Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Oni Press | Tagged: brian azzarello, ec comics

Oni Hammers Home EC Comics Returnability And Postcards

Oni Press took many by surprise announcing the "most infamous and influential" comic book publisher EC Comics would be returning for summer

Published Thu, 02 May 2024 13:27:08 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Oni Press announces the summer 2024 return of EC Comics with new horror and sci-fi titles.
Notable creators like Jason Aaron and Brian Azzarello to contribute to EC's revival.
Full returnability offered for first three issues of new EC series EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS and CRUEL UNIVERSE.
Promotional materials and pre-order postcards to hit select Diamond retailers in May.

A resurgent Oni Press took many by surprise just a few short months ago with announcement that the "most infamous and influential" comic book publisher of all time – EC Comics – would be returning for summer 2024 with a new line of horror and science fiction titles from a who's who of notable comics talent, including Jason Aaron, Brian Azzarello, Rodney Barnes, Corinna Bechko, Cullen Bunn, Christopher Cantwell, Cecil Castellucci, Chris Condon, Joshua Hale Fialkov, J. Holtham, Jeff Jensen, Matt Kindt, Sean Lewis, Stephanie Phillips, Jay Stephens, Zac Thompson, Ben H. Winters, Kano, Peter Krause, Leomacs, Malachi Ward, Dustin Weaver, and more.

Now, on the heels of this month's Diamond Previews catalog cover for the upcoming EC revamp, Oni has revealed one of the industry's most retailer-friendly returnability initiatives – indicating a heavy amount of firepower for this summer's Epitaphs from the Abyss #1 in July and Cruel Universe #1 in August – across each series' first three issues. Per Oni's PR:

Beginning with the debut of the 40-page EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 in July, the FIRST THREE ISSUES of both new EC titles will offer FULL RETURNABILITY across all A and B shelf covers with no minimums or qualifications required. Oni's latest returnability initiative will continue across the first three issues of all of Oni's new EC Comics series in 2024:

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

This May, Oni will also be sending select Diamond retailers across North America a "first wave" of EC promo materials, including "double-sided and super-sized" 24" x 36" promotional posters for Epitaphs from the Abyss #1 (featuring the cover art of Lee Bermejo and Cruel Universe #1 (featuring the cover art of Greg Smallwood) with design by Rian Hughes.

Also included in the same shipment: Shrink-wrapped bundles of 20 EC Comics "pre-order postcards," featuring hammer-wielding cover art by Adam Pollina that will allow retailers to directly sign up pull list subscribers in advance of Epitaph from the Abyss #1's July 1st FOC date:

Complete creative details for August's Cruel Universe #1 have yet to be revealed, but here is what readers can look forward to in the horror-themed launch title, Epitaphs from the Abyss #1, on sale July 24th:

"EC's relentless resurrection begins with an extra-sized, 40-page dose of fear in EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 – on sale July 24th! Beginning right here, witness shocking tales of torment and tension in the eternal 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 (Night Thrasher, Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale), and Stephanie Phillips (Harley Quinn, Grim) and realized into bloody reality by "all-slaughter" artists Jorge Fornés (Rorschach, Danger Street), Phil Hester (Family Tree), Peter Krause (Irredeemable), and Vlad Legostaev (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). What the Comics Code Authority couldn't kill has only made it stronger… EC Comics enters the 21st century with a jugular-pounding horror milestone that not only features four self-contained exercises in adrenaline from Brian Azzarello & Vlad Legostaev, Chris Condon & Peter Krause, J. Holtham & Jorge Fornés, and Stephanie Phillips & Phil Hester, and more — but also the first glimpse of EC's new cast of horror hosts…and a razor-sharp gallery of covers inspired by the eternal artistry of the EC's infernal legacy with talents including Lee Bermejo (Batman: Damned, A Vicious Circle), Andrea Sorrentino (Gideon Falls, Batman: The Imposter) with Dave Stewart (Hellboy), Jay Stephens (Dwellings), Rian Hughes (The Multiversity), and Dustin Weaver (Avengers, Paklis)."

Founded in 1944 by M.C. "Max" Gaines – widely created as the creator of the modern comic book format – EC Comics led the comic book boom of the 1950s under the leadership of Max's son, William M. Gaines, who introduced million-selling titles like Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Weird Science, Mad, Two-Fisted Tales, and more that advanced the cause of comics as artform with artists Jack Davis, Johnny Craig, Graham Ingles, Frank Frazetta and more, while also courting controversy with provocative, transgressive stories of horror, science fiction, war, and satire.

EC's penchant for provocation came to a head when the company was targeted the publication of Dr. Frederic Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent in 1954, leading to a Congressional investigation that cited comics as a leading cause of juvenile delinquency and the subsequent formation of the Comics Code Authority. EC formally ceased publication in 1956 with Gaines and company transitioning their efforts over to Mad Magazine. And the rest, as they say, was history…until now.

EC's Epitaphs from the Abyss #1 is on sale July 24th from Oni Press.

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