Synopsis
Out of the ashes of EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS, the immortal EC Comics ushers THE TORMENTOR―a new horror host with an unhealthy interest in human anatomy―into a bloody new horror anthology! Hold onto your head (if it’s still attached) . . . because no one escapes the CATACOMB OF TORMENT! For Her Royal Travesty of Pain's first request: Master storytellers John Arcudi (B.P.R.D), Marguerite Bennett (Batwoman), Matt Bors (The Toxic Avenger), Evan Dorkin (Beasts of Burden), J. Holtham (The Horizon Experiment), Patricia A. Jackson (Star Wars: Tales from the New Republic), and Matt Kindt (BRZRKR), join artists Valeria Burzo (EC's Epitaphs from the Abyss), Kano (EC's Cruel Universe), Lukas Ketner (Count Crowley), David Lapham (Stray Bullets), Shawn Martinbrough (Thief of Thieves), Dan McDaid (Shazam!), Patrick Piazzalunga (Monsters Are My Business), Fabiana Mascolo (Cyberpunk 2077), Sami Kivelä (Abbott), Shawn McManus (Fables), and Christopher Mitten (The Autumn Kingdom) to turn the red-hot irons on all-new, blisteringly brutal tales of mayhem and malice in the undying EC tradition! The critics are already saying, “This is literal torture” and “Please make it stop!” Pick up this fright-packed and fearful first volume―and we might just consider letting them go! Collects Catacomb of Torment #1–4.
About the Author
John Arcudi is an American comic book writer best known for his work on The Mask and B.P.R.D., and his series Major Bummer. Arcudi grew up in Buffalo, New York.
Marguerite Bennett is an American comic book writer. She has worked on Bombshells, Angela, Josie and the Pussycats, and her creator-owned books InSeXts and Animosity. Her work has been recognized for her depiction of female relationships, and her representation of LGBTQ stories and characters earned nominations for a GLAAD Media Award in 2016 and 2017.
Matt Bors is an Eisner-winning comics editor and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist in cartooning. He is currently writing the upcoming Toxic Avenger comic book along with Justice Warriors, a dystopian satire created with artist Ben Clarkson from Ahoy Comics. In 2013, he founded The Nib, which published 6,000 comics, three books, and 15 issues of an award-winning print magazine. In 2017, he was the executive producer and head writer for two seasons of The Nib animation produced by Topic with Augenblick Studios. Bors's comics have appeared in The Nation, the Guardian, the Village Voice, CNN, the Intercept, and were collected in the book We Should Improve Society Somewhat. He also drew the graphic novel War Is Boring, written by David Axe, and edits comics for In These Times magazine.
J. Holtham is an American screenwriter, best known for his work on TV shows such as Cloak and Dagger, Jessica Jones, and Supergirl. He recently broke into Marvel Comics with Bishop- War College, and is bringing back fan favorite nineties character, Night Thrasher, for his first solo series in 30 years.
Ryan Haddock is the writer and co-creator of the award-winning graphic novel The Brothers Flick: The Impossible Doors. He has wanted to write stories since he was six years old. Sometimes the stories have pictures, and sometimes they don't. Sometimes they’re in books, and sometimes they just live in his head. He tries to put the good ones in books. A former gifted kid and a frequent sufferer of imposter syndrome, Ryan lives with his family in a charming mid-sized city known for a jingle about a train.
Patricia A. Jackson is a high school language arts teacher in Pennsylvania. She published a number of short stories for the WestEnd Games quarterly Star Wars Adventure Journal. Her best known works are Black Sands of Socorro, a smugglers’ sourcebook about people of color for Star Wars: The Role-Playing Game, and The Final Exit, a short story about a dark Jedi’s redemption. When not writing, she’s gaming. Her favorite pastimes being Witcher III and Mass Effect. A fierce advocate, Patricia facilitates the Beautiful People, a student-run club for LGBTQIA+ students that promotes safe spaces within the school community. A very proud member of Pennwriters and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, she also rides horses and trains for dressage and hunter/jumper competition with her real-life nightmares, Maya and Indy.
