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Ice Cream Man #4-6
Ice Cream Man: Sundae Edition, Vol. 2
The most critically acclaimed comic of the last five years introduces its second helping of THE SUNDAE EDITION, VOL. 2! Collecting another 12 issues (plus some more) of the bestselling anthology comic ICE CREAM MAN, this oversized hardcover features standalone stories that manage to push the boundaries of the comics medium while also telling emotionally compelling yarns. From a comic that's a perfect palindrome (it can be read first-to-last panel, or last-to-first), to an experiment with crossword puzzles, to an instruction manual for how to be a ghost, to a live telethon for a VERY sick Jerry—there's still something here for readers of every stripe. The Ice Cream Man is back in town…care for a treat? Collects ICE CREAM MAN #13-24, HAHA #6, and ICE CREAM MAN QUARANTINE COMIX SPECIAL
456 pages, Hardcover
Published November 14, 2023
13 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
W. Maxwell Prince
108 books186 followersW. Maxwell Prince writes in Brooklyn and lives with his wife, daughter, and two cats called Mischief and Mayhem. He is the author of One Week in the Library, The Electric Sublime, and Judas: The Last Days. When not writing, he tries to render all of human experience in chart form.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
January 20, 2024
More existential horror, the tales turned overly suburban and middle class, likely due to the pandemic. Clearly divorce is the speaker’s worst nightmare. While still thought provoking and philosophical, I wanted more from this, more ICM mythology and origin.
October 22, 2025
Ice Cream Man
The Sundae edition volume 2
More short stories in this very original anthology horror stories. I found this second Hardcover not as good as the first one, but still this has some of the most interesting use of the comic medium period. It has a story that is a palindrome, it can be read as usual but also backwards. It has a prose story, a story told in the way and style of Dr. Seuss, and a crossword comic, this was still very enjoyable and original. Also included is the quarantine comix special.
The Sundae edition volume 2
More short stories in this very original anthology horror stories. I found this second Hardcover not as good as the first one, but still this has some of the most interesting use of the comic medium period. It has a story that is a palindrome, it can be read as usual but also backwards. It has a prose story, a story told in the way and style of Dr. Seuss, and a crossword comic, this was still very enjoyable and original. Also included is the quarantine comix special.
August 4, 2024
As usual with Ice Cream Man, this is creepy, creative, and unexpected.
The focus in all these stories is mundane, depressing suburbia and mid-life crises, particularly divorce. In story after story, we see middle-aged men divorce, have unfulfilling romantic relationships, and suffer strange, unexplained illnesses as their bodies fall apart.
Although those themes are consistent throughout, every story surprised me.
How?
The delivery was so unexpected and creative.
One story is a palindrome so you can read it forward or backward.
Another story has a teenage girl's diary entries that her father snoops on. He gets more concerned, the more he keeps reading.
Another story is a crossword puzzle - with each clue the man solves, we learn more about his life and why it's so depressing.
Another story is like an advent calendar. Every day, the teen girl opens another door of her advent calendar to find something strange, and we watch her deal with her unexpected pregnancy, day by day.
I was constantly impressed by the author's creativity. Whatever W. Maxwell Prince does to generate fresh story ideas, it works!
In my favorite story, the Ice Cream Man reads creepy, demented versions of classic children's stories to kids he's abducted. Weird versions of Goodnight Moon, Dr. Suess, etc.
There's also a story about an old man with dementia in hospice. He reaches for memories of his childhood, his wife, and his kids. A gremlin invades his dreams and steals his memories, one by one. This was very well done and super creepy. It may be the creepiest thing I've ever read. Even though there was an uplifting note at the end, this was ultimately too depressing for me to want to read again. If you don't want something pretty dark, skip that one.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Ice Cream Man Volume 1, or any horror movie fans.
Well done!!!
The focus in all these stories is mundane, depressing suburbia and mid-life crises, particularly divorce. In story after story, we see middle-aged men divorce, have unfulfilling romantic relationships, and suffer strange, unexplained illnesses as their bodies fall apart.
Although those themes are consistent throughout, every story surprised me.
How?
The delivery was so unexpected and creative.
One story is a palindrome so you can read it forward or backward.
Another story has a teenage girl's diary entries that her father snoops on. He gets more concerned, the more he keeps reading.
Another story is a crossword puzzle - with each clue the man solves, we learn more about his life and why it's so depressing.
Another story is like an advent calendar. Every day, the teen girl opens another door of her advent calendar to find something strange, and we watch her deal with her unexpected pregnancy, day by day.
I was constantly impressed by the author's creativity. Whatever W. Maxwell Prince does to generate fresh story ideas, it works!
