The killers of Exquisite Corpses Season 1 are getting their backstories. Image Comics and James Tynion IV’s production house Tiny Onion announced Exquisite Corpses: Book of the Dead, an 80-page anthology one-shot that hits comic shops Wednesday, January 13, 2027, for $9.99.
According to Image, the issue reveals the origins of the assassins, mercenaries and madmen who entered Oak Valley on Halloween night in the first season, including the Congregation’s unholy mission, the spark behind Layla Blaze’s scars and Lady Carolina’s first hunt. It also offers a sneak peek at one of the new killers coming in Season 2.
A crowded lineup
Series co-creators James Tynion IV and Michael Walsh both write stories for the book. They are joined by writers Jordie Bellaire, Marguerite Bennett, Patrick Horvath, Alyssa Wong, Steve Orlando, Josh Trujillo, Soo Lee, Victor Lavalle and Losty. The artists include David Lafuente, Piotr Kowalski, Lauren Knight, Claire Roe, Alexandre Tefenkgi, Lisandro Estherren, Brian Level, Francesca Ciregia and Ryan Quackenbush.
“The fun part of Exquisite Corpses was coming up with all these gruesome killers and then murdering them in terrible, terrible ways,” Tynion said. “But the hard part was saying goodbye to them so quickly. This anthology is our last chance to celebrate the maniacs and mercenaries of Season One before we introduce the world to a whole new cast of their favorite serial killers.”
Steve Foxe, senior story editor at Tiny Onion, said every killer built a following once the series launched, even the ones who died early. “With the Book of the Dead, we finally get to tell their tales,” he said.
Seven covers
Walsh draws the main cover and a polybagged variant that sells for $14.99 and includes a collectible trading card tied to Exquisite Corpses: The Game. Brian Level draws another standard cover, and there is a blank sketch variant. Retailer incentive covers come from Ito at 1:25, Federico Mele at 1:50 and Tula Lotay at 1:100.
The anthology follows three spinoff miniseries built around Season 1 favorites Rascal Randy, Fox Mask Killer and Lone Gunman. Image says the series has sold more than 700,000 issues to date and calls it the biggest original comic hit of 2025. A feature film adaptation is in development with Tiny Onion and Lyrical Media, and the tie-in card game was funded at 400% on Kickstarter.
