A Redbox gets haunted in Deadbox from Mark Russell & Benjamin Tiesma

Deadbox #1
(Image credit: Vault Comics)

You've been there - scanning a streaming service or DVD rental box, looking for something to watch. Along the way you'll inevitably run across a movie you've never heard of - something that feels like a gap in your own memory.

(Image credit: Vault Comics)

In the upcoming comic book series Deadbox, there's a whole DVD rental machine full of them in a backwoods town - and it's full of movies you've never heard of, with stories that shockingly know more about the townsfolk's life - and surprise death - than they do.

This five-issue Deadbox series comes from Mark Russell and Benjamin Tiesma, and is the latest in a growing line of horror comics from the independent publisher Vault Comics.

Check out this 10-page preview of Deadbox #1, with Russell and Tiems joined by colorist Vladimir Popov andletterer Jim Campbell.

The best horror stories aren't just about the horror, but about the characters that experience - and so is Deadbox.

(Image credit: Vault Comics)

"I wrote Deadbox as a horror story, not just about a cursed DVD rental machine, but also about the feeling of being trapped, boxed if you will, in a town that doesn't get you and a place you will never feel at home in no matter how long you live there," says Russell. 

While Deadbox takes place in the fictional town of Old Turkey, but Russell grew up in the very real town of Springfield, Oregon - the inspiration for The Simpsons' hometown of Springfield.

"As a kid who felt, in many ways, trapped by his upbringing and sought personal escape in movies, Deadbox tells a story that's deeply personal to me, even though it's about something as goofy as haunted movies," Russell continues. "My hope is that as fewer and fewer Americans begin to recognize the place they call home, this will have a personal meaning for them, too. That we can each, in our own way, find a way to survive the horror of the everyday."

Deadbox #1 (of 5) goes on sale on September 8.

Get your horror fix with Newsarama's recommended best horror comics.

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Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)