Thank you first of all for this ARC.
For me, this was a trip down memory lane to the old Tales. Not like the feeling of old. These are straight one piece stories. Too heavy with our political nonsense. The horror isn't there like the 1970s nor 1980s.
This might be a soft entry for new readers of horror with curiosity.

EC Comics is one of the iconic American companies to anyone that knows their comic history. Tales of horror, comedy, and wonder got the short end of the stick when Dr. Frederick Wertham wrote a book with no citations and claimed comics led to juvenile delinquency. Due to more violence on the pages compared to those on 1950s television, EC got Congress on its case.

What's a pity is that the emotional tones and themes within their speculative fiction stories could vary from pure fun to modern commentary, with EC defending its approach to racism and the Cold War. In many ways, it was like the Twilight Zone minus TV censorship standards and a limited budget. The artists had the freedom to flex, and flex they did.

This volume of Epitaphs from the Abyss collects the first four issues. Each issue has three stories plus a "mailbag," so we get twelve stories total within this trade. That's plenty of opportunity to get scared or to sit on the couch thinking.

I read the issues, expecting to be wowed with the quiet horror of "Let the Punishment Fit the Crime" and the black comedy of "A Sock for Christmas". Instead... I got bored. I wasn't scared at all or entertained. It took until I read "A Hand In It" and "Perfect" to see that the stories were hitting that classic EC stride. "Under the Influence" comes really close as well, though the first three pages turned me off until we got to the actual plot. (Also, stop robbing plants from the South American continent! Those species are endangered!)

What is the problem? I'm not immersed. Sure, I agree that anti-vaxxers are a problem and we need to address influencer culture. But there needs to be entertainment and immersion. Put us into another world and give us context to care about characters or their situation. If you just say, "these people who took the vaccine became physical monsters and they respect the choice of two anti-vaxxers that would rather die with the disease," then we feel like the author is stating the obvious.

"Perfect" is an example of what the stories with real-life subtext should do. A string of pearls reveals a startling, realistic approach to emotional abuse and gaslighting within a relationship, with their length indicating how far a partner will go to "train" a spouse. We get a heartbreaking portrait, as a result, of the protagonist gradually breaking from years of hurt and negative reinforcement. But because the story focuses on the pearls, we don't get one-sided caricatures.

I hope that the creative team shapes up to place us within that immersive state. The issues have decent art, but the art is no good if your story isn't up to par. There's a problem if only three stories out of twelve manage to hit the nail on the head.

I have mixed feelings about this comic book.

The art styles were interesting and went along with the horror theme pretty well. I didn't have any issues with that. However, I think the storytelling that came with it wasn't quite in sync with the overall intended message.

I get where the author was going with many of these stories, particularly in how they leaned heavily on nuanced scenarios that required both emotional and intellectual depth to pick up on.

Perhaps the author's message was too deep for a comic book format.

I can appreciate the focus on some social issues and the attempt at addressing political issues and other such things, but, it simply could have been brought together in a format that both hit the horror genre and that satisfied the reader's desired experience of being entertained by visual horror.

The cross between the two didn't happen here for me. I was too aware of the negatives to fully appreciate the positives. 'Tis a fine line in the horror genre.

Overall, 3 stars.

EC Comics is back under Oni Press! Epitaphs for the Abyss, the first title of this revival, is an anthology of horror tales - a genre that EC was famous for. The creators of this interpretation are not trying to replicate what was published in the 1950s. Instead, these are uniquely modern, featuring anxieties of the now wrapped into terrifying packages. The nature of anthologies means not every story is likely to appeal. However, since the tales are conceptually sound, it comes down to their execution. At this point, what resonates will vary from reader to reader. Overall, it's an interesting start to the EC Comics revival, with plenty more to come.

Comic: EC Epitaphs From the Abyss Vol. 1 (collecting Epitaphs From the Abyss #1-4)
Creative Team: Oni press has a production team of dozens, and the collection features over forty contributing authors and artists…
Publisher: Oni Press
Publication Date: May, 2025
Capone’s Rating: 5 of 5 ⭐s

You may have read my review of Fuck This Place from last month in which I mentioned I’ve been reading Epitaphs From the Abyss. Epitaphs was the main impetus for me picking up a bunch of other horror comics. I got lucky: Oni Press granted me a review copy of the new collection of four comics done in the style of the EC Comic series from over seventy years ago. Why this seventy-year radio silence? It’s interesting.

