Exquisite Corpses Vol. 3

Exquisite Corpses

by James Tynion IV, Michael Walsh (Artist), Valentine De Landro (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. As the sun begins to rise on the unlucky town chosen as this year’s arena, the last remaining killers gather to determine the winner. But the civilians of Oak Valley have been pushed to their limits, and with nothing left to lose, they’re not going to let the powers-that-be play the game by their rules any longer… JAMES TYNION IV (THE DEPARTMENT OF TRUTH) and MICHAEL WALSH (THE SILVER COIN) are joined by TYLER BOSS (YOU’LL DO BAD THINGS), JORDIE BELLAIRE (REDLANDS), CHE GRAYSON (Dark Good Deeds), VALENTINE DE LANDRO (BITCH PLANET), MARIANNA IGNAZZI (Catwoman), and GAVIN FULLERTON (THE CLOSET) as they conclude the blood-soaked first season of the groundbreaking horror epic! Collects EXQUISITE CORPSES #9-13

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Horror, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction, Thriller, Death

Kindle Edition

Published September 15, 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

[Scott Rhee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third compilation volume of James Tynion IV's graphic novel series Exquisite Corpses brings to a (semi-satisfying) close one of the most brutal and cynical series I've read in a while. "Brutal" is a good word to describe this final volume, in which the final showdown between the 13 wealthiest families wreak havoc in the small town of Oak Valley, Maine. The wealthiest 1% of the 1% views the 99.99% as lambs to a slaughter, although that implies that we, the lambs, are worth our weight in meat. Turns out, the 13 wealthy families are vegetarians. They just like to watch us die...

[Mario V · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not only has this been the best ever independently published comic I’ve ever read but also just one of THE best comics I’ve ever read! Highly recommend it was so awesome.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely corpses. Exquisite? Perhaps.

[Krystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The grand finale, and boy is it grand!

This whole series is such a crazy ride. A lot of psycho fun and some great twists. Tynion is a master of the craft, that's for sure!

Read in singles, but highly recommend waiting til you have access to the whole story before you read - you won't want to slow this thing down once you start.

[Bertazzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Battle Royales often stumble over certain obvious pitfalls but Tynion, Walsh, and the Corpse Crew managed to save plenty of surprises for the home stretch.

[Raul Reyes · Rating 2 out of 5]

The series continues to be painfully average, except the ending pissed me off, so this gets a 2. The coloring and art continue to deliver, but the story is really nothing special. I hated what they did to the mom, but what pissed me off even more is that they didn’t even commit to their decision, she was just a plot device that they discarded once the gunman needed to make an interesting decision for once. I’ll repeat this once again: Why is this getting a whole universe, when the concept of the book is pretty basic and there’s not much added to make this stand out. Insert the Skai Jackson Gossip Girl audition clip where she says “If you’re gonna deface someone’s locker, at least make it original. DIY Diane is not even clever”.

[Janessa Paun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my second favorite graphic novel series of all time (topped only by Fence of course. And one of the best things about it is that it is not over yet. Like what do you mean I get to discover the Fox Mask Killer’s backstory??? I am so incredibly hyped. Also getting to see more of Rascal Randy after he somehow survived the events of the competition (which was somehow just so him) is so exciting as is the soon to be released Lone Gunman issues. This graphic novel somehow ended the way I had an inkling that it would from the very beginning (Massachusetts on top with the Lone Gunman wielding her weapon) and yet not the way I thought it would as well (Laura being the one to pick up the mask). It was hard to see Audrey be the last one to be gunned down after she went crazy in the search of Jason and let New York convince her to join the game as it was hard to see the Fox Mask Killer accept her fate so willing after her revenge was carried out on South Carolina by another but it was what had to be done. Laura needed to be the one to help Xavi and Jason live after being let out of the town. There was something so trippy about the way that his game was done all for a want of power and entertainment and how they were just able to erase it all as if it had never happened. I also liked the way that the Black man who was among the thirteen heads of the families addressed the fact that he hadn’t been respected by the others as of late. His drive to win the game had a different edge to it, much like New York’s urge to win seemed to be more about how to make others suffer. My final thought: I will never recover from seeing Xavi’s breakdown once he saw a picture of him and Craig in his locker!
Favorite quotes:
“‘About twelve hundred dollars.’
‘Excuse me?’
‘That’s how much a life costs here.’
‘Or at least that’s what the sheriff of yours sold you all out for.’”

“‘You think you’re better than the rest of us because the 13 can’t accept a no from you?’
‘I’m taking you off the board once and for all. It’s what you want, isn’t it?’
‘You’ll see your daughter soon enough. You can thank me in hell later.’”

“‘I was given two options when the thirteen first hired me – more than most people are given. Certainly more than you have now.
I was told to accept my position, or accept my fate. And I knew that to accept the former was simply to delay the latter.’”

“‘Every shit-heel town we choose is the same.
People convinced they’d sacrifice themselves in one final heroic act.
But in my line of work, I can assure you, people who see terrible things…
… do terrible things.
And we love to watch.’”

“‘I only wanted to humiliate your sister. She’s the one who decided to put herself in the game.
How fucking stupid and pointless.
We’re supposed to be untouchable. We’re supposed to be more than any of the little bugs on those screens.
It was always going to go this way, kid. You’re smart enough to know that. And now the seat of power for your family rests with you.’”

