Epitaphs from the Abyss is the revival we have all been waiting for!!

Not only is the collection topical and very tongue-in-cheek, but it pays the best homage to all the tales that came before. It’s excellent writing and gore-tastic storytelling and I think horror fans are going to jump for joy when this collected volume comes out!

There are some terrifying sequences within these pages. Stories that kept me reading deep into the night and a couple stories that made me laugh out loud. There is a little something for every type of reader and I cannot wait to see how ONI continues with this series!!

PS - this edition comes with some of the most amazing variant covers in the gallery, don’t forget to look at those!

I am so excited for EC to be back in such a bombastic way ! The stories in here are sometimes political, sometimes goofy, and always gruesome. I had so much fun with this!

EC IS BACK, BABY!

Well, okay, EC has been back for a little while, but I was so excited I just wanted to write that.

Netgalley provided me with this book in exchange for an honest review. So here it goes.

Sure, it was mostly a mixed bag. Some stories, such as Killer Spec, Family Values, and Gray Green Memories stand out more than others. However, at the end of the day, every story here was fun. It seemed like the entire creative team of each story was having a great time making this.

The artwork is stunning, filled with so much detail and expressive characters that practically leap off the page. And of course, this has some of the best cover art I've ever seen. Lee Bermejo has been one of my favorite artists for years, and his art alone is worth the price of this book.

Read it. Enjoy it. Have fun with it. It's campy, pulpy, and silly. I loved every second of it!

These feel like the old comics. Short, menacing stories with horrifying twists. The pacing is more modern, of course, and the art familiar from recent comics.

Like most short-form horror many of these stories are inspired by current events and the concerns they inspire. Some of these will hold up to the test of time, while others will feel dated in just a few years. They are all brief enough that the twists make or break the story.

The best of the comics in this collection seem to fall into one of two categories: old-school classic, new takes on the old genre. I try not to play favorites, but one offering in particular feels like a rediscovered classic, or a flawless adaptation of a John Collier story; “The Perfect Pearl” is an amazing piece.

"Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol. 1" is a very fun anthology that is rife with quick-witted and timely stories, as well as traditional horror tales. It's such a fun read, whether it be for the stories or the art style, this compilation is just a ton of fun. As per usual in anthologies, there are some stories that are stronger than others, but this collection really doesn't have any boogers. I absolutely had a great time reading this, and genuinely cannot wait to see what comes next from this series.

I absolutely loved Tales From The Crypt as a child on HBO. It’s hard to find but well worth it. So, when I saw a reboot of this type of comic, I was thrilled!

I haven’t read a lot of comics so this was another exciting endeavor. I enjoyed the four episodes and there were plenty of good stories. Quick read. Entertaining.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've always enjoyed horror anthologies and back in the 50s no one did it them better that EC Comic under Bill Gaines.
So even if this collection as got a star studded list of comic creators, they must have all felt the pressure of filling some very big shoes. I quite enjoyed that at the back of the book you get a bit about both Max and Bill Gaines as well a list of all the contributors to ECs original publications.
The stories where good to grea and all of them looked very good.
I especially enjoyed the interstices with the classic Gravedigger recaps and comments.

I’ve always loved these anthology type horror (and sci-fi) comics, they are so ripe for playfulness and experimentation. Or just running with the classic tropes and enjoying themselves.

and I’ve got to say Epitaphs has really embraced the second of these with a great breadth of sub-genre works.

I really was just in the mood for this anthology coming off a binge read of a single author it was nice to read a nice mix from different authors with all the great artists joining in.

Each of the four volumes are introduced by the Grave-Digger (Crypt Keeper, et al) with pithy asides relating to each story in the volume.

For me there wasn’t a weak story in this anthology, though some were stronger than others, they all hit the mark. Whether that was humorous and a wee bit gross (US vs US), the dark home invasion (Family Values), fun zombie (Gray Green Memories), or Hillbilly fun (Dead From Exposure) I was kept rapt throughout and once more finished this in a single sitting.

I loved the how the anthology used so many different artists, it is always good to see such a varied collection of art styles and I’ve now got a little list of artists to look out for 😉.

I received this from Oni Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

(Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this comic to read for an honest review.)

