What better way to spend Valentine’s Day than with your loved one? And what better way to do that than torturing the heck out of a bunch of fictional characters? That’s what real life couple Tini Howard and Blake Howard will be doing in EC’s Tortured Hearts #1… And we’ve got a first look, right here.
“”Blake and I have been making scary stories together as long as we’ve been in love, so EC’s TORTURED HEARTS was the perfect place for us,” said co-writer Tini Howard via press release. “Our story is about passion, the spark, and the fun and frightening ways couples keep things spicy. After all, the lovers who slay together, stay together!”
Added editor Allyson Gronowitz, “I’m so thrilled to welcome the great Tini Howard and Blake Howard to the EC fold, in their debut story “The Spark”! This story provides an explosive answer to the age-old question of: how do you reignite the passion in a decaying romance… the EC way? You’ll wish you never found out!”
EC’s Tortured Hearts #1 Preview
Check out five pages and six covers from the February 11, 2026 publishing issue here! Click the thumbnails for a larger version:
EC’s Tortured Hearts #1 Official Synopsis:
Did your heart ever break so hard that it felt like Cupid himself had plunged his sharp little arrow into your ribcage, only to leave a sucking chest wound for all the world to see? No?! Well, are you free on the second Wednesday in February?! In the unrelenting tradition of EC Comics,here’s one for all of you lovesick lunatics, rancid romantics, and forlorn fatalities as Oni Press proudly presents our next giant-sized special full of soft whispers and death rattles from hot-blooded writers Jordie Bellaire (Redlands), Tini Howard (Excalibur) & Blake Howard (Vampire: The Masquerade), Ann Nocenti (Daredevil), and Amy Roy (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss), alongside candy-coated artists Sebastián Cabrol (Hulk: Maestro), Fabiana Mascolo (Cyberpunk 2077), Dan McDaid (EC’s Outlaw Showdown), and Arjuna Susini (Lamentation)!
Plus, as an extra-added bonus: Another newly restored and authentically remastered classic from the EC vaults by legendary fiends William M. Gaines, Al Feldstein, and Reed Crandall!
Eat your heart out – but make sure to save some for the rest of us! This Valentine’s Day, Oni Press and EC Comics is gifting you a box of poison chocolates and cyanide-laced champagne in TORTURED HEARTS #1 – featuring a slate of salacious covers that will make your eyes linger a second too long from Dustin Weaver (Avengers), Miguel Mercado (X-Men), Tom Fowler (Refrigerator Full of Heads), Shawn McManus (Fables), and Patricia Martín (EC’s Blood Type)! Warm your heart to the boiling point – only in comic shops on February 11th!
Comic Book Club Live Info:
Want to watch Comic Book Club live? We stream every Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET to YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch. Come hang out, and ask questions of our guests (and us!). And you could potentially win a $25 gift card to Midtown Comics. You can check out a current list of upcoming guests and other live appearances on our Shows page.
Discover more from Comic Book Club
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.