Update 7/7/25

My second script for the EC/Oni anthology Catacomb of Torment has been approved by editorial and the EC estate, with a few minor changes. I just finished up the revision, did an underlining run (underlining dialogue for the letterer to emphasize) and sent off some reference material for the artist.

It looks like I'll be working with Lukas Ketner again on this story. He illustrated my first EC script, "Red Blend", and I was extremely happy with the work he did on it. I asked my editor if he was interested in drawing the second story and was very glad that he was, and that his schedule was open to accommodate it. I'm looking forward to seeing how he brings this second script to life. I also like the idea of being part of a team on these two stories, since the EC line was a tight group of artists and writers that worked with one another regularly.

I finished up my recent EC reread with the Crime Suspenstories run, after plowing through The Vault of Horror, Tales From the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear. The new stories aren't supposed to mimic the 50's material, but I'm a bit of a purist and I couldn't help but walk in the same footsteps to a large degree. There's a few references to specific Johnny Craig and Jack Davis panels in the scripts, which won't necessarily be obvious to readers of the finished comics. I wasn't asking for the art to pay homage to those panels, I just wanted to point them out as a way to better point out what effect I was going for. In one case the reference was not mentioned in the script, but there's a nod to "Foul Play!" by Al Feldstein and Jack Davis in the first story.

Some of the EC stories that have stuck with me over the decades were reprinted in the 70's Nostalgia Press EC collection called The EC Horror Library Of The 1950's (also, Horror Comics of the 1950s, the cover and the spine titles don't match). My friend Michael Kemper loaned me the book when I was sick (along with Batman From the 30s to the 70s, the Crown Publishing hardcover that introduced me to Bat-Mite, which eventually led to my writing World's Funnest), and the comics might have made me a little sicker. I was repulsed and attracted by them, and they really rewired my brain a bit. Some of those stories still live with me to this day -- "Foul Play!", "Carrion Death!", "Shoe-Button Eyes", "Taint the Meat...it's The Humanity!", "Whirlpool", "Horror We, How's Bayou?", "Strop! You're Killing Me!", "Star Light, Star Bright", "Master Race" and "Midnight Mess"...images from these stories are famous and infamous among comics fans and historians. It's pretty wild that I've managed to channel imagery from those two books -- that my friend lent me almost five decades ago -- into projects I've worked on.

I wish I had the actual books. A very generous fan gave me a copy of the EC book but it got ruined when I had an insect infestation in my studio (that also destroyed all my Hellboy Library editions), and I got rid of the Batman (and the Crown Publishing Superman) book to make room. I find myself missing a number of books I got rid of to make room. I should have boxed them all up in the hopes of finding space some day. Which is silly, but, I do miss those books. I still have the Crown Shazam/Captain Marvel book, because there aren't a ton of reprints of the Fawcett stuff, and the book is not easy to replace. I still look around for the EC book, but it's also not easy to find in good shape at an affordable price. I can't complain, I have the stories in the EC Library Editions -- well, almost all of them.

The Nostalgia press book published an EC story that never ran because it was rejected by the Comics Code -- this was "An Eye For An Eye", drawn by Angelo Torres, the only EC contributor still with us (now 93 years old). The story wasn't published until the Nostalgia Press book ran it, a promise William Gaines made to Torres that he'd someday get it in print. It's been reprinted in the EC Archives and one of the Gemstone EC reprints, but it hasn't been reprinted in the EC Library run. So, I guess I need it (ha ha, collectors need everything).

Somewhere I have Angelo Torres' autograph that I got after meeting him at the Dark Horse Comics booth at NYCC a decade or so ago. As with all the EC/MAD artists I managed to meet over the years, I was a nervous wreck while talking with him, even though he was incredibly nice and personable. I still regret not getting to meet Jack Kamen and John Severin at SDCC in 2000 because I was so busy, but over the years I managed to meet Al Feldstein, Harvey Kurtzman, Will Elder, George Evans, Marie Severin (who I also got to work with on Bill and Ted) and Al Williamson. And I met Al Jaffee, from Mad, twice.

Funny enough, meeting your creative heroes works into my second EC/Oni script.

Anyway, I better invoice Oni for my script. I keep forgetting, which is ridiculous for a freelancer. I did make sure to ask if I could pitch some more story ideas, which is something I used to not do because I assumed if a publisher wanted something, they'd ask. I learned the hard way that they don't always ask, because they figure you're busy if you're not asking. See how that works? Oy. Also ridiculous for a freelancer. Old dogs might not be able to learn new tricks, but they can learn to ask if anyone wants more of the old ones.

Catacomb of Torment #2 will be out in August, featuring a story by me and Lukas Ketner.

Both of my EC/Oni scripts will be posted to the $5 PDF tier some time after the comics have been published.