Exquisite Corpses Vol. 2

by James Tynion IV, Michael Walsh (Cover Art), Adam Gorham (Artist)

“Lyrical in its brutality and mesmerizing in its chaos, EXQUISITE CORPSES transforms a quiet town into a stage for elegant carnage, as a wonderfully twisted menagerie of killers descends like a fever dream, blending Battle Royale with The Silence of the Lambs.”—Geoff Johns, GEIGER, Green Lantern Trick-or-treating. Clocking in for your shift at work. Going to the annual Halloween party down at the Pit. For the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine, any one of these activities could spell a gruesome death as twelve of the most dangerous killers in the world turn their sleepy little town into the playing field for a game that will decide the fate of the entire country for years to come. JAMES TYNION IV (Something is Killing the Children, THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and MICHAEL WALSH (THE SILVER COIN, UNIVERSAL FRANKENSTEIN) have assembled some of the most talented creators in the industry to pull off a horror event like no other. As the body count rises in this second volume, TYNION & WALSH are joined by CHE GRAYSON (Dark Good Deeds), JORDIE BELLAIRE (REDLANDS), TYLER BOSS (YOU’LL DO BAD THINGS), PORNSAK PICHETSHOTE (THE GOOD ASIAN), ADAM GORHAM (Hellhunters), CLAIRE ROE (Dark Hollywood Special), and GAVIN FULLERTON (THE CLOSET) to decide the fates of killers and citizens alike. In the world of EXQUISITE CORPSES, no one is safe. Collects EXQUISITE CORPSES #4-8.

Genres: Graphic Novels

Kindle Edition

Published April 21, 2026

About the author

Prior to his first professional work, Tynion was a student of Scott Snyder's at Sarah Lawrence College. A few years later, he worked as for Vertigo as Fables editor Shelly Bond's intern. In late 2011, with DC deciding to give Batman (written by Snyder) a back up feature, Tynion was brought in by request of Snyder to script the back ups he had plotted. Tynion would later do the same with the Batman Annual #1, which was also co-plotted by Snyder. Beginning in September 2012, with DC's 0 issue month for the New 52, Tynion will be writing Talon, with art by Guillem March. In early 2013 it was announced that he'd take over writing duties for Red Hood and the Outlaws in April.

Tynion is also currently one of the writers in a rotating team in the weekly Batman Eternal series.

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mean, the corpses aren't all THAT exquisite.

[Marybeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ½ stars, rounded down

"You don't need to know everything to see everything has gone to shit." In a nutshell, this.

But a who's who reminder of at least the 13 & their candidates at the beginning would have been helpful.

"Do you hate this as much as I do?" "Kid, I'm a thousand years old. I have hate in me you couldn't imagine." "I think you underestimate me."

On top of that, there's A LOT happening at once. Intersecting storylines, switching between characters, characters magically ahowing up - it's very confusing. I had to reread a few parts a few times (the corn field maze 5 times alone). Tynion's work rarely has this issue, & to have it so many times in one collection is very odd.

"Well shit fire & save the matches...it's you. My little fox." "I'm not yours. I never was." "& trust me, my heart's still hurtin' over it."

This could have been a perfect volume, if not for the messiness of the execution (ha). The overall story is fantastic, & the end 🤯 I can't wait for Volume 3.

"I always hoped I'd meet a nice girl on the job." "I'm not nice." "I know -- I think it's my favorite thing about you so far."

Currently rooting for the remaining townspeople, the end of the 13, the Fox, & Randy Rabbit. (I can't not root for NJ...& that pat, pat was adorable & he won me over.)

"I'm my father's daughter. & I'll go as far as it takes."

Again, the art is great. Fantastic use of colors. There is the cohesion issue here that added to the confusion I mentioned before.

"Every conflict has it..a point of no return where violence becomes war. & the first stage of war is always the same...Denial...Because war is always something that could never happen here. Because war reveals who we are beneath the skin. That truth we don't want to see...That we're all monsters, just stumbling alone. & that's how we'll die. Alone. Because we are small, & they are big."

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continues in the same vein as volume 1, but where that was fairly easy to follow, this one started to get more complicated and the messy artwork isn't helping. The basic idea is that a group of killers, each representing one of the wealthiest 13 families in America, have descended on a small town to kill each other and as many townspeople as they can, with the winner winning the right to rule until the next "game." I really liked the first volume, but this one isn't as good. Hopefully, there'll be some more tricks and turns in the next one.

[Viktor Logi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, really fun, fucked up in the best way possible!

Pretty much just as fun as volume 1

Said most of my thoughts on review of vol.1

Just read this comic series, it rocks!

Very frustrated that I probably have to wait six months or more for the next volume!

5☆

[Ziyad Baksh · Rating 3 out of 5]

countdown

the clock counts down as killer and civilian cross paths and the bodies pile up.

a fun read but the large cast can be hard to keep track of.