The return of EC Comics last year produced many more horror and sci-fi tales than usual, which continue into 2025 with Epitaphs From the Abyss #7. Three tales of horror await you in the anthology, with another fantastic Dustin Weaver opening featuring the horror host Grave-Digger.
Kicking things off is Dustin Weaver’s opening full-page splash introduction. Highly dramatic, the page features Grave-Digger sitting on top of a giant pink tentacle bursting from a crypt. Freshly made vampire chicks stand in front, ready to take down a victim. It’s a great page, and Weaver continues to deliver on these openers.
The first story is titled “Prohibition” by Cullen Bunn and Andrew Sorrentino. The main character is a drunk who always ends up sleeping on the pavement yet always comes back for more. Early on, he learns three ancient barrels of beer were purchased, and after the bar closes, he has to get a taste. The thing is, the barrels are filled with monstrous vampires!
Sorrentino brings the customary photorealistic style we’ve come to love from his various projects. His layout design is also sharp, particularly a page featuring a “Bloody Daniel’s” bottle of alcohol breaking up the page. The vampires are monstrous and well-designed, and Sorrentino caps off the ending well.
One of the variant covers doesn’t represent a story per se, but it’s cool!
Credit: Oni Press
Next up is “A Splice of the Action” by Chris Condon and Valeria Burzo. Set in the early days of Hollywood, a woman named Dorthea Babb learns her script was stolen and made into a movie. She seeks revenge and, by the end, demands a final cut. It’s fairly straightforward, although the final panel is a bit over the top, given how realistic and serious much of the tale had been up to that point.
Closing out the anthology is “Black Gold Cemetery” by Jordan Thomas and Andrea Mutti. This story feels like it’s right out of a Stephen King anthology featuring a roadside serial killer. Thomas puts us in the head of the killer via captions, who reveals how he started killing and why he does it. A man of lesser means, he finds killing the rich helps even the scales.
Mutti brings the supernatural ending home well, which is straight out of something like The Burbs. There’s also an excellent montage of killings in twelve panels on a single page.
Epitaphs From the Abyss #7 continues the legacy of EC Comics with a strong mix of visually stunning and thematically diverse horror tales. While a few moments may stumble in tone or originality, the anthology’s creative storytelling, excellent artwork, and rich variety make it a must-read for fans of classic and modern horror alike.
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