By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Having brought countless vintage horror and exploitation titles to Blu-ray, the Vinegar Syndrome team recently announced that they have formed a publishing arm to issue illustrated and prose adaptations of cult-classic genre fare. A key facet of Vinegar Syndrome Publishing is its pact with Eibon Press to reissue a number of the latter’s gruesome titles inspired by films from Lucio Fulci et al.
First up will be the four-issue series based on Fulci’s ZOMBIE; below, you can get an exclusive first look at the initial issue’s new cover art, both sides of the new slip sleeve and a trading card that will be included. As Director of Publishing and Merchandising Justin Talarski tells us, these will be common features in all the Vinegar/Eibon releases.
“We are reissuing the entire Eibon library with all-new cover art,” he says, “brand new slip sleeves with more stunning artwork, embossing and other artistic touches. Each book will also be stuffed with two killer trading cards, a miniposter, a brochure featuring supplemental material about the book’s creation and sketches, a bookmark and a sticker, all showcasing new art from our talented crew of artists. ZOMBIE’s four issues will be released at once in a gore-gous heavy collectable case, with a giant slipcase inside that, housing the books and all the goodies. All future comics will be getting the same treatment. It’s totally awesome!”
The collaboration began when Talarski read a blog post from Eibon. “It stated that they were probably going to have to shut down since they just couldn’t handle the workload anymore with their normal daily responsibilities, as it was only two guys [Stephen Romano, who’s serving as creative director on the new brand, and Shawn Lewis] doing it. I took that to the owners of Vinegar Syndrome and proposed starting a publishing division for not just comic books but novelizations of films and other types of print media, like art books and more.”
As for the Eibon titles beyond ZOMBIE, “We will be rereleasing MANIAC, HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE BEYOND, ESCAPE FROM THE BEYOND and more amazing stuff. We will be continuing the unfinished story arcs from books that were never completed, and adding new ones to others. We also have a handful of never-before-mentioned titles in the works under the Eibon imprint that are going to blow people’s minds. Vinegar Syndrome Publishing has some comics of our own, adapted from films in our catalog, as well. We are also bringing back the iconic trade paperbacks of the late ’70s and early ’80s, adapting our own titles and others that I promise will knock your proverbial socks off. Not only will we recreate the trade paperback style, but we promise limited-edition versions with packaging done in the way only VS knows how.”
Novelizations of a number of movies in the Vinegar Syndrome library are in the works, along with other types of merchandise. Talarski says that this diversifying beyond the disc realm will draw new fans to the Vinegar Syndrome brand, and that the products they currently have planned will take the company through to the end of 2024. “The sheer amount of work we have been putting into Vinegar Syndrome Publishing since it was born has been crazy, but all worth it, of course! The world of publishing is new for us, but already we have fit right into it. We are uncovering old print titles like they were old films, planning exciting ways of giving them new life and unleashing them upon the public. It couldn’t be any more Vinegar Syndrome than that!” Keep your eyes on Vinegar Syndrome’s official website for further updates and titles.