Here’s our backstory: Gritty comics (not comics about the popular mascot Gritty, but comics with an edge to them) were seen as a part of pro-communist, anti-American activities and contributing to a general moral rot destroying American values in the early 1950s. Sounds whacky, right? Here’s a bit more in the way of Cold War history as regards artists generally and, eventually, comic creators in particular:
In 1947, the Second Red Scare began for creatives with a public incident in which a group commonly dubbed the “Hollywood Ten”—a group of ten directors and screenwriters—refused to testify about their political beliefs. They’d been called to testify in front of HUAC (the House Un-American Activities Committee, tasked with investigating threats of subversion of the United States). These people went to prison and then were unofficially blacklisted (basically, no one would hire them) for the next decade (one of the Hollywood Ten, Dalton Trumbo, was hired in 1960 to direct Spartacus, and HUAC lost a lot of power after taking on the Army in `54 but held maintained through the decade). During those years of moral panic, many Americans were subpoenaed to testify, and folks tried everything from refusing to answer questions to trying to defend themselves to using their Fifth Amendment rights to avoid saying anything that might be taken as compromising. It went badly for everyone involved. (Fun fact: Bobby Kennedy was a McCarthy staffer).
Just as the film industry began self-policing, the comic publishing industry hurried to prove itself loyal. And so, American publishing companies threw a grenade into their own works, submitting to bullies and canning comic series like Epitaphs and Tales from the Crypt when the biggest publishing association formed the Comics Code Authority (CCA) to self-censor its members. Famously, even the words “horror” and “crime” were banned from appearing in titles. Black protagonists were often shit-canned, as were plot lines that made the “bad guys” too sympathetic. As with other codes (in TV, film, and radio), crime could never be seen as paying off, and depictions of sex were strictly prohibited. So EC comics went all in on its one promising series, MAD magazine, and shuttered everything else circa 1956.
And here we are, . Oni Press has been around for some 25+ years now and is picking up defunct lines like Epitaphs and Cruel Universe (press release here)—and hints at others to come!—to print all new stories in the style of the old, somewhat infamous (for some reason) horror and oddity comics.

So how is the new EC Epitaphs? First, a disclaimer. If you read my review of Fuck This Place, you know I’m so close to 100% brand-new to comics on the whole that we might as well just say that it’s a totally new medium for me (see very bottom for my comic-reading resume). But I’m not new to storytelling or to horror, as you know. So I’m doing my best here, and maybe I’ll OPEN YOUR EYES (nod to Clay McCleod Chapman’s recent, excellent novel) and get you checking out a new medium alongside me.

The short version here—the throughline—is that these comics are awesome. The stories are short, salty, and pack a punch. There are morality tales (along the lines of “be careful what you wish for”—not the anti-communist morality tales McCarthy would have loved). There are twisty turns (“Family Values” is my favorite in the bunch, a comic blueprint for a killer Black Mirror episode if there ever were one). And there’s a lot of blood and guts. Icky!

I breezed through this collection, and I’ll say this: Were I reading these comics one at a time, I’d go nuts waiting for each issue. I’m glad to be stumbling into Epitaphs after a complete volume has been assembled. The storytelling in this collection is strong, and the art supports the stories. I can’t wait for Volume 2.
In the meantime, thanks to EC Comics Epitaphs From the Abyss, I now have a distinct hunger for horror comics. Drop your recs in the comments or send me a note on BlueSky!


My comic-reading resume, in toto: I read Spawn for its first 50 or so issues and a ton of Calvin & Hobbes and a few Batman collections when I was a kid… and then Doonesbury when I was in college… but compared to most comic book readers out there, I’m a greenhorn.

EC Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol 1
Various Authors

EC horror comics are back. In fact several different anthology genre books are being produced under the EC title. This of course being horror. This volume collects the first four issues with thirteen short stories by twenty two writers and artists currently working in the industry today. The art’s outstanding each story has its own unique style and flavor. The stories for the most part are entertaining.

I found several to be very much a message over a story. I’ve read enough old EC horror comics to know they had a formula. Scary story, morale comeuppance at the end. I saw this as a needed formula back when comics were getting blamed for all the ills of society but now that the comic code is over I find the formula stale and archaic. Depending on how you come out on the issue it could be a blast or a drag.

This was so much fun to read! I very much enjoyed the different stories and the art work is killer. I don't often read graphic novels but this might be the book that changes that for me!

This is a horror comic like Tale from the Crypt. It is basically a whole bunch of mini horror stories in this volume. I loved all the stories !
They are all so good and entertaining !

"Epitaphs from the Abyss" is a classic horror comic book, brought back from the grave. Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy! I hope it'll be successful so we get many, many more.

Zombies, crazed doctors, murderous morticians, and vampires at sea, oh my! This collection of comic book stories is gruesome, and very fun.

I wish the stories were longer. But the bite-sized format is partly why it works.

The vibe ranges from ludicrous to heartfelt, and back again. If you miss the camp of 70s & 80s horror, check it out.

Epitaphs from the Abyss Volume 1 offers a visually striking experience, with each story featuring a different art style that, while varied, still feels cohesive. This keeps the anthology fresh, and the one-shot tales are inventive and provide a nice mix of ideas. However, the political themes can come across as heavy-handed, detracting from the overall storytelling. The short story format makes it tough to develop strong characters, and as a result, none of them leave a lasting impression. The horror elements also fall flat, lacking the tension and scares expected from the genre. Overall, while the anthology shows promise, it struggles to fully engage emotionally or chill the reader.

