“Bad things happen to bad people.” In the space of 6-10 comic book pages, readers would meet an unlikeable person who, by the end of the story, gets their comeuppance, often in a rather grisly fashion. Many Tales stories that have appeared on TV or in the movies have followed this format, as have countless horror stories from renowned authors.

Several of the more enjoyable stories in Epitaphs from the Abyss follow this formula. However, the nature of horror has changed. Characters often meet gruesome fates for no reason other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, while those responsible escape consequences for their actions. Several Epitaphs characters suffer the same fate, with readers sometimes rooting for the putative villains. As soon as I recognized this stylistic shift from the old Tales from the Crypt formula, I adjusted my expectations and evaluated each story on its own merits. Epitaphs from the Abyss is a distinctly 21st-century publication, with stories that revolve around current technology and political and social trends.

EC Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol. 1 comprises the first four monthly issues of the new publication. The book has 13 stories (four in the first issue and three in each subsequent issue), comprising about 120 pages of primary content. These stories represent the efforts of 10 separate authors and 11 artists, none of whom I was familiar with. (The book does not contain any biographical information about the individual authors or artists.) As in any anthology, the quality of the stories varies.

The book gets off to a strong start with “Killer Spec” by J. Holtham. A struggling screenwriter suffers from writer’s block, only to learn that his non-literary roommate has written a sensational script. Many readers may guess the ending, but the artwork by Jorge Fornes really sells the story. “Family Values” by Stephanie Phillips could be the storyline for an episode of the Criminal Minds TV series. Armed masked thugs (seen only as black shadows with glowing red eyes) capture a suburban family and give the father an impossible choice. Either he shoots one family member or, in a few minutes, the riflemen will kill everyone. The story captures the father’s agonizing dilemma as the clock ticks down in brightly glowing digital numbers superimposed on various panels. A great last-page twist really makes this story work.

Modern technology drives the plot of Jason Aaron’s “Sounds & Haptics,” specifically the tendency to text while driving. The story’s main character was doing precisely that when he was involved in a deadly auto accident. He survives but is laid up in the hospital. I won’t reveal more except to say that his cell phone figures prominently in the rest of the story. While these stories generally follow the old Tales from the Crypt template, “Dead from Exposure” by Jay Stephens builds off the modern-day podcast phenomenon. A podcaster who makes his living exposing supernatural hoaxes learns about the local legend of the bog-ape. While the lettering in most stories is merely functional, the author here successfully conveys the ape’s weirdness in a few sentences in three panels. Once again, the author managed to surprise me with an ending that will satisfy those who appreciate both the stories and the artwork of horror comics.

I’ll give a special shout out to “A Hand in It,” also by Jay Stephens, which would probably be the easiest story in the collection to turn into a standalone written story. It concerns Patricia Millicent, a morgue attendant who cares for unclaimed bodies. She knows them all by name, but her favorite is the notorious Sundown Killer, who has resided in her morgue for six years. Patricia hatches a scheme to kill her boyfriend, remove Sundown’s body from the morgue, and leave forensic evidence showing he’s the killer. It’s no spoiler to say that things don’t go as she planned. What really clinched this story for me was the artwork by Leomacs. Patricia’s fiery red hair here contrasted brilliantly with the dark morgue tones.

A couple of stories introduce political content from a liberal perspective, and these are among the weakest in the collection. (I’m liberal myself, but I didn’t appreciate injecting politics into these types of stories.) “Us vs. Us” by Brian Azzarello starts out with a couple running from a burning house and being pursued by the former occupants, some grotesque creatures toting axes and chainsaws. The story had some promise, but when the couple revealed why they burned down the house, it brought things to a complete standstill. “Pattern Recognition” by Matt Kindt is the worst story in the collection. It concerns two warring street factions in a lawless urban environment. The artwork is poorly done, making it difficult to distinguish the members, except that one group has a charismatic leader named Johnny. The best thing I can say about this story is that it’s short. “Blood Type” by Corinna Bechko doesn’t have any political subtext, but it’s still disappointing. A vampire gets stuck on a lifeboat with a dwindling number of potential victims. Bland story, blander ending.

Those who have read Tales from the Crypt comics (originals or reprints) know that some joys contained therein were the introductions from the “hosts,” the Crypt-keeper and others. Epitaphs has its own set of hosts, primarily the Grave-digger. He’s a cackling version of Ebenezer Scrooge carrying a large, pointed spade. He also delivers appropriate dialogue like: “If you have found yourself here, it can only mean one thing—you share my fiendish fascination with the forbidden and a predilection with the perverse.” Unfortunately, these issues don’t fully utilize his character. He or one of his co-hosts appears on every issue’s introductory page, with a one-line description of each story. However, while the Crypt-keeper in the original Tales from the Crypt ended most stories with a gruesomely groan worthy pun, only three stories in this collection have in-panel separate introductions, and none have the punny endings EC Comics readers expect.

EC Epitaphs from the Abyss Vol. 1 includes bonus content besides the four issues it contains. The publisher included multiple alternate covers of the four issues and an artist’s description of the Grave-Digger and his two co-hosts, the Tormentor and the Grim Inquisitor. Some of the artwork on the covers and in the stories seems bland, but most of it is lovingly detailed to complement the stories. Mostly, the artists avoid showing the most graphic violence on the book’s pages. Instead, they rely on printed sound effects and copious blood splashes that are even more effective.

I appreciate what Oni Press and its publisher, Hunter Gorinson, have done in reviving the EC Comics brand. Epitaphs from the Abyss is still a work in progress, but the comic has great promise. The writers do an excellent job of giving their stories a contemporary feel through the effective incorporation of technology and social media themes. I dislike using these stories to make political points (even those I agree with), and a couple of the stories fell flat. Overall, however, Epitaphs from the Abyss reminded me of a scary yet delightful midnight walk through the graveyard.  

NOTE: The publisher graciously provided me with a copy of this book through NetGalley. However, the decision to review the book and the contents of this review are entirely my own.