Hello Darkness & EC Comics Anthologies See Over 120,000 Copies Ordered

Posted in: Boom, Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Oni Press | Tagged: ec comics, Hello Darkness

Boom Studos’ Hello Darkness #1 and Oni Press/EC Comics’ Epitaphs From The Abyss #1 Anthologies see over 120,000 copies ordered

If I had a nickel for every horror anthology comic launching on July 24th, featuring a veritable who’s who of high-profile creators, and supported by buzzy promotional campaigns led by ComicsPRO webinars and a cover on the front of Previews, I’d have two nickels. But it’s still weird that it has happened twice, right? Thanks to Boom Studios’ Hello Darkness or Oni Press’s EC Comics revival with Epitaphs from the Abyss. Might this wild string of coincidences might just be indicative of the start of a much larger trend.

If you’ve been paying any attention at all to the independent comics space these past few months, it will have been difficult to miss the amount of noise these two series have been generating. From Boom’s viral marketing and surprise reveal that an original Something is Killing the Children story is getting serialized in Hello Darkness, to Oni’s announcement of a second sci-fi-themed series and a tease of a free convention edition of Epitaphs from the Abyss #1, horror anthologies have somehow found themselves at the center of the comics conversation this summer… and readers have responded in a big way.

We recently reported that the final orders for Oni Press’s first EC issue, Epitaphs from the Abyss #1, was 65,000 orders , marking the publisher’s best-selling single issue in over a decade and becoming one of the best-selling launches of the year, period.

I now have new information pointing towards Hello Darkness #1 likewise being a massive hit for Boom Studios as well, with sources close to the publisher telling me that final orders landed at nearly 60,000 copies. I’m also being told that the book’s initial run has since sold out at the distributor level one week ahead of issue #1 on sale, and Boom will announce that a second printing is on its way to accommodate demand ahead of the August 5 FOC date for #2.

Clearly readers are more than a little intrigued by this recent wave of anthology storytelling, but the true test of course will be longevity. For what it’s worth, both series seem well-positioned to continue their momentum into those critical second issues. The recent announcement that internet and ebook phenomenon Chuck Tingle has signed on for a story in Boom’s anthology series made waves, and he’ll apparently be joining fellow HD creators James Tynion IV, Werther Dell’Edera, Michael Conrad, and Becky Cloonan for a panel at San Diego Comic-Con next week. Oni, meanwhile, will host its own EC Comics panel the following day with an equally star-studded line-up including Jason Aaron, Matt Kindt, Corinna Bechko, J. Holtman, Klaus Janson, Jay Stephens, and Ben H. Winters. It’s also possible that 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine might want in on this action.

It’s certainly going to be an interesting Comic-Con, we’ve got our eye on this one. Hello Darkness #1 and Epitaphs From The Abyss #1 are both on sale July 24th.

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