%20(1).png)
Oni Press Introduces The 3 'Masters of Menace'
A couple months back I briefed all of you on the long-awaited resurrection of the infamous and influential EC Comics line in the form of EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1. Well, thanks Oni Press, we're now less than a month away from the eponymous return of real horror comics - ordered just the way your dad loved it.
In this preview I'll unveiling the first look at EC’s all-new, never-before-seen, dead-and-not-getting-better-anytime-soon trio of horror hosts... Meet EC’s all-new masters of menace: The Grave-Digger, The Tormentor, and The Grim Inquisitor!
Making their first full appearance on the EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 Horror Host Variant cover by acclaimed artist Dustin Weaver (Avengers, Paklis), Weaver’s work on and character designs for EC’s new torturous trio will be featured throughout the double-sized, 40-page issue arriving in comic shops worldwide on July 24th... and continue through multiple new EC horror series yet-to-be-revealed in the future.
“Usually a big part of designing characters is costuming, but in looking back at the original Tales From the Crypt comics, it's clear that the most important and defining features of the horror hosts are their ghoulish faces,” said Dustin Weaver. “It's all about the faces, and with these modern host designs I wanted to carry on that tradition. Making sure the faces were suitably fiendish, properly cruel, and the right amount of unseemly was key, but there's also an effort here to go a step further and bring some more thought and characterization to their costuming and physicality as well. Ultimately, it's just such a treat to draw characters so unabashedly wicked.”
“Crafted from the dead center of depravity and delight, these new horror hosts are primed and ready to assume their roles as storytellers,” said Corey Mifsud, Executive Director of William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. “All three characters honor the creepily comical spirit of EC, but contribute uniquely twisted points of views that will surely keep the reader up at night!"
First Up: 'The Grave-Digger'
IN HIS CEMETERY, EVERY TOMBSTONE TELLS A TALE! As the central host of the upcoming EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS series from EC Comics and Oni Press, The Grave-Digger’s charming visage will soon regale readers far and wide with the tales of murderous intent and ill fortune that earned his cemetery’s denizens their places six feet deep.
The Grave-Digger is designed by Dustin Weaver.
Next: 'The Tormentor'
INTRODUCING HER ROYAL TRAVESTY OF PAIN! A one-eyed butcheress with a penchant for playful flaying and audacious amputation, there is no weapon of opportunity or implement of torture too grisly to escape The Tormentor’s notice. But she still holds a fondness for “the classics” – like her red-hot poker and rusty pruning shears!
The Tormentor is designed by Dustin Weaver.
And Finally: 'The Grim Inquisitor'
THE DEACON OF DOOM! THE VICEROY OF THE VICE! THE PRINCIPAL OF PUNISHMENT … OR SO HE’D LIKE YOU TO THINK! A mad monk with a fanatic’s eye for keeping his secret sect’s surprisingly extensive bureaucracy of terror running like clockwork, The Grim Inquisitor fears no man . . . except The Supreme Inquisitor, who demands extremely exacting results from his right-hand man and deputy master of obscure occult rites.
The Grim Inquisitor is designed by Dustin Weaver.
Epitaphs from the Abyss #1 - Preview Pages
Killer Spec
Below you'll find preview art from the first announced story in 'Epitaphs from the Abyss' #1 which is entitled "Killer Spec" With interior art by Jorge Fornés and colors by Dan Jackson.
Family Values
Below you'll find preview art from the first announced story in 'Epitaphs from the Abyss' #1 which is entitled "Family Values" With interior art by Phil Hester.
Will you be picking up Epitaphs of the Abyss?
What do you think of the character designs of the 3 Masters of Menace?
Let us know on social media.
