Corinna Bechko

The EC Comics line has long been known for its anthology format, giving readers self-contained stories that can savored in one sitting. Now, Oni Press is looking to make those meals into five-course events with its first ongoing series, debuting this summer! Spinning out of the Epitaphs from the Abyss anthology series, Blood Type will terrify readers with longform horror from the first time in its storied history. From writer Corinna Bechko and artist Andrea Sorrentino, Blood Type will follow the cocky, self-assured Ada, a vampire living on a tropical isle who’s sure she can get out of anything. But can she? That’s the journey Bechko and Sorrentino will take us on in Blood Type. Horror in the sand and sun? A vampire with swagger? We’re in.

I spoke with Corinna Bechko about the idea behind Blood Type, writing for EC Comics’ first standalone series, working with the creative team, and the types of vampire stories she is drawn to. EC’s been doing some very innovative stories and taking a lot of interesting moves lately and they’re all paying off beautifully. We’re looking forward to Blood Type for just that reason and for the stacked creative team behind the book.

FreakSugar: Blood Type is EC’s first standalone series. I know this series springs from Epitaphs from the Abyss. What is the genesis of the project? How did this turn into a standalone comic series?

Corinna Bechko: After I finished scripting “Blood Type” for Epitaphs from the Abyss, I knew we had something special in Ada. I just fell in love with her attitude. Then, when my editor (the incomparable Sierra Hahn), showed me the art Jonathan Case had turned in, I was over the moon. Sierra asked if I had any changes and I said something like “Yes, I’d like it to be much longer!”

I don’t know if that’s the genesis as far as Oni Press is concerned, but that was the day I started thinking about what happened to Ada after that fateful boat trip. Jonathan is not the artist for the longer series, Andrea Sorentino is, but the way Andrea has nodded to Jonathan’s work on the original while making this story his own is absolutely masterful. I think horror fans are going to be thrilled when they see what he’s done.

FS: Following up on that: As this is the first standalone EC series, does that factor in how you approach Blood Type?

CSB: EC stories are a very particular thing: sharp, irreverent, full of twists, with endings where those who deserve their fate get it in spades. The structure of a longer form tale is different because it has to have many “action peaks” in addition to building to a larger conclusion at the end of the arc. Yet, to truly be an EC story, it still needs those basic essential ingredients. I think we’ve solved this by creating an ongoing narrative enriched by interlocking short flashbacks that tell their own wicked tales. Honestly, I’ve relished this challenge. I’ve never written anything like it before.

 

 

FS: For folks who might be interested in picking up the book, what can you tell us about the conceit of Blood Type?

CSB: In simple terms, it’s about a cocky vampire who believes she can get herself out of anything. She is stranded on a tropical island where sunlight “poisons” 12 hours of every day, yet she immediately begins investigating the possibility that other vampires are here instead of securing adequate resources for herself. She takes life as it comes, always wanting whatever is next, while leaving a trail of bloody destruction in her wake. And she almost never looks back.

FS: How would you describe Ada? What is the thought process in creating her character? Did you have specific characteristics you wanted to include—or characteristics to avoid?

CSB: She’s very self-assured, sometimes to the point of being self-destructive, but only because she fully believes that she will be able to think herself out of any situation. This is a characteristic I personally lack, so it’s been fun to imagine what that would be like. It’s not that she doesn’t see trouble coming, it’s just that she doesn’t care. She’d rather be moving forward than standing still – but that doesn’t mean she’s incapable of holding a grudge for a very, very long time indeed.

 

 

 

 

FS: Do you have a favorite vampire tale or tales? Do you take inspirations from those stories?

CSB: Truth be told, I’ve read and watched a LOT of vampire stories. I love The Hunger, both the book and the film, at least partially because they are so very stylish. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is another favorite, as is Let the Right One In. I tend to gravitate to vampire stories that lean into the existential problem of being an immortal predator who still desires companionship. Viewed another way, each of these is about someone who normally would have little power in society, but due to their secret instead have no use for power in society. That sense of freedom, and how it clashes with established norms, is a detectible place to set a story.

FS: In the press release for the book, you say that horror is just your thing. Why do you think that is? What attracts you to horror, both as a fan and as a creator?

CSB: I love the freedom that writing and reading horror can give you. It’s not a novel insight, but I do believe that most horror is inherently hopeful. The story might be tragic, or brutal, or disgusting, but it’s usually about someone dealing with impossible odds. They may fail, but they do try. In addition, horror is a very broad and forgiving genre. You can explore almost any type of story through its lens, with any type of protagonist. It’s not hard to empathize with characters, even those from times or cultures you know nothing about, when their emotions are so immediately relatable.

FS: If you had a final pitch for the book, what would it be?

CSB: If I’m being flippant, I’d say “come for the sea spray, stay for the blood spray” but, despite Blood Type’s epic body count, there’s a bit more to Ada’s story than that. I love shorts but I often think of them as seeds: each one contains the DNA of a larger tale. With this series we delve into the mysteries surrounding this most singular vampire. And we suck dry a whole lot of obnoxiously rich tourists in the process.

Blood Type #1 goes on sale Wednesday, June 18, from Oni Press.