In my favorite story, the Ice Cream Man reads creepy, demented versions of classic children's stories to kids he's abducted. Weird versions of Goodnight Moon, Dr. Suess, etc.
There's also a story about an old man with dementia in hospice. He reaches for memories of his childhood, his wife, and his kids. A gremlin invades his dreams and steals his memories, one by one. This was very well done and super creepy. It may be the creepiest thing I've ever read. Even though there was an uplifting note at the end, this was ultimately too depressing for me to want to read again. If you don't want something pretty dark, skip that one.
I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoyed Ice Cream Man Volume 1, or any horror movie fans.
Well done!!!
July 2, 2024
(Zero spoiler review)
There once was a show called The Twilight Zone. It was fantastic. (the original). There once was a comic series called Ice Cream Man. It isn't fantastic. In fact, it's not very good at all. The art has improved but the writing has gotten worse, if thats even possible. I didn't like volume one, and I like this even less. I'm out. 2/5
OmniBen.
There once was a show called The Twilight Zone. It was fantastic. (the original). There once was a comic series called Ice Cream Man. It isn't fantastic. In fact, it's not very good at all. The art has improved but the writing has gotten worse, if thats even possible. I didn't like volume one, and I like this even less. I'm out. 2/5
OmniBen.
July 24, 2024
The second Sundae Edition volume sees ICM almost abandon the previously teased subplot which introduced an adversary and go full meta. It gets weirder and less campy but the intrigue kept me hooked. Then we get to issue 21, which introduces a new plot: A private detective investigates the recent disappearance of a few good Ice Cream Men.
February 7, 2024
I knew going into this that the stories would be strange and surreal, so I think I liked this mega volume more than I liked the first one simply because I was a lot more prepared. If anything stands out about these stories though, it's how uniquely they were written. The way the artwork and the words entwined. That kept me interested sometimes more than the stories themselves, which were sometimes still confusing.
Like before, I'm going to break my review down by chapter.
Chapter 13: I've never read a comic that could be read forwards AND backwards. That was a trip. It worked really well both ways though, because the story still made sense. That must have been hard to write. I have a lot of respect for the author for this. ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 14: I'm so confused by this, but I detect a message hidden in there somewhere. What I really liked though was the format of the story. Incorporating the crossword puzzle into the story and the artwork was very clever and made it fun to read. This one seems to imply that we need to reprioritize what we do with our time because of how it effects our lives. I liked that, maybe because I can relate. ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 15: I kind of want more out of this one. Not because it feels incomplete. I think I just want to know what else happens to Lily, even though I don't think we are supposed to find out. I wonder if the message here was about how things eventually catch up to us in the end? ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 16: I really liked this one. The twist was clever and much darker than I expected. I even went back to reread some things with the new insight I had to the plot. I love all the subtle ways the ice cream man comes up in these stories. This one feels like it's about unconditional love and the lengths we would go for our children. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 17: I didnt like this one all that much. I dont typically care for things with superheroes. I know this was a very...different sort of superhero. With all the usual surreal things that happen in an ice cream man comic. But i wasn't feeling it much. ☆☆
Chapter 18: This wasnt like anything I've read before. Reading from the perspective of a man essentially on life support. His memories, the way the words were broken up and mixing around, was interesting. I don't understand the gremlin part, but he seems to be a recurring figure like the ice cream man himself. There seemed to be a lot of mixed emotions. Regret for things in life, but a final note of happiness. ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 19: I loved this one and its unusual format. I especially liked the first part when the character was dressed as a sheet ghost. I like how everything was arranged in steps. It was a bit sad by the end, but also had a strangely positive, almost uplifting note to it? Even the grey color scheme didnt deter me, despite usually preferring color in my stories. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 20: These dark, sick, and twisted parodies of childrens stories gave me life. I don't know what that says about me, but I loved it. Especially his version of Goodnight Moon, which was Goodnight You. The ice cream man is fascinating, I tell you. Probably my favorite story in the whole book. I want more dark parodies of kids books. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 21: Such a bizarre story. The whole private investigator thing to figure out what's happening to the ice cream men. I can't wrap my head around it. ☆☆☆.5
Chapter 22: a story with an emphasis on a woman's choice and why this is so important. I liked it. And I enjoyed the way it was told, with the advent calander. Each gift was a hint to what was to come that day. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 23: A unique concept and format, but I'm reading a graphic novel to read a graphic novel. The large blocks of text weren't all that interesting for me, even though it was kind of meant to be like you're reading a newspaper. The story itself was cool, I just didn't like the format. ☆☆
Chapter 24: The way that this one broke the fourth wall... Wow. The dog part wasn't cool. That one hurt. Anyway, this was interesting. Raising money to save a life...and finding that nobody is willing to do so. Maybe to indicate how selfish people are and don't care about others? I don't know. Super creative though. ☆☆☆.5
I didn't read the Haha comic because I read it in the Haha collection already, but I can see why it was included and didn't realize the character had shown up briefly in an earlier Ice Cream Man comic. I love how all these things intertwine.
