Horror hit Epitaphs from the Abyss is back this week with issue #4 and three new stories. One of the pleasures in seeing EC Comics back is how some creative teams are homaging or delivering odes to the classic horror style. There are also clever new ideas at work, giving EC Comics a refreshing feel. There’s that and more in this week’s edition.
Once again, horror host Grave-Digger opens the issue with a wonderful full-page splash by Dustin Weaver. Weaver’s art is as dynamic and entertaining as ever, with great lettering (for this issue, lettering is by Richard Starking and Tyler Smith). It’s a fun way to add a little humor and prepare readers for each story. A nitpick, but Oni Press revealed three horror hosts will be introduced, and Grave-Digger is the most prominent. Show us the Grim Inquisitor, you cowards!
The first story is “Dead From Exposure” by Jay Stephens and David Lapham. It follows a few cryptid monster hunters who travel across the country. They happen to run into a local myth of the Bog-Ape and rush to investigate. Stephens reveals the head host of this outfit is a bit of a jerk, while his helpers are regular folks who really don’t deserve what’s coming for them. The story ends in blood and death with a fun twist.
It’s the bog-ape! By James Stokoe.
Credit: Oni Press
Art by Lapham is good in this tale, with nice detail when it comes to the Bog-Ape and the clothes on the characters. The story is a bit too weighted down with dialogue, especially at the start, but once it gets going, it’s a nice in-the-field tale.
Next up is “The Perfect Pearl” by Amy Roy and Claire Roe. This is an excellent story acting as a metaphor for the suffocating nature of marriage and overbearing husbands. The story revolves around a pearl necklace that seems to get tighter when the wife does wrong or looser with more pearls when she does as he commands. Roe draws a great montage articulating the wife “learning” how to be a better wife to the borderline psychotic husband. It’s a chilling story that feels extra scary, given many people get into relationships like this.
Closing out the issue is “Under the Influence” by J. Holtham and Leomacs. This tale dives into the subculture of nutrition fads that are too good to be true. Only in this case will a new magic weight loss pill work too well. Holtham leans into the annoying leaders of the fad who call each other “babe” and are clearly pretending to be wholesome and caring.
Leomacs does a great job with this tale, leaning into the horrific result of the drug and the victims at the end. There’s also a fun scientist character who is the spitting image of Wayne Knight, likely an homage to Dennis Nedry from Jurassic Park.
Epitaphs from the Abyss #4 is another great foray into horror with a keen sense of society and culture. This issue features marriage, drug fads, and over-motivated monster-hunting streamers.
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