" by Tyler Crook
"PATTERN RECOGNITION" by Matt Kindt & Klaus Jaso
EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #2 – Interior Art by Tyler Crook with Michelle Madsen

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CRUEL UNIVERSE #1

CRUEL UNIVERSE #1

Cover A by Greg Smallwood
On Sale August 7th

Compelled to OBLIVION, driven to ENTROPY, all life in our cosmos can only end in one place: COMPLETE ANNIHILATION! For the first time in 70 years, the limitless fury of EC Comics rages back to life to shred the very fabric of the universe itself-and wrench bizarre tales of time and space into our dimensional plane!

Our guides across this double-sized, 40-page introduction to a cosmic maelstrom of strange extraterrestrial entities, malevolent scientists, and terrifying technological catastrophes? Learn to fear the void with the irradiated imaginations of Hugo Award nominee Corinna Bechko (Invisible Republic), rising star Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), Eisner Award nominee Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), and Edgar Award winner Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman) as they collide with the wondrously destructive visions of artists Jonathan Case (Green River Killer), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Artyom Topilin (I Hate This Place), and Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer: Reborn)!

The unpredictable return of EC Comics continues here with the quantum comics event of the millennium! Galaxies will collapse. Space-time will be distorted. And your very will to exist, too, shall be broken . . . Just remember: it's all in the name of SCIENCE!

Featuring:

"THE CHAMPION" by Matt Kindt & Kano
"SOLO SHIFT" by Corinna Bechko & Caitlin Yarsky
"DRINK UP!" by Chris Condon & Jonathan Case
"PRICELESS" by Ben H. Winters & Artyom Topilin
CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 – Interior Art by Kano