EC Comics revival Epitaphs from the Abyss introduces 3 new horror hosts

Back in February, we learned that the EC Comics brand is being revived by Oni Press – and now The Wrap has revealed the upcoming EC Comics title Epitaphs from the Abyss will be introducing three new horror hosts, following in the footsteps of iconic EC Comics horror hosts like the Crypt Keeper, the Old Witch and the Vault Keeper. These new characters, designed by artist Dustin Weaver, are the Grave-Digger, the Tormentor, and the Grim Inquisitor. As the brand moves forward, the Grim Inquisitor – who “is part of a complex bureaucracy and answers to an unseen Supreme Inquisitor,” is expected to take the lead in his own title.

Oni Press editor-in-chief Sierra Hahn said, “We’ll have the Grave-Digger setting the stage, but with a little bit of that fun EC edge that’s a little bit dark, that’s a little bit playful.“

Oni president and publisher Hunter Gorinson added, “What we’ve tried to do is figure out how we create new horror hosts who aren’t Xeroxed facsimiles of the original trio, in the same way that we’re trying to create books that exist in a spiritual lineage with the original EC canon without directly replicating it or creating some sort of nostalgic simulacrum. There will be areas where they’re very similar to the classic three. My fave’s the Old Witch — the Old Witch, for life. But there’ll be areas where they definitely carve — no pun intended — their own path.“

The double-sized Epitaphs from the Abyss #1 will be reaching store shelves on July 24th, and Gorinson confirmed that issues of this comic will be, as can usually be expected from anthologies, packed with short, standalone stories. “One-and-done, very, very tight. Six, eight and 10-page stories.“

While the new EC Comics has access to the classic characters and could revive the classic titles if they wanted to, they want to get the brand revival started with new characters and new titles, to give readers something totally fresh.

Founded by Maxwell Gaines in 1944, the Entertaining Comics brand initially specialized in educational comics and stories aimed at children. But after Gaines died in a boating accident in ’47, his 25-year-old son William took control of the company and changed its direction, exploring the genres of horror, sci-fi, and satire while bringing us classic titles like Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, The Haunt of Fear, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, and Mad. Sadly, EC Comics was at its peak when parents started to worry about the negative effects reading comic books could have on their children, leading to things like a Congressional hearing that blamed comic books for juvenile delinquency – a claim that was backed up by the book Seduction of the Innocent, written by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham. So by 1956, EC Comics ceased publishing all of their titles except for Mad. This revival aims to answer the question, “What would have happened if EC Comics had lived to create another age of comics?”

William Gaines remained the publisher of Mad until he passed away in 1992. Even though EC stopped publishing horror comics in the ’50s, stories told in the comics they did publish have been brought to the screen in films (Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror) and on TV (Tales from the Crypt), and were a source of inspiration for Creepshow.

To hear more about this revival of EC Comics, click over to The Wrap at the link provided above. Images of the Grave-Digger, the Tormentor, and the Grim Inquisitor can be seen below.

Are you looking forward to reading the comics in the EC Comics revival, and to meeting these new horror hosts? Let us know by leaving a comment below.