Epitaphs Of The Abyss Volume 1: A Modern Revival Of A Horror Classic

Written by J. Holtham, Chris Condon, Stephanie Phillips, Brian Azzarello, Matt Kindt, Tyler Crook, Jason Aaron, Jay Stephens, Corinna Bechko, and Amy Roy. Art by Jorge Fornés, Peter Krause, Phil Hester, Vlad Legostaev, Tyler Crook, Leomacs, Jonathan Case, Charlie Adlard, David Lapham, Claire Roe, and Dustin Weaver. Inked by Travis Hymel. Coloured by Dan Jackson, Michelle Madsen, Marissa Louise, Brittany Peer, Iñaki Azpiazu, and Nick Filardi. Lettered by Richard Starkings and Comicraft’s Tyler Smith. Published by Oni Press.

A preexisting property can be a powerful thing in the entertainment world. There is instant recognition for a prospective audience and creates a blueprint for creatives to work from. From there, success is often dependent on execution. It’s a regular occurrence in comics. A recent example of this is Oni Press’ revival of the legendary EC Comics, with Epitaphs of the Abyss, now collected in trade paperback, being their first offering.

How does Oni Press handle a legacy property like EC Comics? Do they coast on the name, or is there an effort to create something new? Continue reading to find out.

Epitaphs of the Abyss Volume 1 cover by Lee Bermejo.

It’s a good idea to briefly discuss EC Comics’ legacy before digging into the meat of this collection. The publisher burned brightly, only existing for 12 years between 1944 and 1956. However, the material that EC is best known for was from 1949 onwards. Under the watch of William Gaines, EC published mature anthologies on crime, horror, war, science fiction, and fantasy. These stories often had mature themes, with progressive stances against war, racism, and more, while pushing the envelope on shocking content. The introduction of the Comics Code eventually killed EC Comics, with the publisher focusing on Mad Magazine instead. However, EC’s output remained legendary over the decades thanks to reprints and homages.

Epitaphs of the Abyss follows the EC Comics formula. It’s an anthology comic, like the Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear of old. Each issue, of which this collection covers the first four, contains multiple short stories. Each issue starts with a horror host who teases, often with macabre humour, the tales entailed. No prior reading is required, with each 10-page horror yarn being self-contained, usually including an unexpected twist similar to the Twilight Zone.

However, Epitaphs of the Abyss isn’t a nostalgia trip. In the lead up to the comic lines launch, Oni Press president and publisher Hunter Gorinson and editor-in-chief Sierra Hahn talked about their philosophy to the EC Comics revival. The ethos here is less about being retro-obsessed and more about creating a modern equivalent. Essentially, what if EC Comics were still publishing today? What would those comics look like? The stories cover topics that are very much of the now. There are influencer scammers, true crime obsessed morticians, reality TV assholes, investigative journalists, mobile phone obsessed, and plenty more wrapped up in a horror package. These still have twist endings, cosmic karma, and explore themes through the vehicle of horror, but are not trying to rehash ideas of the original run.

Blood Type page by Richard Case.

There’s only one or two stories that I could pinpoint that could’ve been ideated during the original 1950s run. Blood Type, a vampire tale at sea, doesn’t capture the modern anxieties in the same way as other stories. However, you couldn’t mistake Corinna Bechko’s script for being retro-leaning, with modern pacing and dialogue. (The EC Comics often featured overly dense dialogue.) So even if conceptually it could’ve been done in the 1950s, the presentation is modern.

The same thing goes for the art. Artists are not trying to mimic EC Comics’ greats like Jack Davis, Wally Wood, or Joe Orlando. Instead, they aesthetically match the story and work in their style instead of nostalgic mimicry. They’re more aligned with a Marvel or DC comic, with many having worked with those publishers before. Others, like Tyler Crook (Harrow County) and Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), have made their names in modern horror comics.

All the stories are conceptually strong and will appeal to horror fans. However, as is the nature of anthologies, some tales will appeal more than others. I wouldn’t say there are any duds in the mix. It would come down to your personal preferences. The stories that grabbed my interest were the gripping thriller Family Values by Stephanie Phillips, Phil Hester, Travis Hymel, and Marissa Louise; the pandemic subversion of Us Vs. Us by Brian Azzarello, Vlad Legostaev, and Brittany Peer; and reality TV cryptid expedition in Dead From Exposure by Jay Stephens, David Lapham, and Nick Filardi. However, you might gravitate towards the vampire sass of Corinna Bechko and Johnathan Case’s Blood Type or the reflective zombie tale of Tyler Crook and Michelle Madsen’s Gray Green Memories instead.

Epitaphs of the Abyss contains EC Comics’ DNA throughout it. Think of it as the grandchild of the original comics, with plenty of familiar elements combined with something new, instead of being a clone. It’s a modern interpretation of the classic horror anthologies, which is bound to interest horror fans by focusing on contemporary themes and anxieties. It’s a product of the here and now that has plenty to say and unnerve readers with.

Epitaphs of the Abyss Volume 1 is available in all good comic book shops, online retailers, eBay, and Amazon/Kindle.