Red Room, a new horror comic book series by Eisner Award-winning cartoonist Ed Piskor (Hip Hop Family Tree, X-Men: Grand Design), is getting a Free Comic Book Day issue this August courtesy of publisher Fantagraphics.
Fantagraphics is set to publish Red Room #1 on Wednesday, May 19. The Free Comic Book Day issue will arrive during this year's iteration of the event on Saturday, Aug. 14, and will "showcase the dark and twisted world of Red Room, where criminals livestream murders on the dark web for fun and profit." Fantagraphics assures Red Room's FCBD release will feature entirely original material, as opposed to any reprints from other issues. Furthermore, while the main series is intended only for mature readers, the FCBD issue carries a "PG-13" rating.
"Red Room is a cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk comic that you can't unsee once you feast your eyes on the mayhem," said Piskor. "Think of Red Room as modern day E.C. Comics, infused with the dream of Black Mirror. These are subversive, standalone stories that are all part of a larger, twisted narrative."
He continued, "This is no-holds-barred cartooning. Fantagraphics is the perfect publisher for this book, because [co-founder] Gary Groth is a fighter. I'm going to push the boundaries with this book and I knew I needed to have a publisher that will unequivocally have my back." The cartoonist also promises that "[t]his comic is going to make some people's heads explode when they read it."
May's Red Room #1 is a $6.99, 64-page issue featuring a main cover by Piskor, as well as variants by Piskor, Jim Rugg and Peach Momoko. Standard issues will be 32 pages long and priced at $3.99. The comic's story will unfold in four-issue arcs, which will then be collected into trade paperbacks. 12 issues are planned, meaning a total of three trades will be released.
"We're thrilled to both be continuing our relationship with Ed, who's given us the perfect opportunity to get back into the monthly comic book periodical business," said Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds. "Red Room peels back the curtain on a shadowy side of humanity. The series is chock full of graphically horrific imagery, punctuated by Ed's sharp sense of humor, gorgeous cartooning and dynamic storytelling."
Written and illustrated by Ed Piskor, Red Room #1 goes on sale May 19 from Fantagraphics. The Red Room Free Comic Book Day issue arrives Aug. 14.