Author: Newsroom
PORTLAND, Ore. 04/21/2025—Last week, the seventh of the 12 hired killers from the upcoming Exquisite Corpses was declassified. Rascal Randy joined the already at-large: Leopold Strong, Recluse, Fox Mask Killer, Pretty Boy, Lady Carolina, and The Congregation. More will continue to be revealed on a weekly basis leading up to their bloody, fight-to-the-death arena showdown when this horror-launch-event-of-the-year hits shelves in May from Image Comics in collaboration with Tiny Onion. Exquisite Corpses is orchestrated by horror masterminds James Tynion IV (The Deviant, The Department of Truth) and Michael Walsh (Universal Monsters: Frankenstein, The Silver Coin) alongside a murderer’s row of creators.
In the spirit of March Madness, each issue of Exquisite Corpses will feature playoff brackets that track the in-world competition—and readers will be able to play along at home, by guessing who they think will live, who will die, and who will ultimately win the game.
Exquisite Corpses will launch as an initial 13-issue story arc—but the world will be expanded with additional stories. There will also be a companion trading card game launching soon, for which fans can start collecting the “killer cards” early with those exclusively found polybagged within the Cover C variants of each issue.
In Exquisite Corpses, every five years on Halloween, the wealthiest families in America play a game. 12 of the deadliest people in the world are dropped into a small town with just one goal: last killer standing wins. For the citizens of Oak Valley, Maine—this year’s unlucky arena—the goal is much simpler. They must survive the night. The series will not only feature the work of Tynion IV and Walsh, but also comics superstars Adam Gorham (Hellhunters), Becca Carey (Absolute Wonder Woman), Che Grayson (Dark Spaces: Good Deeds), Claire Roe (Dark Spaces: The Hollywood Special), Gavin Fullerton (The Closet), Jordie Bellaire (Redlands), Marianna Ignazzi (Catwoman), Pornsak Pichetshote (The Good Asian), Tyler Boss (You’ll Do Bad Things), and Valentine De Landro (Bitch Planet). Each issue will build upon the last in a true ‘exquisite corpse’ game style, with a passing of the baton from creator to creator to unfold the story in a collaborative and competitive fashion.
And just in time for Easter, the latest of the killers to be revealed (as originally announced by Dread Central) was Rascal Randy, an unhinged bunny outfit-wearing lunatic who wields his hands as his weapon. Here’s his official description from the confidential game dossier files:
NEW JERSEY selects RASCAL RANDY to wield THE HANDS. Kill Count: 19. Height: 5′ 11″. There is a man inside the RASCAL RANDY costume, but that man doesn’t matter. That man has never mattered. He was no one until he put the mascot head on for the first time, until he felt the life leave someone’s body through the thickly furred gloves of the suit. The man inside the suit will wear any disguise if necessary, but his true skin is RASCAL RANDY, and god help anyone who sees him coming toward them on a dark night.
Tynion IV said the following about the terrifying mascot-like killer: “Rascal Randy embodies the spirit of Exquisite Corpses maybe more than any other killer. He’s got this big, bombastic, eye-catching costume, but it’s only when you look into the mouth of the beast that you’re met with the true horror of the character.”
The other killers revealed so far are:
LEOPOLD STRONG:
NORTH CAROLINA selects LEOPOLD STRONG to wield THE HAMMER. Kill Count: 23. Height: 6′ 5″. Some killers might be afraid that an opponent could steal their signature weapon, but not LEOPOLD STRONG. He alone is strong enough to heft the massive mallet that he wields to pound flesh and bone into so much bloodied paste. It’s unknown if he truly comes from the circus or merely likes the theatricality of the look, but what is clear is that LEOPOLD STRONG is easily the most physically imposing murderer in this year’s games. Heave ho!
RECLUSE:
RHODE ISLAND selects RECLUSE to wield THE ROPE. Kill Count: 64. Height: 5′ 10″. An artist with wires and ropes, RECLUSE sets her own field of battle, drawing opponents into traps from which few leave intact. Though she’s deadly on the move with a garrote in hand, RECLUSE prefers a patient approach, lying in wait until her razor-wires snare her opponents. Some say her love of ropes borders on fetishism, but few get close enough to find out the truth.
FOX MASK KILLER:
NEW YORK selects FOX MASK KILLER to wield THE SWORD. Kill Count: 87. Height: 5′ l”. Among killers-for-hire, there are a select few feared even by other assassins. The enigmatic swordswoman known as FOX MASK KILLER is at the top of that list, having achieved a reputation for completing her jobs with ruthless efficiency—and for chasing increasingly challenging targets. Whether she sees the tournament as just another paycheck, or a chance to push herself past her limits, remains to be seen.
PRETTY BOY:
GEORGIA selects PRETTY BOY to wield THE AXE. Kill Count: 36. Height: 6′ 2″. Despite what Hollywood tries to sell the masses, most serial killers are charmless, asocial monsters. Most, anyway. PRETTY BOY, on the other hand, could kill with a wink and a flash of his pearly whites. He prefers an axe, though. Like many a heartthrob, PRETTY BOY takes out his pent-up rage through wanton violence, splattering his six-pack abs with gore with every swing of the axe. He has the honor of wielding the weapon that won the very first game ever conducted, but the significance is lost on him—he’s just here to look good and get bloody.
LADY CAROLINA:
SOUTH CAROLINA selects LADY CAROLINA to wield THE ARROW. Kill Count: 7 Height: 5′ 8″. No one from the patron families enters the games themselves. It is simply unheard of. So when LADY CAROLINA stepped foot inside the arena, the other families were aghast. She comes from noble stock and received the best training their money could buy, but it still feels like a transgression. Is she simply seeking a death-defying thrill? Or does she have a more personal reason for aiming her crossbow at this year’s set of killers…
THE CONGREGATION:
NEW HAMPSHIRE selects THE CONGREGATION to wield THE KNIFE. Kill Count: 39. Height: 6′ 0″. The only killer in the game to turn down a fee from his patron family, THE CONGREGATION feels that taking a life is a higher calling—a monk-like tribute to whatever dark gods whisper in his ears. And while he’s almost certainly a raving lunatic (you’d have to be, to cover yourself in the sliced-off faces of your victims), THE CONGREGATION’S knife has brought many offerings to his altar, and will no doubt bring many more still before his prayers are finished.
Exquisite Corpses #1 (Cover A) will be a triple-length debut issue, featuring 60 pages of story content for just $4.99, and will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, May 14 (with an FOC of April 21).
- Cover A by Walsh – Lunar Code 0325IM247
- Cover B by James Stokoe – Lunar Code 0325IM248
- Cover C by Walsh (polybagged with game card) – Lunar Code 0325IM249
- Cover D blank sketch cover – Lunar Code 0325IM250
- Cover E “stealth variant” by Jenny Frison – Lunar Code 0325IM251
- Cover F 1:25 copy incentive by Alex Eckman-Lawn – Lunar Code 0325IM252
- Cover G 1:50 copy incentive by Nimit Malavia – Lunar Code 0325IM253
- Cover H 1:100 copy incentive by Jae Lee & June Chung – Lunar Code 0325IM254
Exquisite Corpses will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.