Quarantine Comics Collection: Fairly unmemorable, if I'm being honest, but I really appreciated them being here. Especially considering how dark that period of time was and why the author created them in the first place. I won't rate them individually. I don't remember if they had names.
A lot of these stories really stood out. More of them were good than those that were not. I had a lot of fun reading these. I'll happily continue with the series too. If you liked the others, you might like these ones even more.
Like before, I'm going to break my review down by chapter.
Chapter 13: I've never read a comic that could be read forwards AND backwards. That was a trip. It worked really well both ways though, because the story still made sense. That must have been hard to write. I have a lot of respect for the author for this. ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 14: I'm so confused by this, but I detect a message hidden in there somewhere. What I really liked though was the format of the story. Incorporating the crossword puzzle into the story and the artwork was very clever and made it fun to read. This one seems to imply that we need to reprioritize what we do with our time because of how it effects our lives. I liked that, maybe because I can relate. ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 15: I kind of want more out of this one. Not because it feels incomplete. I think I just want to know what else happens to Lily, even though I don't think we are supposed to find out. I wonder if the message here was about how things eventually catch up to us in the end? ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 16: I really liked this one. The twist was clever and much darker than I expected. I even went back to reread some things with the new insight I had to the plot. I love all the subtle ways the ice cream man comes up in these stories. This one feels like it's about unconditional love and the lengths we would go for our children. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 17: I didnt like this one all that much. I dont typically care for things with superheroes. I know this was a very...different sort of superhero. With all the usual surreal things that happen in an ice cream man comic. But i wasn't feeling it much. ☆☆
Chapter 18: This wasnt like anything I've read before. Reading from the perspective of a man essentially on life support. His memories, the way the words were broken up and mixing around, was interesting. I don't understand the gremlin part, but he seems to be a recurring figure like the ice cream man himself. There seemed to be a lot of mixed emotions. Regret for things in life, but a final note of happiness. ☆☆☆☆
Chapter 19: I loved this one and its unusual format. I especially liked the first part when the character was dressed as a sheet ghost. I like how everything was arranged in steps. It was a bit sad by the end, but also had a strangely positive, almost uplifting note to it? Even the grey color scheme didnt deter me, despite usually preferring color in my stories. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 20: These dark, sick, and twisted parodies of childrens stories gave me life. I don't know what that says about me, but I loved it. Especially his version of Goodnight Moon, which was Goodnight You. The ice cream man is fascinating, I tell you. Probably my favorite story in the whole book. I want more dark parodies of kids books. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 21: Such a bizarre story. The whole private investigator thing to figure out what's happening to the ice cream men. I can't wrap my head around it. ☆☆☆.5
Chapter 22: a story with an emphasis on a woman's choice and why this is so important. I liked it. And I enjoyed the way it was told, with the advent calander. Each gift was a hint to what was to come that day. ☆☆☆☆☆
Chapter 23: A unique concept and format, but I'm reading a graphic novel to read a graphic novel. The large blocks of text weren't all that interesting for me, even though it was kind of meant to be like you're reading a newspaper. The story itself was cool, I just didn't like the format. ☆☆
Chapter 24: The way that this one broke the fourth wall... Wow. The dog part wasn't cool. That one hurt. Anyway, this was interesting. Raising money to save a life...and finding that nobody is willing to do so. Maybe to indicate how selfish people are and don't care about others? I don't know. Super creative though. ☆☆☆.5
I didn't read the Haha comic because I read it in the Haha collection already, but I can see why it was included and didn't realize the character had shown up briefly in an earlier Ice Cream Man comic. I love how all these things intertwine.
Quarantine Comics Collection: Fairly unmemorable, if I'm being honest, but I really appreciated them being here. Especially considering how dark that period of time was and why the author created them in the first place. I won't rate them individually. I don't remember if they had names.
A lot of these stories really stood out. More of them were good than those that were not. I had a lot of fun reading these. I'll happily continue with the series too. If you liked the others, you might like these ones even more.
October 18, 2024
2.5 stars, clearly not for me.
I was hoping to get intriguing horror short stories with a mystical figure in the background tying these stories together. A few stories in here are like that, but even less so than in Vol. 1.