This comic started so promising and failed to deliver. The first issue of EC Epitaphs is the strongest. The stories are unique and interesting, and the short pace didn't hinder them. The remaining three issues are weak. The stories are dull or clichéd, and the ones that aren't don't have enough space to breathe. They wrap up so quickly, just as things were getting good. It's a mixed bag of stories.

This collection does excel at recapturing the look, feel, and vibe of the old horror comics. You’ve got gruesome artwork, stories that drop you right in the middle of action, blood, guts, and a creepy host – what every good anthology needs. Otherwise, there are better horror anthologies out there. If anything, it'll give you the itch to watch anthology series like Tales from the Crypt or Tales from the Darkside once you finish reading. I'd recommend watching those instead of reading this collection.

THE MOST NOTORIOUS NAME IN TERROR IS BACK—WITH A VENGEANCE!

From the publisher that drove Tales from the Crypt, Vault of Horror, Haunt of Fear, and many more into the depraved hearts of an unsuspecting world, the immortal EC COMICS returns with its first ALL-NEW series in nearly 70 years!

EC comics is back like a zombie from the grave! If you're an old Boomer or Gen x'er like me you probably have sweet memories of getting the latest issue of "Tales from The Crypt" from the comic store and racing up to your room to scare yourself silly with the amazing stories inside.
I have missed that experience and the comic for all of these years and none of the imposters that have popped up over the years have even come close to the magic of the original.

But here it is! Reborn and dripping blood!

All the stories within are worth reading, some a little better than others but all worthy. I love how the new stories are not just rehashing of the stories of old but new tales that are relevant to today's issues, concerns, and interest.
This baby doesn't come with any trigger warnings cus if you remember the original then you know what to expect. Blood, gore, violence, irreverent humor, and just about any other trigger you can think of that will make you skin crawl, your eyes pop, your breath quicken, and probably grin like a psychopath.
I guess you get that I enjoyed every bloody page and stayed up late into the night to finish because I just could not turn away.
Give me more!

Highly recommended . Published May 6,2025

Thanks to @netgalley and Oni Press for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for access to the eARC for "EC Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol. 1".

'EC Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol. 1" collects issues #1-4 of "Epitaphs from the Abyss". Hearkening back to the classic horror comics of the 50's, the modern re-imagining of the classic EC comics was done quite well. The stories include every bit of nostalgia that could be pulled from classic EC: simple stories, imaginative twists, gore, and top names in the genre. You really can't lose with this collection. As is typical with any anthology, the stories vary in quality, but fortunately they are all middling to better.

My first experience with this and it was good. I feel like maybe the hype I heard in the past wouldn't qualify for this just because while I enjoyed parts there's some that stuck me in a eh way. It's hard to describe. This was interesting but definitely in the '80s 90's interesting way and nothing truly scary or frightening.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Arc of this comic. I really liked this collection of short stories. Each story being so different from the next and the art was amazing. I enjoyed the different twists and turns, though I will say some stories were a bit hit or miss. Due to the length of certain stories, it kind of made some of the endings a bit underwhelming. I am looking forward to seeing how this series will grow.

A fair return for an old, beloved series. All of the stories in Epitaphs from the Abyss are beautifully drawn but few of them are too memorable.

Really a great read if you don’t mind gore and you like the old Tales from the Crypt and The Creepshow. Lots of twists, unapologetic homicidal lunatics, and creatures, very nostalgic in the writing and delivery. I enjoyed it a lot. The artwork is traditional but good, not for the faint of heart.

This is a serviceable collection of short horror comic book stories. There's not a lot to rave about. but most of the stories are good. I think this will appeal to fans of classic horror comics, but won't do as well with people who aren't fans of that genre.

When I was younger I used to watch The Tales from The Crypt show (although I probably shouldn’t have at that age) and then I quickly migrated to the books. Once I saw there was a new collection in the same vein of Tales from the Crypt etc I knew it would be good but I didn’t know how good. One thing I love about the horror genre is how often it is used to explore current societal issues under the guise of a quick scare but there is so much more than just quick scares here. I devoured this comic. Each story is unique, with fantastic storytelling, wonderful lines and colouring and is sure to stay with you long after reading.

It is hard to pick a favourite but I will definitely be getting this in hard copy and continuing to collect the series. This is a must for horror comic fans, horror fans and of course Tales from the Crypt fans.
As always thank you to Oni Press for the advanced copy to review, my reviews are always honest and freely given.

Unfortunately I will not be leaving a review for this title. The art is awesome and I really enjoyed the throw back to old horror comics. The story’s are just too heavy handed and steeped in politics for my liking. The stories that weren’t were just too simplistic.

Thank you for the opportunity and look forward to future reads.