EC Comics and Oni Press have announced that the next volume of Cruel Universe will be released in August 2025.
EC CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1
WRITTEN BY J. HOLTHAM, ANN NOCENTI & GREG PAK
ART BY DAVID RUBÍN, KANO & CHARLIE ADLARD
COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO
COVER B BY TOM FOWLER
GOLD FOIL VARIANT ($8.99) BY LEE BERMEJO
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY ALBERT MONTEYS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER
ARCHIVE EDITION (1:50) BY MALACHI WARD
SQUA TRONT VARIANT (1:100) BY LIAM SHARP WITH TOM FOWLER
BLANK SKETCH VARIANT AVAILABLE
Whether future or past, Earth or a distant world, no man can outrun the infinite singularity within us all: FEAR! Join this doomed expedition into the cold, unforgiving galaxies beyond our own as nihilistic navigators Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), J. Holtham (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Ann Nocenti (Daredevil), David Rubín (Sherlock Frankenstein), and Greg Pak (Planet Hulk) smash the laws of science . . . and splice the immortal EC Comics genome into a new breed of parasitic extraterrestrial tales with an endless appetite for pain!Plus, as an added bonus: A nerve-rending science fiction classic from the EC vaults, painstakingly remastered and newly restored to its original coloring!
BEYOND SPACE, BEYOND OBLIVION… There is something vast, unsympathetic, and envious that yearns to consume us all in this CRUEL UNIVERSE! Let’s make it work for it, shall we?
EC Cruel Universe 2 #1 arrives on August 6, 2025, with a $4.99 cover price.
Oni Press sent Major Spoilers an early look at EC Comics’ Cruel Universe 2 #1 ahead of the August release.
EC CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #1
WRITTEN BY J. HOLTHAM, ANN NOCENTI & GREG PAK
ART BY CHARLIE ADLARD, KANO & DAVID RUBÍN
COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO
COVER B BY TOM FOWLER
GOLD FOIL VARIANT ($8.99) BY LEE BERMEJO
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY ALBERT MONTEYS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER
ARCHIVE EDITION (1:50) BY MALACHI WARD
SQUA TRONT VARIANT (1:100) BY LIAM SHARP WITH TOM FOWLER
BLANK SKETCH VARIANT AVAILABLE
ON SALE AUGUST 6th, 2025 | $4.99 | 40 PAGES | FC
Whether future or past, Earth or a distant world, no man can outrun the infinite singularity within us all: FEAR! Join this doomed expedition into the cold, unforgiving galaxies beyond our own as nihilistic navigators Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), J. Holtham (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Ann Nocenti (Daredevil), David Rubín (Sherlock Frankenstein), and Greg Pak (Planet Hulk) smash the laws of science . . . and splice the immortal EC Comics genome into a new breed of parasitic extraterrestrial tales with an endless appetite for pain!Plus, as an added bonus: A nerve-rending science-fiction classic from the EC vaults, painstakingly remastered and newly restored to its original coloring!
EC CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #2 (of 12)
WRITTEN BY CHRIS CONDON, MELISSA FLORES & DAVE WIELGOSZ
ART BY SAMI KIVELÄ, CLAIRE ROE & RILEY ROSSMO
COVER A BY LEE BERMEJO
COVER B BY TOM FOWLER
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY ALBERT MONTEYS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER
ARCHIVE EDITION VARIANT (1:50) BY MALACHI WARD
ON SALE SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2025 | $4.99 | 32 PGS. | FC
IOC: 7/26/2025
FOC: 8/11/2025
For millennia, mankind has earned to explore the stars. Foolish humans—that was your first mistake! Like a stray space capsule that’s unexpectedly escaped our solar system and is now cursed to rocket forward at ever-escalating velocities that will slowly reduce its crew to a slick film of goo, EC Comics proudly presents a new roster of callously cosmic tales positively oozing with pain, paranoia, and the pent-up regret of human ambition! To copilot this doomed survey of the stars, join writers Chris Condon (Ultimate Wolverine), Melissa Flores (Power Rangers Prime), and Dave Wielgosz (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) as they execute the logarithmic calculations that could save our explorers . . . only for the danger-defying artists Sami Kivelä (Abbott), Claire Roe (Dark Spaces: The Hollywood Special), and Riley Rossmo (Harley Quinn) to bear witness to inescapable galactic calamity of their all-too-human hubris. Whoops!Yes, human, it has been foretold in our data tablets: You will gaze in slackjawed wonder as CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #2 (of 12) crosses the vacuum of space to deliver new allotments of optical ingenuity in the form of comic book covers by Lee Bermejo (Joker), Tom Fowler (Epitaphs from the Abyss), Albert Monteys (Slaughterhouse-Five), and Malachi Ward (Black Hammer: The End) to begin a eons-long rein of EC Comics-inspired cosmic terror! You wanted to live life as a sentient being … Now pay the price in CRUEL UNIVERSE 2 #2 (of 12) – on sale September 3rd!
Oni Press · EC Comics · Releases Oct 1, 2025
Cruel Universe #3
Corporate greed, human desperation, technological despair! Such postulations all are but tiny specks swallowed by the unforgiving void of CRUEL UNIVERSE!
EC’s Eisner Award–nominated sci-fi horror anthology continues its deep dive into futuristic depravity and darkness with three new tales from writers Cecil Castellucci (Shade the Changing Girl), Sarah Gailey (Eat the Rich, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and, in his EC writing debut, Eisner Award nominee Rian Hughes (Batman: Black and White). Illustrating their dark visions are Kano (EC’s Cruel Universe), UK comics sensation Anna Readman (2000 AD), and Claire Roe (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss)!
Witness as these stellar creative teams probe deep into the dark void of space—and the human soul—in what’s sure to be another stark installment of the Eisner-nominated series!
Comic · 32 pages · $4.99
Oni Press · EC Comics · Releases Nov 5, 2025
Cruel Universe #4
Feeling content and at peace with the state of the cosmos? WRONG! Don’t worry, Cruel Universe 2 is here to dispel that tragically optimistic fantasy! We’ve trapped—er, we mean tapped—writers Cecil Castellucci (Girl on Film), Ryan Haddock (EC’s Catacomb of Torment), and J. Holtham (Hulu’s A Handmaid’s Tale) to remind you of your life’s limited span, and to assure you that hubris and gullibility are two sides of the humanity coin. In case you’re not convinced—or can’t read—artists Brian Level (Night People), Andrea Mutti (EC’s Cruel Kingdom), and Claire Roe (The Hollywood Special) are on hand to imprint horrifying visuals into your eyestalks.
Comic · 32 pages · $4.99