In a move that would put Robin Hood to shame, the comic book publisher Vault has been rather benevolent with their Free-to-Retailer program. To be precise, they’ve shown heartwarming largesse to the tune of over $1,750,000, dishing out more than 350,000 single comic book issues to retailers at no extra cost, since the start of the initiative in 2023.

This scheme is a deceptively simple boon for retailers. Vault freely dispenses key debut issues of comic book series to save retailers their precious pennies. The comics retain their cover price, gifting retailers the freedom to flog, discount, or randomly distribute them among the masses as they see fit. Some of the coveted issues that have graced this 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. Alone, these three issues had retailers ringing up orders worth over 350,000, clocking up a total retail value surpassing $1,750,000. Quite the impressive tally, if you ask us.

Let us not bury the lede here though. Something wicked did indeed crawl out of Vault’s kitty in 2023—Son M.’s new horror series, Something Crawled Out. Alongside the artfully haunting illustrations by Cas ‘MadCursed’ Peirano and Vittorio Astone’s palette of vibrant colors, the comic book hinges on a macabre tale that will have readers questioning the essence of good and evil. Crafted by the equally unnerving minds of letterer Jim Campbell and designer Tim Daniel, the first issue slid onto the shelves in October 2023.

Our lackadaisical poster girl for the series, Edith “Eddie” Miller, hails from a nondescript corner in the American Midwest. She fills her tedious days with long hours of sleep and endless shifts at nights at a local gas station. Her life takes a turn for the worse when her younger sister vanishes, and her discovery of a network of missing girls and decaying bodies. With the boys in blue falling short, Eddie pairs up with her best pal, Rainer, in a desperate search to locate her sister. One minor obstacle, though—Eddie thinks Rainer is more devil than man.

“Love can be a rather violent affair,” muses Son M. The comic dissects this uncomfortable bond between elegance and brutality while presenting a horrible world where the protagonist perpetually wreaks havoc in a desperate bid to track down her sibling. Terror gets a fair shake at the limelight through the narratives of Eddie, who steps away from the conventional ‘Final Girl’ trope to star as the ‘Hunter’.

Artist MadCursed reflects, “I appreciate stories that focus on self-destruction rather than self-improvement.” His chilling illustrations serve as a backdrop to Son M.’s twisted tale of desperation and violence, which strangely enough, still make readers root for the characters.

The release of Something Crawled Out #1 took place on July 31, 2024, to an eagerly waiting audience. With an array of breathtakingly stunning variant covers designed by popular artists like Chris Shehan, Nathan Gooden, Cathy Kwan, Rennerei, Priscilla Bampoh and more, the series was ready to be devoured and added to comic lovers’ collections.

In a world lurks evil, Eddie’s tale lies in wait, menacingly asking the reader—”how far will you go to save those you love?” The answer may be darker than you dare to imagine. The comic now available for pre-orders through local comic shops invites you to delve into the mysteries within its pages, and maybe even find the face hiding behind your veneer of civility along the way.