‘Exquisite Corpses’ Review: Twelve Killers, One Town, No Mercy

When James Tynion IV puts his name on a horror book, I’m already in line. Twelve masked killers, one small town and a deadly game run by the richest families in America? I didn’t need a second pitch. Season 1 of Exquisite Corpses wrapped earlier this year, a movie is now in the works, and the spin-offs keep coming, so it felt like the perfect time to finally talk about the whole thing.

Why I Trust Tynion With My Nightmares

I’ve been a Tynion fan since Something is Killing the Children, and he keeps finding new ways to scare me. The Deviant turned Christmas into a serial killer story, and Spectregraph made a haunted house feel hungry. With Exquisite Corpses, he teams up with artist Michael Walsh (The Silver Coin) for something bigger: a whole horror franchise built in a writers’ room.

And it really is a group effort. Tynion writes every issue and Walsh draws pages in every issue, but almost every chapter brings in a different co-writer and guest artist: Pornsak Pichetshote, Che Grayson, Jordie Bellaire and Tyler Boss on the writing side (plus Walsh himself), and Marianna Ignazzi, Valentine De Landro, Adam Gorham, Claire Roe and Gavin Fullerton on art. Bellaire’s colors and Becca Carey’s letters hold it all together, so every handoff feels like a new camera angle instead of a different book.

What Is Exquisite Corpses About?

Every five years on Halloween, the Thirteen Families (the dynasties that have quietly run the country since 1775) decide who holds power for the next five years. Their method? Twelve of the families each sponsor a masked killer, the killers are dropped into a small town, and the last one standing wins. This time, the unlucky town is Oak Valley, Maine. The families watch it all like a sporting event, and everyone else just has to survive the night.

I love how simple and twisted that is. The five-year cycle, the small town, the idea that the whole country is secretly run this way… it’s such a genius concept, and it leaves so much room for the story to grow.

Twelve Slashers, Twelve Personalities

I’m a sucker for a group of slashers with very specific personalities, and this book is a buffet. Fox Mask Killer and her sword, Rascal Randy in that nightmare rabbit mascot suit, Layla Blaze and her fire, Nurse Pete’s poison, Pretty Boy’s axe… every one of them feels like they could headline their own horror movie. Bonus creepy detail: each killer represents one of the original colonies, which tells you exactly how long this game has been going on.

Blood, Politics and Survival

Let’s be honest: Exquisite Corpses is violent. Gloriously, creatively violent. You can absolutely read it as a political critique (a handful of rich families treating an entire town as a game board isn’t exactly subtle), and that layer is there if you want it. But I’m not going to pretend I showed up for the essay. I’m all in for the violence.

What surprised me is how many sides of fighting for your life the series shows. People hide, people fight back, people make choices they’ll have to live with long after sunrise, and the killers tear into each other just as hard as they go after the town.

The Spin-Offs Keep the Party Going

Part of why I’m talking about this now is the news: on November 7, Blumhouse Atomic announced a first-look deal with Tynion’s company, Tiny Onion, and an Exquisite Corpses movie is in development. Honestly, this premise was begging for a screen.

The other reason is that the spin-offs have been so much fun. Rascal Randy (Tyler Boss and Dylan Burnett) goes back before Season 1 to show how a would-be cartoon mascot became a killer, and Fox Mask Killer (Che Grayson and Adam Gorham) digs into the backstory of the franchise’s most iconic killer. I love an origin story, and both make their killers even scarier. Then there’s the newest one, Lone Gunman by Pornsak Pichetshote and Alberto Ponticelli. It’s officially Season 1.5, catching up with the survivors two years later, and it got me even more excited for Season 2, which is due in 2027.

Final Thoughts

Exquisite Corpses takes a genius concept and hands it to a murderer’s row of creators, and the result is the slasher ensemble I didn’t know I needed. If you like masked killers with personality and a side of class rage with your bloodbath, start here. Season 1 ran for 13 issues from May 14, 2025 to May 27, 2026, and it’s collected in three trade paperbacks: Vol. 1 (September 17, 2025), Vol. 2 (March 25, 2026) and Vol. 3 (August 19, 2026).

If you like this, check out The Deviant for Tynion’s take on a killer Christmas, Let This One Be a Devil for more Tynion horror (this time with the Jersey Devil), and Spectregraph for a haunted house with an appetite.

FAQ

Is Exquisite Corpses finished? Season 1 is complete in 13 issues. Season 2 is planned for 2027, and the Lone Gunman miniseries bridges the gap.

Do I need to read the spin-offs? No, Season 1 works on its own. Rascal Randy and Fox Mask Killer add backstory, while Lone Gunman picks up after the finale, so save that one for after issue #13.

Is there an Exquisite Corpses movie? Yes, one is in development at Blumhouse Atomic, announced in November 2026. There’s no release date yet.