I’m usually a simple mark in the anthology series. Adding EC comic labels is especially interesting. Unfortunately, ONI’s latest horror anthology debut issue is a rather uneven event, but not without some horrifying thrills.
“What is your deal with Voodoo?” John Arcudi, Patrick Piazarunga and Alessandro Santoro welcome a couple who “wake up” exaggerated against the offensive stand-up comics he appears to be. Today, EC comic stories are traditionally an over-problem, telling dark comic moral stories to indulge in graphic violence and wild tone shaking. The fact that this story is incredibly stupid doesn’t really matter. The problem here is that everyone just screams out their motivations. The character, protesting against the offensive stand-up scream, explains his stance and how the comedian boasts about his no-one who likes him.
Even the standards of this type of high moral narratives do not have a subtle feeling. It reads like a takedown of people who have been overly awakened, who simply boils them down into a series of buzzwords. Buzzwords are written in larger typefaces and bold in case the author thinks phrases like “racist dog whi” and “gaslight” are worthy of ridiculous laughs. It’s barely satire and reads like a list of complaints covered in the endings that come out of nowhere. Did the vampire wear a mask that made him look like a zombie? Okay.
oni Press
The second story, “Quintana Roo,” is a bit more interesting if it’s lightweight in terms of plot. Groups of vacationers go a little too far into the jungle and are covered in ancient troops. The script by Marguerite Bennett raises interesting philosophical questions to elicit the mental tensions of colonization and industrialization with the echoes of pain seen in classic haunted house stories. This is a very whimsical concept for this type of book, and I appreciate the effort to make this a little more of thematic weight. But the real reason for the season here is undoubtedly the wild Gore, supplied by Dan McDade and Michelle Madsen. Overall, this story has a real average winning streak that I’ve appreciated, despite the lack of a ton of space to embody some of the concepts.
My favorites of the new stories here are “Garden Variety” by Matt Kindt, David Lapham and Nick Filardi. Like many classic EC comic stories, this is primarily told from the serial killer’s first-person POV, but only this guy gets a kick using humans as fertilizer for his gourmet mushrooms. The focus characters are dark and funny as well as slow twists that ruin some appetite. Again, there are some really scary gores at the end of the story, but it can make the punchline of the story even more difficult. Of all the new stories here, this feels like the clearest spiritual successor to the classic EC book, but that’s a bit lighter too.
This first issue is a reprint of the classic shock suspense story of Halloween by William M. Gaines, Al Feldstein and Graham Engels. Originally published in 1952, this one has all the goals of old school EC comic installments. It’s an unfortunate hero, moral baffling, and a terrifying twist that gives our villains his custom. While you may be able to see where a few pages of the story are heading before a big release, “Halloween” still offers equal dark fun and cheese.
Overall, Catacomb of Torment is a mixed bag. There are some fun ideas here, but aside from the first story that started things with a bad taste in my mouth, this book didn’t really impress me. Your mileage may vary, but I hope the next issue will be stronger.
“Catacomb of Torment” #1 offers some horrifying thrills
Torment #1 catacombo
“Catacomb of Torment” is the first issue of the mixed bag. There are some fun moments here that remind you of the classic EC, but I really hope that the next issue will become stronger.
The second and third stories are fun if they’re lightly plotted.
The whole artwork is delighted
The classic story reprint is a lovely touch and gives readers a clearer idea of the pulp roots of this book
The first story is a massive misfire, and the message is plotted unclear and clumsy
Other new stories don’t have enough space to embody their ideas
Suffering doesn’t make particularly interesting “hosts”