“‘Aw, Mike. They did you dirty…
I liked him.
Bit of a kook, but I liked him.’”

“‘I thought you were dead.. I saw… there was a body…
Oh, baby. It’s okay. We’re safe now. We’re safe.’
‘Audrey… He’s scared.’
‘He doesn’t have to be scared. Everything’s fine now. It’s all FINE.’
‘Audrey. Put down the knives.’”

“‘You have no fucking idea who I am!
Give me my son!’
‘No.’
‘You don’t know what I’ve been through… You… You have no fucking idea what I’ve done to survive.’
‘You’re like them. The other bad people.
You’re just like them!’”

[Chr*s Browning]

Ultimately a solid series - very propulsive, even if that means the month to month experience of reading it often ended in a cliffhanger and a "is that all?" Rereading the last few issues collected here because the 13th never made it onto Hoopla individually, the subtle changes in artists is more obvious than monthly where it wasn't obvious at all; still it works, and there are plenty of twists in the homestretch. I'm not super sold on the Big Twist or the set-up for a follow-up (or the advertisements for 3(!) spinoff series), but I'll probably pick them up down the line someday. Tynion may beat the same drum across many series, but it's generally an entertaining rhythm.

[Alex · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

And so the game ends....

All in all, I did like this. Thankfully they got me to be invested in our final two, and way to deal with a impossible situation. At least the acknowledged this whole system is bigger than them, and they take it one day at a time once the dust settled. The concept is ripe with potential.

I'm not sure if we need spin off minis for some of these killers after the fact, but I'll try them. I kinda liked that this started and ended, didn't overstay it's welcome. I'm sure more in this world/concept will be done, but as a exercise I think it was a success. Tynion seemed to assemble a decent crop of creators to execute his vision. Happy Halloween everyone!

[Emily Sarah · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

Such a solid series- really enjoyed these. The art style is awesome and the story itself is gripping from the get go.

Whilst I will be reading the spin offs - I think it read pretty much anything from this world - I will say it did feel like this volume served as a set up for those volumes sometimes to the detriment of the volume.

Regardless, I enjoyed it a ton, but some of the plot felt a bit rushed and out of the blue / disconnected.

Saying that, that’s probably my only dislikes about this series. I’ve had a ton of fun reading these.

Rep// Achillian / MLM character.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this was like slowly pulling off a bandage of a bad wound that was healing, then slowly picking off the scab, after which dousing said wound in a combination of vinegar, lemon juice, & hot sauce.

Literally every character sucked and the main character was annoying AF.

We need to stop reading 💩 like this so that they will stop writing 💩 like this.

2.8 🌟

[Viktor Logi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great still!

It had some great emotional moments and great action.

One gripe was that I didn't fully believe a certain characters motivations near the end. It seemed quite forced and only happened to add a tiny bit of tension and force the characters to make a choice that shouldn't have had to happen.

I really look forward to continuing, I hope it doesn't lose steam!

4☆

[Dan Ramalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the conclusion to this story. I was skeptical that they'd be able to finish it well and I had nothing to worry about.

Ample twists and turns but it keeps with the overall tone. Tiny Onion does it again!

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a finish for this fantastic series (storyline?)! Blown away by the turns it took and just loved how intense it got. Man… what a knockout of a comic. James Tynion… you are a madman! A genius, but a madman!

[Bus · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Cuatro estrellas peladas. Entretenido pero el dibujo flojo en general además de que cada capítulo es con un autor distinto y se nota mucho. Toda la obra sufre. Lo peor es que parece que tynion va a estirar el chicle criminalmente con spinoffs y demás. Como en otras series vamos…

[Crazed8J8 · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a solid closer to this interesting series. All the loose ends are neatly tied up (until the epilogue).
This had twists I didn't expect, and appreciate the art, the storytelling, and the characters.
This was more violent than I would typically read, but seemed appropriate for the nature of the story.
All said, this was a good run! I'm curious to see what the future holds for the upcoming spin-offs.

[Kayla Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an ending to the main series. I loved the little twist we get at the end - it felt very horror movie-esque and it has me so interested in seeing where we're going in the spinoff serie(s). I could truly read season after season of this premise.

Content Warning: blood and gore, murder

[Keegan Schueler · Rating 4 out of 5]

The final two issues marked a good sticking the landing ending to this series. Enjoyed the start of the series the most but the ending was unexpected and enjoyable to reach.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as individual issues.

[Patrice Poncelet · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5

[McJankers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Next game should take place in an old folks town somewhere in Florida. Gators and gramps

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most brutal part of this is the setup for endless sequels.

[Rondo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

“Audrey unleashed” lost me. Rascal randy dying by being impaled by a hammer was so goofy and unrealistic. At least Laura got a good ending.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Compelling series and an interesting ending. Quite nihilistic and depressing though. I don't feel good about enjoying this. Sigh.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intense action-packed ending for an intense action-packed arc.

[Jourdy · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best horror series I’ve ever read honestly!

[gracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

im glad laura, xavi, and jason were able to get out safe but i feel so bad for all of them. also what was going on with jasons mom?? she went from 0 to 100 so quick

[Megan (ReadingRover) · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars

[Ricardo Noronha · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an amazing finale! I was not expecting at all! “Exquisite Corpses” was an excellent concept by Tynion, with great art to follow. I highly recommend!

[Miran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent but depressing ending. I might check out the spin offs.