Review by Jason Herschkowitz
Writer: James Tynion IV
Artist: Michael Walsh
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Becca Carey
Designers: Michael Walsh, Dylan Todd & Courtney Menard
Editors: Steve Foxe, Greg Lockard, & Eric Harburn
Exquisite Corpses created by James Tynion IV & Michael Walsh
Thanks to Image Comics for the review copy!
Welcome to Oak Valley, Maine. This is a quaint little town that is about to start this year’s Halloween festivities…but they have no idea the violence that is about to begin as they have been chosen as the setting of a tournament that will decide which family will rule the United states for the next 5 years.
The title is James Tynion IV’s (Something is Killing the Children, Department of Truth, W0rldtr33) latest independent horror series, Exquisite Corpses. In the world of Exquisite Corpses, the United States has been secretly ruled by 13 colonial families since 1775. Every 5 years, a tournament is held with the winner representing the one family that rules them all. That family then sits on the sidelines for the next tournament to pass the baton to the next winner while getting to choose the next location. In 2025, Pennsylvania chooses Oak Valley.
The year prior to the tournament, each family picks from a deck of cards. Each card representing a weapon that has been used since the event’s initiation. They then set out to find a killer to employ that weapon in the game. With outstanding art by Michael Walsh, the oversized issue #1 does not disappoint and does a tremendous job introducing us to basically three sets of colorful characters: the twelve killers both deranged and professional, the thirteen mysterious ruling families, and the unsuspecting towns folk. It teases the next twelve issues of gory excitement. The first issue of Exquisite Corpses not only sets up the next dozen books in the series, it’s also building out an exciting new world similar to that of DC’s Absolute, Skybound’s Energon, and Ghost Machine’s comic universes. This will serve as the setting for countless narratives about these characters in the future.
Also each issue will have a polybagged variant cover that includes a trading card that will be used for the tabletop game that will be coming out sometime in 2026.
After you pick up issue #1 this week, look out for James Tynion IV and the Corpse Crew’s “Exquisite Signing Tour Across North America”. You can catch the crew at any of the seven locations that have been announced thus far corresponding to the release of the first six issues with more locations to be announced…
To go along with the debut issue of the series, the creators have also put together both a song playlist and a watchlist to get you into the world that James and Michael have created.
Exquisite Corpses Playlist:
TRACKLIST (16 songs, 58 minutes)
- Psycho Killer – Talking Heads
- Goodbye Horses – Q Lazzarus
- Die, Die My Darling – The Misfits
- People Are Strange – The Doors
- Born to Kill – The Damned
- Polly – Nirvana
- I’ve Got You Under My Skin – Frank Sinatra
- Tick Tick Boom – The Hives
- Run, Pig, Run – Queens of the Stone Age
- Red Right Hand – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
- Heads Will Roll – Yeah Yeah Yeahs
- Gun – Siouxsie & The Banshees
- Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) – Power Trip
- These Hands – The Damned
- March of the Pigs – Nine Inch Nails
- John Wayne Gacy, Jr. – Sufjan Stevens
Exquisite Corpses Watchlist:
*some of these links may not work anymore!
- Battle Royale (Tubi)
- Hunger Games (Prime Video)
- Saw (Youtube)
- Halloween (AMC+)
- The Purge (Youtube)
- Suicide Squad (MAX)
- Westworld (Prime Video)
- Hell’s Paradise (Netflix)
Exquisite Corpses #1 is set for release on May 14th 2025.
Are you going to pick up the comic? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Threads at @theconventioncollective, or Bluesky at @theconcollective.bsky.social
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