Oni Press Celebrates 2026 Eisner Award Nominations for OUT OF ALCATRAZ, CROWNSVILLE & EC Comics’ CATACOMB OF TORMENT and EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS ⋆ First Comics News

CROWNSVILLE by Rodney Barnes & Elia Bonetti and
OUT OF ALCATRAZ by Christopher Cantwell & Tyler Crook
Are Nominated for Best Limited Series

And Colorist Jordie Bellaire Receives A Nomination for Best Coloring
For Her Work on EC Comics CATACOMB OF TORMENT and EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS

CROWNSVILLE COVER BY ELIA BONETTI

OUT OF ALCATRAZ COVER BY TYLER CROOK

PORTLAND, OR (MAY 14, 2026) – Oni Press, the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to celebrate the publisher’s three 2026 Eisner Award nominations, spanning several of Oni’s most celebrated and high-profile releases of the past year. First, in the category of “Best Limited Series”: Both CROWNSVILLE by writer Rodney Barnes (Batman: Full Moon, Killadelphia) and artist Elia Bonetti (Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy) and OUT OF ALCATRAZ by writer Christopher Cantwell (Iron Man, Briar) and artist Tyler Crook (Harrow County, The Lonesome Hunters) have both received nominations. Additionally, in the category of “Best Colorist”: Widely recognized industry talent Jordie Bellaire(Absolute Wonder Woman) has been nominated for her work on two of Oni’s best-selling and previously Eisner Award-nominated EC Comics titles, CATACOMB OF TORMENT and EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS.

The 2026 Eisner Awards ceremony will be held on Friday, July 24, 2026 at Comic-Con International in San Diego, CA.

“This year we’ve had the rare privilege to publish what could very well be some of Oni’s most thrilling, groundbreaking, and ambitious series in the company’s nearly 30-year history, and I think these three nominees exemplify that excitement to a tee,” said Oni Press Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “It’s a true honor to be able to publish such invigorating work under the Oni banner, and, on behalf of the entire Oni team, we congratulate all five nominees on this well-deserved recognition of their work and dedication to our medium.

CROWNSVILLE SC

COVER BY ELIA BONETTI

INTERIOR ART BY ELIA BONETTI

CROWNSVILLE from Eisner Award–nominated writer and master storyteller Rodney Barnes (Batman: Full Moon, Killadelphia) and phenomenal artist Elia Bonetti (Death of Wolverine: The Logan Legacy),which hit bookstores in August of 2025, tells a century-spanning tale of suspense and sorrow as true crime meets shocking terror inside an infamous asylum with a tortured past. Founded at the turn of the 20th century outside of Annapolis, Maryland, the Crownsville Hospital was a notoriously segregated, all-Black psychiatric institute—but when an unexplained death inside the abandoned hospital is ruled a suicide, Annapolis police detective Mike Simms and journalist Paul Blairare are compelled to dig deeper, only to discover the reality of the horrors that once took place there . . . and the powerful connection they share to the anguished spirits of the dead that are still locked within its walls.

The CROWNSVILLE trade paperback collection will be published on August 11, 2026.

OUT OF ALCATRAZ HC COVER BY TYLER CROOK

INTERIOR ART BY TYLER CROOK

OUT OF ALCATRAZ from Eisner Award–nominated writer Christopher Cantwell (Iron Man, Briar) and Russ Manning Award–winning and Eisner Award–nominated illustrator Tyler Crook (Harrow County, The Lonesome Hunters), which hit bookstores in October of 2025, tells the story of the world’s most infamous prison break in a harrowing epic of killers and convicts every bit as cold as Alcatraz Island itself. Convicts Frank Morris and Clarence Anglin have washed ashore in San Francisco after surviving their infamous escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in June 1962—but as a dogged federal manhunt and chance encounters threaten the desperate convicts, everyone involved is about to discover the same bloodstained truth: Life on the run is an even more hellish prison than Alcatraz could have ever been . . .