From the official press release about the comic:

OUT OF THE PAGES OF EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS . . . A MONSTROUS NEW EC COMICS MILESTONE BEGINS THIS JUNE! In advance of this year’s annual ComicsPRO Comic Book Industry Meeting in Glendale, CA, Oni Press – the multiple Eisner and Harvey award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comic books and graphic novels since 1997 – and William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. are proud to announce that the next chapter in the blockbuster resurrection of the immortal EC Comics will be written this June in BLOOD TYPE #1 – the FIRST ISSUE of A TERRIFYING NEW KIND OF HORROR SERIES from Hugo Award-nominated writer Corinna Bechko (Cruel Universe, Green Lantern: Earth One) and Eisner Award-winning artist Andrea Sorrentino (Gideon Falls, Old Man Logan)! Rising from the pages of her first appearance in last fall’s EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #3, EC’s own blood-splattered, bon vivant vampire will be making history as the first character to claw her way out of an iconic EC Comics short story . . . and into the first-ever standalone, serialized horror series from the most notorious name in terror!

“Since day one, it’s always been our intention to push the boundaries of the revitalized EC Comics line at Oni Press into new and unexpected territory. First came our fleet of new anthology series – beginning with EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS and CRUEL UNIVERSE – which shattered our own already-high expectations to become Oni’s best-selling new series in more than a decade,” said Oni Press President & Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “Now, with BLOOD TYPE #1, we’re gearing up for something even more radical: the first-ever continuation of EC Comics anthology short, picking up the thread of how one lone vampire lost at sea will soon wash ashore on a tropical isle, where she is not the only creature with a taste for flesh and blood. Trenaciously twisted and hilariously brutal in the true EC manner, Corinna’s cleverly killer instincts are a perfect accent for the macabre art of Andrea Sorrentino – one of the best horror artists anywhere today. You’d have to be dead already to justify missing this book!”

WHEN YOU’RE A VAMPIRE, EVERYBODY SUCKS . . . SOONER OR LATER! Meet Ada, an immortal vampire whose misdeeds have landed her on the doorstep of an idyllic Caribbean resort. . . . An island paradise teeming with wealthy tourists and superstitious locals—an ample food supply for the thirsty vamp looking to get away from it all!  But as Ada stalks the boundaries of her new hunting ground, she’ll soon become embroiled in a deadly game of cat and mouse by moonlight . . . as an older, wiser, and entirely different kind of predator reveals its own carnal hunger for greed and power. Who will survive when a brand-new kind of BLOOD TYPE declares war on a cunning bloodsucker with nothing left to lose . . . and what will be left of them?!

Picking up in the immediate aftermath of Ada’s first appearance in the titular short story “Blood Type” from EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #3, BLOOD TYPE is intended to be the first in a new slate of semi-regular EC Comics limited series that will spotlight and continue a select few of the razor-sharp short stories introduced in the pages of EC’s monthly anthology titles – be they horror, science fiction, fantasy, or more. Before BLOOD TYPE #1 arrives in comic shops everywhere this June, readers can rediscover the killer short that first launched Ada into infamy inside the pages of EC PRESENTS BLOOD TYPE #0 – Oni’s 2025 Free Comic Book Day release by Bechko and artist Jonathan Case (Green River Killer), alongside other fan-favorite shorts from EC”s first year at Oni Press by creators Charlie Adlard (The Walking Dead), Chris Condon (Ultimate Wolverine), Kano (Gotham Central), and Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT) with an all-new cover by Eisner Award nominee Tyler Crook (Out of Alcatraz, Harrow County).

“Horror has just always been where I’ve felt most at home, something Andrea and I have in common,” said writer Corinna Bechko “With BLOOD TYPE we’ve cooked up a wicked tale that expands on a character I fell in love with as soon as I put her on the page. Does she love me back? Not a chance, and that’s her charm. She’s a vampire, but that doesn’t mean she sparkles or is ready for romance. She is, however, ready to take over a tropical paradise.”

“I think horror is just my thing,” said artist Andrea Sorrentino. “I’ve worked on many different things like superheroes and sci-fi in my career, but when it’s up to horror, this is where I feel at home …The opportunity to connect with the deepest fears of the reader through some imagery is a great and satisfying challenge. This is why when I’ve been asked if I was up to collaborate with EC Comics (one of the greatest of the comic horror producers) for two short stories first and then the launch of this exciting new limited series, it has been an honor for me. I can’t wait to join Corinna Bechko and my long time collaborator Dave Stewart on colors for this new, amazing project. It’s going to be a lot of fun and I can’t wait for readers to put their eyes on what we are doing here!”

As a revolutionary new entry in the EC Comics canon, BLOOD TYPE #1 will lead off a new wave of gloriously bloody new wave EC series at Oni Press across Summer 2025. Stay tuned for more news on EC’s upcoming SUMMER OF FEAR in the weeks ahead as BLOOD TYPE prepares to bite deep!

“I can’t wait for folks to read BLOOD TYPE,” said Bechko. “EC Comics are more relevant now than ever and I hope we’ve honored that tradition while doing something brand new with this longer tale. Won’t you join us for the scariest vacation of your life?”

Featuring covers by Miguel Mercado (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Andrea Sorrentino (Bone Orchard), Albert Monteys (Universe!), and Naomi Franq (Black Hammer: Barbalien), BLOOD TYPE #1 seeps into comic shops everywhere on June 18th.

For more updates on Oni Press, visit them on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and X.