BAD IDEA STAKES CLAIM TO THE MOST RIDICULOUS CGC SLAB IN COMIC BOOK HISTORY

Only 36 Exist. Each One Staked. Straight Through the Slab. Straight Through the Comic.

[June 12, 2025] /For Immediate Release/ — BAD IDEA is thrilled to unveil a must-see-to-believe version of CUL-DE-SAC, that defies logic, reason, and preservation best practices.

Introducing the CUL-DE-SAC #1 Impaled Edition—a CGC-graded, ultra-limited comic book impaled with a handcrafted wooden stake.

Yes, you read that right. Actual wooden stakes. Actual comic books. How else would you kill a vampire?

In a follow-up to the industry-shattering, infamous invisible comic book, publishing anarchists BAD IDEA have done the unthinkable again—this time submitting unholy, undead comic books for certification. And CGC? They had the guts to grade them.

The monster idea spawned from some hard-hitting, essential questions: If a human can become a vampire, does that mean an animal could, too? Like, what if a dog or a cat was bit, would it become a vampire? And what about inanimate objects? Can a chair become a vampire? Can a comic book!?! If a comic book becomes a vampire, how do you kill it?! I guess you’d have to slab it and then stab a stake through the slab.

And that’s how the CGC-graded CUL-DE-SAC #1 Impaled Edition came to life… or undeath.

This blood-soaked collectible masterpiece turned fine art installation took the two companies seven months and required solving a very serious engineering challenge: how to drive a stake through a CGC holder without cracking the case or shattering it into a million pieces.

The result? A limited run of 36 certifiably-cursed and stake-pierced comic books, each a one-of-a-kind art piece that sits upright when leaned against the stake and featuring:

  • An ultra-rare edition of CUL-DE-SAC #1
  • A handcrafted wooden vampire stake perfectly stabbed through the slab
  • A splash of Hollywood special-effects wizard-crafted gore
  • Two tiny vampire bite marks that are evident in every copy
  • CGC certification and grading intact (somehow)

Behind the madness: a three-person team of engineers, a 30-year veteran woodworker, and a Hollywood special effects artist came together to meticulously create each one. What they’ve created is more than a collectible—it’s a statement. One that says: “We’re not afraid to ruin a comic book in the name of vanquishing all that is unholy.”

Timed to arrive with CUL-DE-SAC #1 on August 6th, the much-anticipated series marks the long-awaited return to comic books of New York Times bestselling writer and master of the macabre, Mike Carey(LUCIFER, X-MEN), who is combining his powers with groundbreaking fine art illustrator Jonathan Wayshak(SPAWN: VIOLATOR) to deliver a nightmarish new vision for the horror genre.
“Only BAD IDEA would dream up a way to destroy a comic and increase its value. Only CGC would help them pull it off,” said CUL-DE-SAC writer Mike Carey. “This is what happens when creative insanity meets professional enabling. I’m just glad no one lost a finger.”
These monstrosities are available now on a first come, first served basis. Once they’re gone, they’re gone forever. Because let’s be honest—no one’s crazy enough to do this again.

To secure one before they are all gone simply:

  • Have your local comic book store confirm an order of 500 copies or more of CUL-DE-SAC #1 (lunar code: 0625BD465) with BAD IDEA (siena@badideacorp.com) before Final Order Cutoff, Monday June 30th.
  • The first 36 stores to pledge will secure one (1) exclusive CUL-DE-SAC #1 Impaled Edition.
  • All pledges must be authenticated by BAD IDEA.
“At BAD IDEA, we believe comics should be dangerous—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The CUL-DE-SAC #1 Impaled Edition isn’t just a comic, it’s a pointed statement. A stake through the heart of the mundane. A rejection of the idea that comics should sit quietly and untouched. It’s beautiful vandalism. It’s what happens when a comic refuses to die. A jagged reminder on the power of our ink on paper industry. The last of its kind. The one that refuses to die. The one that might just bite back,” said BAD IDEA Creative Operations Director Brockton McKinney. “And yes, CGC really graded it.”
*** CUL-DE-SAC #1 ***
Written by MIKE CAREY
Art & Cover by JONATHAN WAYSHAK
$5.99  |  48 PGS.  |  FULL COLOR
FOC JUNE 30, 2025 | ON SALE AUGUST 6, 2025
What lurking evil lies hidden at the end of the cul-de-sac?

Nestled in a tucked-away corner of sleepy suburbia, the Kingsley, Herriman and Ortega families seemed like any other close-knit neighbors. So nothing seems amiss when Mrs. Kingsley piles all the neighborhood kids into the family RV for their annual summer camp-out. But in the dark of the woods, she unleashes a grisly, bloodcurdling display, revealing their families’ shocking secret—their parents are vampires and they’re eager to pass on their legacy.

Now the children must choose—to join them and revel in their awesome dark powers or live out their lives as mortals. But when they return home, they confront a gruesome scene—their parents dead on the floor, brutally murdered by an elite squad of vampire hunters. And the hunters? They’re looking to finish the job. Now the kids are on the run, chased by vampire hunters, the police, and even a shadowy cabal of their fellow vampires as they search for answers to unlock the secret of what they really are before their fates are sealed forever.

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