Red Room #1, next week's debut issue of Ed Piskor's anticipated horror anthology series, has become the highest-selling periodical-style comic published by Fantagraphics in 20 years, according to the publisher. The issue is still available for pre-order at the Fantagraphics site, which also suggests that on top of being a huge seller for the publisher, they had a good deal of confidence in Piskor's ability to perform at or near that level. Seen as a prestige publisher, Fantagraphics might not immediately seem like the place to go for periodical horror...but according to Piskor himself, the book is so "hardcore" that it felt like Fantagraphics was one of the only major publishers who could handle it.
In Red Room, criminals livestream murders on the dark web for fun and profit. The series will be told through a series of interconnected, stand alone stories, focusing on unsavory characters that lurk in the most grotesque corners of cyberspace. The murders are a mystery, the victims unknown. Aided by the anonymous dark web and nearly untraceable crypto-currency, business is booming and the viewership is ever-growing.
"I describe Red Room like a classic EC horror comic or an episode of Black Mirror except, all of the stories I'm telling exist within the same universe even though every issue is pretty much self contained," Piskor told ComicBook. "Just reading the cover to issue 1 will let you know if the comic is for you or not. It's pretty hardcore, which makes Fantagraphics the best publisher of the material. I'd fear other pubs trying to water me down. It's been really impressive to see how the retailers are standing behind this comic also in many different ways, by either investing in their own covers, stocking the variant/incentive covers, working with me one on one to create value for their customers, and several other key pieces that have made Red Room a success out of the gate. Fantagraphics informed me that Red Room is a record holder for them, but also said that they had FCBD comics sell more. Thankfully, I have an original FCBD comic coming out this august with all new material unique to that edition and I'll try to spread the word enough to make that comic a record holder too!"
Spreading the word has been easier for Piskor than for a lot of creators. He isn't just the award-winning mind behind X-Men: Grand Design; he's also co-host of the popular Comic Book Kayfabe podcast.
"Red Room #1 is the best selling Fantagraphics comic book in more than two decades, and quite possibly our best selling ever," Fantagraphics Associate Publisher Eric Reynolds told ComicBook. "The support from retailers and fans has been incredible. Although not for the faint of heart, Red Room is pure comic book escapism like only Ed Piskor can deliver -- he and Fantagraphics make a helluva team."
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