OUT OF ALCATRAZ is currently available in hardcover.

EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS: BOOK ONE LIBRARY EDITION HC

COVER BY LEE BERMEJO

INTERIOR ART BY ANDREA SORRENTINO WITH COLORING BY JORDIE BELLAIRE

Both EC COMICS’ CATACOMB OF TORMENT and EC COMICS’ EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSSare part of the all-new line of, never-before-seen titles from Oni’s revival of the legendary EC Comics. Readers witnessed shocking tales of torment and tension in the immortal EC tradition in EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS, followed by CATACOMB OF TORMENT, an all-new horror anthology which featured an all-new horror host and absolutely no holds barred storytelling from a plethora of acclaimed creators. What the Comics Code Authority couldn’t kill has only made it stronger!

The EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS: BOOK ONE LIBRARY EDITION hardcover will be published on July 8th, 2026, followed by the CATACOMB OF TORMENT VOL. 1 softcover on July 17th, 2026.

“It’s so gratifying for all of us at Oni to see our staggeringly talented creators acknowledged for their richly illustrated, boundary-pushing work,” said Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn. “Expect to see a lot more not-to-be-missed comics in 2026 and beyond!”

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

OUT OF ALCATRAZ HC

WRITTEN BY CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL

ART BY TYLER CROOK

COVER BY TYLER CROOK

ON SALE OCTOBER 21st, 2025 | $29.99 | 176 PGS | HC

CROWNSVILLE SC

WRITTEN BY RODNEY BARNES

ART BY ELIA BONETTI

COVER BY ANDREA SORRENTINO

ON SALE AUGUST 12th, 2026 | $24.99 | 160 PGS | SC

EC EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS: BOOK ONE LIBRARY EDITION HC

WRITTEN BY AMY ROY, BRIAN AZZARELLO, CHRIS CONDON, CHRISTOPHER CANTWELL, CORINNA BECHKO, CULLEN BUNN, GREG PAK, J. HOLTHAM, JASON AARON, JAY STEPHENS, JEFF JENSEN, JEREMY LAMBERT, JOANNE STARER, JORDAN THOMAS, JOSHUA HALE FIALKOV, MATT KINDT, MATTHEW ROSENBERG, MICHAEL W. CONRAD, STEPHANIE PHILLIPS, TIM SEELEY, TYLER CROOK, CURT PIRES

ART BY ALEXANDRE TEFENKGI, ALISON SAMPSON, ANDREA MUTTI, ANDREA SORRENTINO, BRIAN LEVEL, CHARLIE ADLARD, CHRISTOPHER MITTEN, CLAIRE ROE, DAN MCDAID, DAVID LAPHAM, DAVID RUBÍN, DUSTIN WEAVER, JONATHAN CASE, JORGE FORNÉS, KANO, KLAUS JANSON, LEOMACS, PETER KRAUSE, PHIL HESTER, VALERIA BURZO, SAMI KIVELÄ

COVER BY LEE BERMEJO

ON SALE JULY 8th, 2026 | $59.99 | 416 PGS | FC

EC CATACOMB OF TORMENT VOL. 1 SC

WRITTEN BY AMY ROY, EVAN DORKIN, J. HOLTHAM, JEREMY LAMBERT, JOANNE STARER, MATT BORS, MATT KINDT, JOHN ARCUDI, MARGUERITE BENNETT, RYAN HADDOCK, PATRICIA A. JACKSON

ART BY CHRISTOPHER MITTEN, DAN MCDAID, DAVID LAPHAM, KANO, VALERIA BURZO, SAMI KIVELÄ, PATRICK PIAZZALUNGA, LUKAS KETNER, FABIANA MASCOLO, SHAWN MCMANUS, SHAWN MARTINBROUGH

COVER BY JORGE FORNÉS

ON SALE JULY 17th, 2026 | $19.99 | 136 PGS | FC

FOC: 5/25/2026

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