Helter Swelter! EC COMICS Unleashes THE SUMMER OF FEAR with BLOOD TYPE #1, CATACOMB OF TORMENT #1, and CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1 – Beginning in June!
Oni's Blockbuster EC Comics Line Induces Adverse Reactions with Three Pleasurably Punishing New Series Featuring Award-Winning Creators Corinna Bechko, Matt Kindt, Ann Nocenti, Andrea Sorrentino, Greg Smallwood & Many More Across Summer 2025
PORTLAND, OR (April 15th, 2025) – EC COMICS WOULD LIKE TO REMIND YOU: IN THIS UNIVERSE... THE TERROR NEVER, EVER STOPS! Oni Press – the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997 – and William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. are proud to unveil the next chapter in EC Comics' blockbuster resurrection with THE SUMMER OF FEAR! Out of the ashes of the best-selling series EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS and CRUEL UNIVERSE, an all-new, all-undead legion of crypt-loving, EC classics-in-the-making will begin their rise monthly across summer 2025 in the pages of June's BLOOD TYPE #1 by Hugo Award nominee Corinna Bechko and Eisner Award winner Andrea Sorrentino; July's CATACOMB OF TORMENT #1 by John Arcudi, Marguerite Bennett, Dan McDaid, Matt Kindt, David Lapham & more, and August's CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1 by J. Holtham, Kano, Ann Nocenti, David Rubín, Greg Smallwood, and more!
"Our EC Comics line is not only the best-selling line of comics in Oni's near-30-year history, they're also an insanely fun thing to work on," said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. "So, after exceeding our own already-high expectations with EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS, CRUEL UNIVERSE, and CRUEL KINGDOM last year, we're challenging ourselves to get bolder and bigger – and bloodier! – on all fronts as EC enters the second year of its milestone resurrection."
"Working on EC for the last year has been incredibly inspiring for everyone working on the series – from the team at Oni to our partners building these bite-sized worlds at each level of production," said Oni Press Editor in Chief Sierra Hahn. "It's a real joy to continue bringing these entertaining morality tales to life with the best storytellers in the business. This summer's slate of comics is no exception."
BLOOD TYPE #0 FCBD SPECIAL COVER ART BY TYLER CROOK
The temperature begins to rise on Free Comic Book Day as Oni Press and EC Comics send the BLOOD TYPE #0 FCBD SPECIAL storming into participating comic shops everywhere on May 3rd, 2025! Relive the most terrifying moments of EC’s first year back from the grave – and prepare for the SUMMER OF FEAR yet to come – as Oni’s must-read Free Comic Book Day release re-presents the short story from EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #3 that set BLOOD TYPE in motion, alongside other blood-spattered tales from CRUEL UNIVERSE and CRUEL KINGDOM!
Then: Prepare to swelter...because EC Comics and Oni Press are turning up the heat as THE SUMMER OF FEAR gets ready to tear into comic shops nationwide, beginning with BLOOD TYPE #1 this June and counting all summer long across CATACOMB OF TORMENT #1 and CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1:
BLOOD TYPE #1 (of 4)
LIMITED SERIES | JUNE 2025
WRITTEN BY CORINNA BECHKO | ART BY ANDREA SORRENTINO
COVER A BY MIGUEL MERCADO
OUT OF THE PAGES OF EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS...A MONSTROUS NEW EC COMICS MILESTONE BEGINS!
From Hugo Award-nominated writer Corinna Bechko (EC's Cruel Universe, Green Lantern: Earth One) and Eisner Award-winning artist Andrea Sorrentino (Gideon Falls, Bone Orchard), THE FANGS ARE COMING OUT as EC's own blood-splattered, bon vivant vampire rises from her first appearance in EC Comics' bestselling, blockbuster anthology...and into the history-marking, first-ever standalone horror series from the most notorious name in terror!
WHEN YOU'RE A VAMPIRE, EVERYBODY SUCKS...SOONER OR LATER! Meet Ada, an immortal vampire whose misdeeds have landed her on the doorstep of an idyllic tropical resort... An island paradise teeming with wealthy tourists and superstitious locals-an ample food supply for the thirsty vamp looking to get away from it all!
But as Ada stalks the boundaries of her new hunting ground, she'll soon become embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse by moonlight . . . as an older, wiser, and entirely different kind of predator reveals its own carnal hunger for greed and power. Who will survive when a brand-new kind of BLOOD TYPE declares war on a cunning bloodsucker with nothing left to lose...and what will be left of them?!
BLOOD TYPE #1 INTERIOR ART BY ANDREA SORRENTINO
CATACOMB OF TORMENT #1
ONGOING SERIES | JULY 2025
WRITTEN BY JOHN ARCUDI, MARGUERITE BENNETT & MATT KINDT | ART BY DAVID LAPHAM, DAN McDAID & MORE
COVER A BY JORGÉ FORNES
BEHOLD: A BLOODY NEW ONGOING SERIES! Out of the ashes of EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS, we usher THE TORMENTOR – a new horror host with an insatiable interest in human anatomy – into the shadow-strewn halls of EC Comics history for our next monthly horror anthology! Hold onto your head (if it’s still attached)...because no one escapes THE CATACOMB OF TORMENT!
