Cruel Universe

This is the second of Oni Press's new EC imprint (following last month's Epitaphs from the Abyss).

SPOILERS - I generally don't like to know in advance if a story has a twist ending. That itself is a spoiler for me because in the back of my mind I try to guess the spoiler in advance rather than cancentrating on the the story itself. But more often than not EC stories had spoilers and so do these. I was not expecting one in the first story, and I must admit it caught me totally off guard. I'm not going to reveal what the spoilers are, but you may be able to guess them if you know in advance that they are coming.

"The Champion" - Cover story. About a group of slaves forced into gladatorial combat in outer space.
"Solo Shift" - A "closed door mystery" set aboard a ship on the event horizon of a black hole. (I guesseed the"who" but not the "how.")
"Drink Up" - An eccentric billionaire obsessed with living forever finds the legendary "Fountain of Youth."
"Priceless" - Another rich eccentric lives his life vicariously through an "experiencer" implanted in someone else's brain.

END SPOILERS

These are not exactly like classic EC comics, but they are an incredible simulation. EC comics pushed the envelope of what was considered acceptable in the 1950s, and Oni Press is doing the same thing 70 years later. (That Richard Starkings and his team at Comicraft have resurrected EC's original Leroy-style font helps to complete the illusion.) To me, these stories suggest a mash-up of the original EC comics and DC's Wasteland of the late '80s (for those of you reading this who remember that).

I remember Wasteland fondly. But I read that before I had read much EC, or much in the way of horror comics at all, so I didn't have much to compare it to. Now that I have read a lot of EC's horror (all of it, actually), plus the bulk of all pre-Code horror books, I wonder if I would think as highly of Wasteland on a re-read. I think I'll forgo, and keep my happy memories untouched.

As to Cruel Universe #1, I didn't really get an EC vibe from this book, or its companion, Epitaphs from the Abyss #1. Universe is pretty good IMO, but not great. On the other hand, I'm waaaaay past the horror ignorance of my Wasteland days, and pretty jaded, so that should be taken into account. But also, EC's art was head and shoulders above its competition at the time (and still better than most of today's artists), while Oni's artists are simply competent. They're not bad, but certainly not head and shoulders above the competition, like EC was (and is).

The twist endings did jump out at me on the first two stories, but not on the last two -- primarily because I wasn't invested enough in those two to care. I don't know if they were lesser stories, or if my interest in general was trailing off.

I do see that they're attempting to address the fears of the modern world vs. the '50s, especially with multiple stories addressing unscrupulous billionaires. (Certainly a feature of the modern world.) Sometimes the billionaires get their comeuppance, and sometimes they don't, following Gaines' mantra that sometimes virtue doesn't triumph.

But, for me, that's missing the point. The part of EC that was creepiest to me was how it involved ordinary people doing horrific things. What was scary was that it made the guy next door, the person on the bus next to you, the butcher at the grocery store, your local minister -- in short, anybody -- a potential murderer. Not billionaires I will never meet, or strangers in a European castle, or mountain-climbing teams searching for Yeti. Those can all make for great horror stories, but what was chilling to me is when the killer could be you ... or me. And that's not a fear dependent on the prevailing politics of the time.

Of course, it should also be taken into account what Hunter Gorinson wrote in the companion Epitaphs from the Abyss #1: That EC might have been amputated, but its influence was not. Which means that for consumers of pop culture, and for consumers of comic books in particular, EC didn't really die. It's in the DNA of every comic book we read, especially horror comic books. And I have read a lot of comic books!

So maybe I don't get an EC vibe from this book in particular, because the EC sensibility is so widespread as to be the environment in which the book has been produced. When everything is already influenced by EC, how can anything be extra-influenced by EC? Which is to say, how is Cruel Universe any different than any other horror anthology? If I didn't know better, I might be reading Creepshow ... which has exactly the same roots.

I don't mean to be negative, it's just that EC is the water in which all horror anthologies swim, so to me, this fish isn't a whole lot different than any other fish. I like Cruel Universe (and Epitaphs) fine, but I just don't see it (yet) as exceptional.

Anyway, looking forward to issue #2.

Replies

Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod) August 9, 2024 at 9:56am

These books have gotten me thinking of Wasteland too! Those stories were also horrific and socially pointed.

