VAULT EXPANDS FREE-TO-RETAILER PROGRAM TO INCLUDE SOMETHING CRAWLED OUT #1

Vault Comics has announced an expansion of their unparalleled Free-to-Retailers Program, to include Something Crawled Out #1, the terrifying new horror series co-created by writer Son M. and artist Cas ‘MadCursed’ Peirano.

Since its launch in 2023, Vault’s Free-to-Retailers Program has offered retailers key Vault first issue series debuts at no cost. The issues maintain their cover price, and retailers are free to sell, discount, or give away the books as they see fit. Prior selections for the program include Christopher Yost and Val Rodrigues’ Unnatural Order #1, Zack Kaplan & Fabiana Mascolo’s Beyond Real #1, and Michael Moreci & Nathan Gooden’s Barbaric: Born in Blood #1. Collectively these three issues received over 350,000 orders totalling over $1,750,000 in retail value.

Something Crawled Out is a terrifying new horror series that will have you questioning the core concepts of good and evil. Written by Son M., drawn by Cas ‘MadCursed’ Peirano, colored by Vittorio Astone, lettered by Jim Campbell, and designed by Tim Daniel, Something Crawled Out will hit store shelves in October, 2023.

Edith “Eddie” Miller has no grand plans or great prospects for her life in the vague American Midwest. She spends her days sleeping in and her nights working shifts at a gas station. But when her younger sister fails to come home, Eddie unearths a web of missing girls and rotting bodies. The police prove useless, so Eddie teams up with her best friend, Rainer, in a desperate hunt to find her sister. The only thing is, Eddie believes her best friend might be the Devil himself.

“Love is a violent thing. I’ve always been obsessed with the inherent connection between brutality and beauty, and the way we express our relationships in different ways” says Son M. “Something Crawled Out is about two desperate people trying to save someone they love, and thus committing unspeakable acts of violence onto others along the way. I’ve always wanted to write horror that was so tied to expressions of the Final Girl trope, mixed with the active presence of the Hunter. Rather than reacting to the tragedies around her, Eddie is constantly causing devastation in her desperation to find her sister.”

MadCursed adds, “Reading the Something Crawled Out scripts, I was immediately drawn to the devilish aura surrounding the characters. I really enjoy stories where the arc isn’t always self-improvement, but rather, self-destruction. There’s a violence in a lot of these characters in Something Crawled Out and a lot of the circumstances they face bring it out in terrible ways. And yet, despite all the horrors happening, you still find yourself rooting for them. You want them to win.”

Son M continues, “Working with MadCursed is a dream! There’s a ton of really nuanced expressions of love vulnerability in this story, and MadCursed expresses these dynamics beautifully. Plus, they really know how to nail having both incredibly hot characters (wink wink nudge nudge), comedic moments, and extreme, unforgivable acts of gory violence. What more could I ask for?”

MadCursed concludes, “I’ve always wanted to draw comics, ever since I was a kid, and now here I am, doing it! Something Crawled Out is just the beginning. There’s going to be more from us in the future, we’ve got a long way to go. And that’s a promise.”

“We live in an undeniably dangerous world,” adds editor Der-shing Helmer, “and the notion of civilized society is often our shield against it. Something Crawled Out removes the veneer of civility and asks the reader, if nobody else was around to see, how far would you go to protect your own against monsters? The answer is darker than you might imagine…but aren’t you desperately curious to see the true face you’ve been hiding all along?”

Something Crawled Out #1 hits store shelves on July 31st, 2024. The first issue will be released with a suite of gorgeous variant covers from fan-favorite artists such as Chris Shehan, Nathan Gooden, Cathy Kwan, Rennerei, Priscilla Bampoh, & more. The series is available to preorder now through local comic shops everywhere. The full synopsis for issue #1 can be found below:

Something wicked crawled out screaming.

Edith “Eddie” Miller has no grand plans or great prospects. She spends her days sleeping in and her nights working shifts at a gas station. But when her younger sister fails to come home, Eddie unearths a web of missing girls and rotting bodies. The police prove useless, so Eddie teams up with her best friend, Rainer, in a desperate hunt to find her sister. The only thing is-Eddie believes her best friend might be the Devil himself.

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Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!