I'm an EC comics fan from way back, reading reprints of the 50s comics as recent as just yesterday. Lately I haven't been impressed by their attempts to revamp "Tales from the Crypt." They always seem like lazily done extensions of something you'd see in Mad Magazine, which was also an EC comics spin off, but isn't what I wanted. So color me surprised that I genuinely enjoyed this new endeavor from EC. This really felt more like a modernization of "Tales from the Crypt," "The Vault of Horror," and "The Haunt of Fear." Definitely the stories aren't all going to be gold, but most of them are thoroughly enjoyable. "Epitaphs" even features a new horror host in the form of The Grave Digger. In terms of horror anthology comics, you've certainly got a lot of choices, and this is a genuinely good addition to the horror reader's library.

Volume 1 feature collections #1-4 of dark, gory, horrifying, emotional nostalgic fun!
i was constantly being reminded of my childhood kids horror shows on YTV and Teletoon!!
perfect for all horror fans! produced by the EC Comics who gave us childhood favourites such as Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror
13 short stories narrated by the Grave Digger i imagined the iconic voice of the crypt keeper the entire time
from the horrors of Hollywood to apocalyptic earth to down right monstrous humans, there is something for everyone

My thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for an advance copy of this resurrection of a book of classic comic and cosmic horror, reborn to haunt the shelves of comic stores once more. A collection of nightmares composed from the decomposed brains and arms of many of the most popular comic creators living, at least for now.

The first real book of horror to make an impact on me was the short story collection Night Shift by Stephen King. Page for page one of the best collections of horror, of anything I have ever read and still even today I get shivers thinking of the stories that reside inside the tome of eldritch horror. That book made me a horror fan, but also branded me in a way also. I enjoy short horror stories, the most. The short, sharp shock. I'll read the big novels, Swan Song by Robert McCammon is long but as with most of his novels great horror. But the short stories I love. My father was the same way. He grew up on EC comics and as is common, had them thrown out by my grandmother, when told they would poison his mind. Knowing my Father it was probably too late, but I grew up on these tales, these gross little stories my Dad could kind of remember. So it was with nostalgia and a quickening of the heart that I greeted the return of EC comics to my life. EC Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol. 1 features a horde of creators writers, artists, mad dreamers joining together to return something back from the dead, in tales full of gruesome people, medical horrors, and murder most foul.

EC comics was in its day the bête noire of parents trying to get their children to go to bed at night, educators and politicians who feared that readers were becoming delinquents, and other publishers as their stories were getting to much attention. The stories featured murders, monsters, maidens in trouble, and mad men in massacre mode. Their antics nearly brought down and industry, and in fact changed the face of comics, and its development for almost fifty years. And now it is back, to ruin sleep, to make readers turn to crime, and change comics again. Writers include Brian Azzarello, Jason Aaron, Matt Kindt, and artists Charlie Adlard, Klaus Janson and Phil Hester, along with many others. The stories feel like classic stories, short, pointed and bloody, dealing with modern politics, medical shenanigans, strange noises, creatures who should not be and other tales of macabre.

As with any anthology, especially one spread over so many issues and creators, some stories leave a stain, and some are forgotten with a flip of the page. The stories are generally good, feeling like something from the past, from the writing, the pacing, and the color palette in the story. A few stories stand out, but all have the feeling that something is wrong, and that something will never be right again. The art is very good, though sometimes I wish they had let the artists cook, the palette of color seems to take away from what is going. on. One can see the homages. One story seems like a Ernie Colón story, with the use of light and shadows on the page.

A very fun collection, and I hope the start of something spooky and eternally lasting. A fun reminder of what once was, and a reminder that while culture and times might change, people love a good old scary story to get the heart going.

As someone who’s too young to have grown up with the original Tales from the Crypt comics, I’m really glad that these kinds of stories are still being made. There’s just something timeless about EC-style horror that is short, punchy, and dripping with that old-school macabre charm. Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol. 1 keeps that tradition alive, delivering a solid collection of bite-sized terror that scratches the itch for classic horror storytelling.

I love how straightforward these stories are. No fluff, just eerie setups, grim twists, and that signature EC Comics irony. The artwork nails that vintage feel while still looking sharp enough for a modern audience. It’s the kind of collection that makes you want to read it under dim light on a stormy night, preferably with some creepy music playing in the background.

If you’re a fan of old-school horror anthologies or just enjoy a good, twisted tale, this one’s definitely worth checking out.