I've loved this issue so far. I've read the first three ("The Champion," twice) and have enjoyed each. Even when I felt like I knew where a story was going, such as "Drink Up," the specifics of it caught be by surprise. (That final panel elevates the story to an all-time classic, IMO.)

I'm so excited for this line!
Captain Comics August 18, 2024 at 1:59pm

I remember Wasteland fondly. But I read that before I had read much EC, or much in the way of horror comics at all, so I didn't have much to compare it to. Now that I have read a lot of EC's horror (all of it, actually), plus the bulk of all pre-Code horror books, I wonder if I would think as highly of Wasteland on a re-read. I think I'll forgo, and keep my happy memories untouched.

As to Cruel Universe #1, I didn't really get an EC vibe from this book, or its companion, Epitaphs from the Abyss #1. Universe is pretty good IMO, but not great. On the other hand, I'm waaaaay past the horror ignorance of my Wasteland days, and pretty jaded, so that should be taken into account. But also, EC's art was head and shoulders above its competition at the time (and still better than most of today's artists), while Oni's artists are simply competent. They're not bad, but certainly not head and shoulders above the competition, like EC was (and is).

The twist endings did jump out at me on the first two stories, but not on the last two -- primarily because I wasn't invested enough in those two to care. I don't know if they were lesser stories, or if my interest in general was trailing off.

I do see that they're attempting to address the fears of the modern world vs. the '50s, especially with multiple stories addressing unscrupulous billionaires. (Certainly a feature of the modern world.) Sometimes the billionaires get their comeuppance, and sometimes they don't, following Gaines' mantra that sometimes virtue doesn't triumph.

But, for me, that's missing the point. The part of EC that was creepiest to me was how it involved ordinary people doing horrific things. What was scary was that it made the guy next door, the person on the bus next to you, the butcher at the grocery store, your local minister -- in short, anybody -- a potential murderer. Not billionaires I will never meet, or strangers in a European castle, or mountain-climbing teams searching for Yeti. Those can all make for great horror stories, but what was chilling to me is when the killer could be you ... or me. And that's not a fear dependent on the prevailing politics of the time.

Of course, it should also be taken into account what Hunter Gorinson wrote in the companion Epitaphs from the Abyss #1: That EC might have been amputated, but its influence was not. Which means that for consumers of pop culture, and for consumers of comic books in particular, EC didn't really die. It's in the DNA of every comic book we read, especially horror comic books. And I have read a lot of comic books!

So maybe I don't get an EC vibe from this book in particular, because the EC sensibility is so widespread as to be the environment in which the book has been produced. When everything is already influenced by EC, how can anything be extra-influenced by EC? Which is to say, how is Cruel Universe any different than any other horror anthology? If I didn't know better, I might be reading Creepshow ... which has exactly the same roots.

I don't mean to be negative, it's just that EC is the water in which all horror anthologies swim, so to me, this fish isn't a whole lot different than any other fish. I like Cruel Universe (and Epitaphs) fine, but I just don't see it (yet) as exceptional.

Anyway, looking forward to issue #2.
- Jeff of Earth-J > Captain Comics August 18, 2024 at 3:46pm
  
  I don't mean to be negative...
  
  No, no... it's a fair cop.
Jeff of Earth-J September 5, 2024 at 9:05am
ISSUE #2:
1. "Organ1c" - Human being are being raised for meat. This story is not going to be to everyone's taste (pun intended). Beyond the shock value, there is a small twist at the end, but I don't really see the point here.
2. "Brilliant and Deceived" - A brief (two page) update of the Dr. Frankenstein legend. It's a slight tale, but what can ya do with two pages?
3. "And the Profit Said..." - A medical research firm performs an unauthorized medical procedure which grants a man the power of foresight.
4. "Ray Gun" - A down-on-his-luck former rodeo star finds a ray gun which dropped out of the sky. My favorite story of the issue.
Coming attractions include...
- Shiver SuspenStories - a new series beginning in December
- Cruel Kingdom - a new series beginning in January.
My thoughts: Shiver SuspenStories is obviously in the Crime/Shock SuspenStories vein, but Cruel Kingdom appears to be a mix of the science fiction/sword & sorcery genres, something new for "EC."
- Captain Comics > Jeff of Earth-J September 11, 2024 at 5:22pm
  
  The last story is the only one that really seemed to have a good point. The first one was just shock value and the second too short. The third was OK, but not EC level.

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