EC Catacomb of Torment #4

by John Arcudi, Amy Roy, Patricia A. Jackson

"TERROR! TORTURE! FEAR! MAYHEM! After all, this comic is called CATACOMB OF TORMENT—what did you expect, kittens?! Yes, yes, bite down hard and await the inevitable, because there is no escape and it’s too late—MUCH, MUCH TOO LATE—as our host, the Tormentor, carefully positions the scalpels of acutely accurate writers John Arcudi (B.P.R.D), Patricia A. Jackson (Star Tales from the Empire), and Amy Roy (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss) above your splayed ribcage with the assistance of mangle-minded artists Shawn Martinbrough (Thief of Thieves), Fabiana Mascolo (Catwoman), and Shawn McManus (Fables)! A murder mystery with extra-added murder, a seamstress seeking sartorial revenge, and a gardener taking the pruning shears to an extra-bloody bloom . . . Despair ye not, because EC Comic’s brutally entertaining monthly horror anthology is just getting warmed up!"

Genres: Comics, Short Stories, Horror

Kindle Edition

Published October 15, 2025

About the author

John Arcudi has made a name for himself by scripting comics that manage to combine long-running subplots with impeccable characterization and action sequences, making for some of the most exciting and consistently good comics out today.

Reviews

[Machiavelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun anthology hitting some heavy topics, racism bigotry in the South, physical abuse of women… they get theirs in the end in a very EC way

[Greg S · Rating 4 out of 5]

All three stories were really clever and had great artists.

Patricia Jackson’s “These are the colors that run” was straightforward.

Amy Roy’s “Mary, Mary, How does your garden grow?” was fun and had good pacing.

John Arcudi’s “Whoddunit?” had a new idea and a good ending.

[William Dalphin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm gonna write one review for all four editions and just post it four times because these things aren't worth writing four individual reviews for. Catacomb of Torment #1-4 are NOT in the spirit of Tales From the Crypt, Vault of Horror, or Haunt of Fear. The stories are incredibly juvenile, not as in they relay low-brow humor, but as in they reflect a very simple mindset. Every character in these stories is a ridiculous caricature. There is no humanity to anyone. They're cartoonish dumb, evil, bigoted, self-centered... just the absolute minimal effort put into giving us tales that make us think. I correct myself-- NO effort is made to give us tales that make us think. The artwork doesn't even showcase the talent of the artist(s), they just try to make it look like the work of the old, quality EC tales, but look more like something out of a Mad Magazine. Half the stories just HAPPEN... as in, there are events, and people die, and in most cases they are people you are convinced DESERVE to die because they are so buffoonishly reviling, but the hows and whys of their demises are borderline nonsensical. This person is killed by plants and becomes a plant monster. Why? Because. That's why. Don't ask. Look at the gory way her friends die next and don't waste a moment wondering what the moral of this story is. These white supremacists die when their new flag suddenly peels apart and strangles them. Why? Because. That's why. Don't ask questions. Get off my lawn. Can't you see they were bigots? That's all that matters. You want to see them die, so they died.

You're better off going and re-reading the old EC stuff.

[Nick LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 rounded down.

Three pretty strong stories this issue, if a tad on-the-nose. McManus' art in WHODUNNIT and it's appropriately stupid twist ending push this one into the top spot, followed by the timely COLORS and GARDEN which both leave you with a good sense of justice being done.

Read as a single issue.

[Alex Fyffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best issue of Catacombs to date!

[Garth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2026 - 365 Days of Whatever Is On My Comic Book TBR
Day 127