Matt Kindt is a Harvey Award-winning and NYT Best-Selling writer and artist of comics and graphic novels. His work includes MIND MGMT, BRZRKR (with Keanu Reeves), Bang!, Eniac, Revolver, 3 Story, Super Spy, 2 Sisters, and Pistolwhip. He has been nominated for four Eisner Awards and three Harvey Awards (and won once). His work has been published in French, Spanish, Italian, and German. The author lives in St. Louis, MO, with his wife and Dept H. collaborator, the colorist and artist Sharlene Kindt.
Jeremy Lambert is a writer and filmmaker from Bowie, Maryland. He's known for his comics work on Doom Patrol, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Hellmouth, Dungeons & Dragons, Goosebumps, The Hollywood Special, and his stories for Warhammer, among others. As a film producer, his productions for Breakwater Studios, Ltd. have won an Academy Award and James Beard Award. This is the first volume in the Night Mother trilogy by Alexa Sharpe and Jeremy, with Volumes II and III to follow. He believes there are few things in life better than a nice pair of socks.
Amy Roy was born and raised in Philadelphia. She made her directorial debut at age ten, helming the neighborhood’s annual Christmas pageant. There were mandatory rehearsals, a script revision to the main character’s birth and hot chocolate to keep the talent happy. Too scared to try and become a real artist, Amy graduated from Penn State and become a copywriter, working in the ad industry for over ten years. After years of unhappiness, Amy made the leap and went back to film school in Vancouver, starting her life all over again. She moved to L.A. a year later, and has been working in the industry ever since, as an assistant to various writers and directors. Today, she works for the Donners' Company, and considers it a great honor to work with Richard Donner and Lauren Shuler Donner. Recently, she wrote four issues of the Smooth Criminals comic book series for Boom! Entertainment. She wrote and produced the short, Rent Control, which was screened at over a dozen film festivals, including the DC Independent, winning the audience award at three. She produced the short Of Darkness, accepted to over 100 horror festivals. The Lonely Store marks her (official) directorial debut.
Joanne Starer has been described as “witty,” “hilarious,” “thoughtful,” and “gassy.” All of these things are true. Leaving behind a career as an accomplished editor, Joanne dove headfirst into writing in 2018. Now she spreads her unique brand of comedy with a conscience across a wide spectrum of themes, including pro-wrestling, the Holocaust, abortion, and modern romance. Her work can be found at most major comic publishers, and occasionally somewhere surprising–like your next visit to the Smithsonian Museum. Outside of her writing pursuits, she has served on the board of the Editorial Freelancer’s Association and holds a Master’s in Media Studies as well as a certificate in Digital Film Editing. Joanne owned and operated a women’s wrestling promotion out of Pennsylvania back in 2002, championing equality in pro-wrestling a decade before it became a nationwide trend. Originally from New York, Joanne now resides in Vienna, Austria, with one very demanding cat and too many action figures to count.
Valeria Burzo is an Italian cartoonist and illustrator. In 2013, she obtained a two-year degree in Design and Applied Arts, Cinema and TV Scenography section at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. She has worked on several comic projects including collaborating with Luca Raimondo on the pencils of Il Cabalista di Praga published by Glenat, L'Ultimo Scugnizzo published by Marotta & Cafiero Editore, Le Indagini di Tom Bacardi published by Edizioni Inkiostro, Samuel Stern published by Bugs Comics, The Witches of World War II published by TKO Studios, Castle Full of Blackbirds published by Dark Horse, and The Hunt for the Skinwalker published by Boom Studios.
Kano is the pseudonym of Spanish comic book artist Jose Ángel Cano López. Kano began his career at the age of 13, editing Spanish-language comics fanzines. At 15, he was already doing layouts and design work for Planeta-DeAgostini. Kano is a founding member of the Spanish magazine about comics, Krazy Comics, as well as the Phoenix Studio, which provided design, illustration, and publishing services and was eventually merged with Camaleón Ediciones, a publishing house that Kano worked for in his early days. He has worked for both DC and Marvel Comics. He worked on a long run of Action Comics, including the “Emperor Joker” storyline, as well as Gotham Central and Swamp Thing. He worked on Daredevil, Iron Fist, Man Thing, and Beta Ray Bill Godhunter for Marvel, as well as others.
