Anthology horror comic Ice Cream Man has been teasing the upcoming involvement of some big name creators in recent weeks, and we now know that it's been leading up to Ice Cream Man #43, which will feature one page stories by some of the top writers in the comic industry.
Ice Cream Man co-creator W. Maxwell Prince will be joined on the issue by a line up of writers including Grant Morrison, Patton Oswalt, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Matt Fraction, Jeff Lemire, Geoff Johns, Zoe Thorogood, Deniz Camp, and Frank Barbiere, each of whom will contribute one page stories drawn by artists Martin Morazzo and Chris O'Halloran.
As a series, Ice Cream Man tells darkly comic horror stories that all center around a creepy ice cream man named Rick, whose involvement in peoples' lives often leads to disaster. The title launched in 2018, and has released irregularly since. It was recently picked up for a film adaptation written by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar of Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice fame.
"In the Ice Cream Man anthology series, mysterious horror host, Rick, delivers morsels of delicious terror in every flavor," reads Image Comics' official description. "The genre-defying comic book series features short tales of sorrow, wonder, and redemption, with each installment featuring its own cast of strange characters, dealing with their own special sundae of suffering.
"And on the periphery of all of them, like the twinkly music of his colorful truck, is the Ice Cream Man—a weaver of stories, a purveyor of sweet treats," it continues. "Friend. Foe. God. Demon. The man who, with a snap of his fingers - lickety split! - can change the course of your life forever."
The line-up of writers coming on board for Ice Cream Man #43 is essentially a who's who of top comic writers. Grant Morrison, whose involvement was previously teased, is an especially exciting addition as they've rarely done much comics work in recent years, but everyone on the list piques my personal interest. It'll be cool to see what masters of the craft can do with just a single page to tell their stories.
"How lucky are we? That some of comics' most beloved writers agreed (or one may say were tricked) into contributing to our issue of one-page horror stories," says series co-creator W. Maxwell Prince in a statement. "Our MO has always been compression - getting a full story to fit one floppy. But this is a whole new level, and a whole new challenge. We hope that you like our little stories, and hope even more that you appreciate our guests and their amazing brains."
Ice Cream Man #43 is due out in January, with covers by issue artists Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran, and a variant cover by Maria Llovet.
Ready for more thrills and chills? Check out our list of the best horror comics of all time.