For Her Royal Travesty of Pain's first request: Master storytellers John Arcudi (B.P.R.D.), Marguerite Bennett (Batwoman), Matt Kindt (BRZRKR), David Lapham (Stray Bullets), Dan McDaid (Shazam!), and more each take turns manning the rack and turning the red-hot irons for three all-new and blisteringly brutal tales of mayhem and malice in the undying EC tradition!
Plus, as an added bonus: A surprise classic from the EC vaults, painstakingly remastered and newly restored to its original coloring.
The critics are already saying, “This is literal torture” and “Please make it stop!” Pick up this fearful 40-PAGE FIRST ISSUE – and the Tormentor might just consider letting them go!
CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1 (of 12)
MAXI-SERIES | AUGUST 2025
WRITTEN BY J. HOLTHAM, ANN NOCENTI & GREG SMALLWOOD
ART BY KANO, DAVID RUBÍN & GREG SMALLWOOD
COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO
AT THE STAR-LINED EDGE OF INFINITY, EC COMICS'S SCI-FI SMASH-HIT RETURNS TO DRAW MORE WORLDS INTO THE MAW OF ITS GRAVITATIONAL VORTEX WITH AN ALL-NEW AND UNRELENTING 12-ISSUE MAXI-SERIES!
Whether future or past, Earth or a distant world, no man can outrun the infinite singularity within us all: FEAR! Join this doomed expedition into the cold, unforgiving galaxies beyond our own as nihilistic navigators J. Holtham (EC's Epitaphs from the Abyss), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Anne Nocenti (Daredevil), David Rubín (Sherlock Frankenstein), and Greg Smallwood (The Human Target) smash the laws of science . . . and splice the immortal EC Comics genome into a new breed of parasitic extraterrestrial tales with an endless appetite for pain!
Plus, as an added bonus: A nerve-rending, science-fiction classic from the EC vaults, painstakingly remastered and newly restored to its original coloring!
BEYOND SPACE, BEYOND OBLIVION... There is something vast, unsympathetic, and envious that yearns to consume us all in this CRUEL UNIVERSE! Let's make it work for it, shall we?
Retailers: Stay tuned for an upcoming array of EC SUMMER OF FEAR promotional materials set to begin arriving in stores this May!
EC BLOOD TYPE #1 (of 4)
WRITTEN BY CORINNA BECHKO
ART BY ANDREA SORRENTINO
COVER A BY MIGUEL MERCADO
COVER B BY ANDREA SORRENTINO
FOIL VARIANT ($8.99) BY MIGUEL MERCADO
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY ALBERT MONTEYS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY ANDREA SORRENTINO
ARCHIVE EDITION (1:50) BY PATRICIA MARTIN
HORROR HOST VARIANT (1:100) BY KYLE HOTZ
BLANK SKETCH VARIANT AVAILABLE
ON SALE JUNE 11th, 2025 | $4.99 | 32 PAGES | FC
IOC: 4/26/2025
FOC: 5/19/2025
EC CATACOMB OF TORMENT #1
WRITTEN BY JOHN ARCUDI, MARGUERITE BENNETT, MATT KINDT & MORE
ART BY DAVID LAPHAM, DAN McDAID & MORE
COVER A BY JORGE FORNÉS
COVER B BY TOM FOWLER
FOIL VARIANT ($8.99) BY JORGE FORNÉS
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY JAY STEPHENS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER
ARCHIVE EDITION (1:50) BY PATRICIA MARTÏN
HORROR HOST VARIANT (1:100) BY DUSTIN WEAVER
BLANK COVER ALSO AVAILABLE
ON SALE JULY 16th, 2025 | $4.99 | 40 PAGES | FC
IOC: 5/22/2025
FOC: 6/23/2025
EC CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1 (of 12)
WRITTEN BY J. HOLTHAM, ANN NOCENTI, GREG SMALLWOOD & MORE
ART BY DAVID RUBÍN, KANO, GREG SMALLWOOD & MORE
COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO
COVER B BY GREG SMALLWOOD
FOIL VARIANT ($8.99) BY LEE BERMEJO
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY ALBERT MONTEYS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY GREG SMALLWOOD
ARCHIVE EDITION (1:50) BY MALACHI WARD
SQUA TRONT VARIANT (1:100) BY LIAM SHARP
BLANK COVER ALSO AVAILABLE
ON SALE AUGUST 6th, 2025 | $4.99 | 40 PAGES | FC
IOC: 6/26/2025
FOC: 7/14/2025