Lukas Ketner grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, eventually moving to Portland, Oregon in 2000. He is the artist and cocreator of Witch Doctor, the launch title for Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman's Skybound imprint at Image Comics. Other work includes stories for Dark Horse’s Creepy Comics and Supersized: Strange Tales from a Fast-Food Culture, along with covers for IDW's Hellraiser title. His illustration work varies from his work in comics to editorial illustrations for magazines and alt-weeklies to motorcycle helmet artwork for Icon Motosports. He was a 2009 nominee for the Russ Manning Award and has twice won entry into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual for his album artwork for the band the Builders and the Butchers.
Sami Kivelä is a comic book artist from Finland. You may recognize him from titles such as Deer Editor (Mad Cave), Abbott (BOOM! Studios), Undone By Blood (Aftershock), Machine Gun Wizards (Dark Horse) as well as Beautiful Canvas and Everfrost (Black Mask). When Sami is not hunched over his drawing table or reading comics, he enjoys traveling, listening to metal music, and watching TV with his wife.
David Lapham began his career in the comic industry at the age of twenty working at Valiant Comics learning his craft illustrating and helping to create many original titles, including Shadowman, Harbinger and Rai. He left Valiant to work at Defiant Comics where he co-created Warriors Of Plasm with Jim Shooter. David turned his back on the superhero genre in 1995 to co-found the independent publishing company, El Capitan Books, which began publishing David's comic series Stray Bullets. Lapham has won Eisner Awards for his work on Stray Bullets and Murder Me Dead.
Shawn Martinbrough is the author of How to Draw Noir Comics: The Art and Technique of Visual Storytelling by Penguin Random House and an Eisner Award nominated artist whose comic book projects include Batman: Detective Comics, Luke Cage Noir, Black Panther and Hellboy. He is a Vanity Fair contributor and an art curator. Shawn has given lectures about his career at Walt Disney Animation, Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon, Peterson Space Force Base, TEDx Mid Atlantic, the International Spy Museum, the California African American Museum, the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Society of Illustrators, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art, Columbia University, Fashion Institute of Technology, Savannah College of Art & Design, the University of Michigan, Temple University, and the Washington International School. He currently draws and writes in the Washington, DC, metro area.
Fabiana Mascolo is a freelance comic book artist based in Rome. Upon graduating top of her class in 2015, she started working in the comics industry both as a penciler and colorist. Over the years, she has worked for companies such as BOOM! Studios, Feltrinelli, and Edizioni BD. In 2019 she started her collaboration with Scout Comics for the miniseries Yasmeen, written by Saif A. Ahmed.
Dan McDaid is a comics writer and artist based in Scotland. He started out writing and drawing adventures for the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who Magazine, and he has since gone on to well-received runs on properties as diverse as Big Trouble in Little China, Judge Dredd, and Firefly. Following acclaimed work on TKO’s pulp blockbuster The Fearsome Dr. Fang, McDaid drew the swashbuckling horror Sea Dogs for Joe Hill's Hill House imprint and DC Comics. His most recent project is the self-penned title, sci-fi mystery DEGA published by Oni Press.
Shawn McManus is an American artist who entered the comic book field in the early 1980s with work for Heavy Metal and DC Comics. McManus gained wider attention when he illustrated two 1980s issues of Swamp Thing written by Alan Moore. He received a nomination, with Alan Moore, for a 1985 Jack Kirby award for “Pog” in Swamp Thing #32. The story, an inventive science-fictional reinterpretation of Walt Kelly's Pogo, was written by Moore specifically for McManus, who rose to the challenge with an appropriate Kelly-esque art style. Since then, he has drawn issues of Omega Men, Batman, Doctor Fate, Fables, Cinderella, Sandman, Fairest, and Hellboy.
Patrick Piazzalunga has worked for Aftershock comics, Dark Horse comics, Archie comics, and some Marvel snap cards for the noir series. He's the cocreator of Monsters Are My Business and Those Not Afraid, published by Dark Horse Comics.
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