Instead, most stories are pushing the borders of what a comic is, or are clear parodies of well established comic book characters. Most of them don't work at all for me. There's a few that hit me in the gut and some I did like, e.g. the advent calendar. But most often the stories are depressing, when I wish for horror or mystery stories.
Then there's the artwork, which I really dislike; people look creepy and weird.
Can't recommend this unfortunately and I probably won't continue with Vol. 3.
I was hoping to get intriguing horror short stories with a mystical figure in the background tying these stories together. A few stories in here are like that, but even less so than in Vol. 1.
Instead, most stories are pushing the borders of what a comic is, or are clear parodies of well established comic book characters. Most of them don't work at all for me. There's a few that hit me in the gut and some I did like, e.g. the advent calendar. But most often the stories are depressing, when I wish for horror or mystery stories.
Then there's the artwork, which I really dislike; people look creepy and weird.
Can't recommend this unfortunately and I probably won't continue with Vol. 3.
March 24, 2025
The suburban existential horror continues. This second volume lets go of the overarching story arc that was building up in the last couple of issues of the first volume, but is actually all the better for it. The anthology format allows itself for all kinds of weird stories, but more importantly it allows the creators to do something creative and strange with each new issue. For example: one issue is a palindrome and can be read front to back, but also back to front. There are recurring themes though: broken relationships with parents, partners and family members, divorces, regret about the direction your life took. Truly one of the most thought provoking and creative comic currently out there.
January 24, 2024
I find that reading W. Maxwell Prince's Ice Cream Man stories is akin to poking a very sore tooth; you know you should stop doing it, but you keep on doing it anyway. His stories are highly disturbing in a deeply psychological way and this batch was even more so given that they were conceived during the pandemic. I can only take a little of his work at a time, but it is compelling on some level at the very same time. Weird...
October 3, 2024
One of the things I love about this series is despite how messed up and depressing these stories are, there is a little bit of hope of change in some of them. I also LOVE all the callbacks to previous issues and characters in the series. There are many wild swings and the ways to tell a narrative are perpetually played with in interesting ways. I love the lore of the Ice Cream Man and his accompanying horrors. It's unlike any other comic, that's for sure, and creatively expansive.
May 14, 2024
Imaginative and explorative but seldomly any good. More angst and depression than scary. I applaud the creators for the ambition of creating something different and interesting, only reaching the goal of being different most of the time though. Unfortunately they are as interested in woke agendas and teaching the reader banal lessons. I liked the Watchmen inspired story the most
February 6, 2024
Still tremendously clever and creepy, but thematically eats its own tale by the end. Drunk daddies, cheating moms, divorce, suicide. Gets to wear on you a bit, but the storytelling and art are solid enough you don’t want to stop.
May 19, 2024
One of the things I love about this series is despite how messed up and depressing these stories are, there is a little bit of hope of change in some of them. I also LOVE all the callbacks to previous issues and characters in the series.
August 21, 2024
This had some unique issues this time around. I didn't like all of them, but the horror children books and the telethon were awesome. Artwork is amazing and disconcerting as usual, and I question my continued desire to read these.
September 7, 2025
Still super creepy but in such an awesome way. I love how the overarching things tie together in small references, but if I were to stop and start again between stories I wouldn’t feel like I need to go back to remember it’s episodic enough.
September 24, 2025
I liked Volume 1, but loved Volume 2. The team goes way more experimental in format. They play with the medium. I'm not sure each issue fully sticks the landing in satisfying ways but it's left open and opaque for future reads. Well done!
January 2, 2024
Never misses a step. Cleaver issue in and out. Does things and tells stories you’ve never read before. My favorite anthology of all time.
September 9, 2024
Meh. I enjoyed but didn’t love volume 1, though there were hints that it was getting better. Still zero explanation on how it’s all connected, and the writing went downhill.
May 4, 2025
I loved the experimentation and odes to children books and other things in this collection.
July 12, 2025
Liked this more than the first deluxe edition. Too many of the stories have mediocre endings. But the ideas were more interesting to me.
December 1, 2025
Same as the first, every chapter is different and unique, exceptionally different concept of comics I’ve read before
December 28, 2025
issue 18 watch as it all receeds
advent calendar
advent calendar
January 26, 2025
4.5 - Great book - better than volume 1. Tiny Lives, Haunting for Beginners, For Kids, Watch as it All Recedes - so many good stories. I had no idea I liked horror.
September 1, 2024
Four new stories of terror that have only gotten stranger. Despite the weirdness, I was all in on volume 1. This volume, though, was all kinds of WTF. I just didn’t get any of the stories at all and I didn’t enjoy a single one. I’m done.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews