Previewing ‘Ice Cream Man’ #43: A Comic Featuring One-Page Scary Stories

by Olly MacNamee

Pushing the boundaries of comic book convention, Image Comics’ Ice Cream Man #43 will feature an issue made up of one-page tales of terror by a death row of comic book creators including Grant Morrison, Patton Oswalt, Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Jeff Lemire, Geoff Johns, Deniz Camp, and Frank Barbiere and co-creators W. Maxwell Prince, Martín Morazzo, and Chris O’Halloran. A special mention goes to Zoe Thorogood’s short story ‘For James’, with partial proceeds of comic book sales going to charity on her late brother’s behalf.

Speaking about this special issue, Prince said:

“Ice Cream Man #43 came out cooler than I could have ever imagined. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a collection of creators of this caliber in one place before—some of the best of all time! We’ve got TWO Grant Morrison stories, and ones from Matt Fraction, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Geoff Johns, Jeff Lemire, Zoe Thorogood, Deniz Camp, Frank Barbiere, and many more. And we’ll even have a horror story from one of the funniest people on Earth: Patton Oswalt. Though don’t be fooled—his one-pager is terrifying. Your Ice Cream Man truck drivers, artists Martín Morazzo and Chris O’Halloran, and myself, are so stoked that these legends said ‘yes’ to playing in our ice cream world. The result is, I think, one of the most special issues of comics I’ve ever beheld.”

It’s a great idea and a great way to get so many talented and very busy creators together for a jam-issue full of frightful fun. Check out the ‘Baby Grand Piano’ story written by Prince, panels from Morrison’s ‘Hell Freezes’ and Fraction’s ‘Life by Misadventure’ stories, all featuring at by Morazzo and O’Halloran.