Chris Condon is one of the breakout stars of the comic book industry lately, thanks to books like That Texas Blood and the upcoming Ultimate Wolverine. IGN can exclusively reveal Condon's next project, a grisly horror Western called The Goddamn Tragedy.
The Goddamn Tragedy pairs Condon with artist Shawn Kuruneru (Burn Man 2) for a story inspired by tales of the Donner Party and other ill-fated expeditions through the American West in the 19th Century. Check out the cover to this one-shot special below:
Here's the official description from publisher Oni Press:
Ellen Janson is here to set the record straight about the highly publicized, oft-sensationalized journey her family undertook in 1846.
Ellen sets out with her mother, Irena, and her father, Leo, on the treacherous road west in search of a better life. But when her father chooses to split off from the party, taking an untested shortcut through the mountains, can their small family survive the elements, the wildlife—and each other? Or will their journey become nothing more than another goddamn tragedy?
“I had been reading about the tragic Donner Party of 1846 and an idea struck me: there's a story here to tell, one that could capture the psychological tumult a family endures as they are faced with an impossible decision: kill...or be killed,” said Condon in Oni's press release. “We all know how the Donner Party played out, but we don't know how things work out for the Janson family and that's a story that the masterful Shawn Kuruneru and I are all too excited to tell. Thankfully, we've found a great home for this one-shot of survivalist terror at Oni Press who excels at telling gut-wrenching tales from beyond the pale."
"The Goddamn Tragedy is a gritty thriller with an atmosphere akin to The Shining,” said Kuruneru. “For the past two years I’ve been drawing Westerns, starting with my own comics Cave Grave and Poor Moon, then Fishflies #6 for Jeff Lemire. As a fan of Chris’s writing on That Texas Blood, I am excited to bring this story to life with ominous color washes, rough line-work, and eerie shadows to slowly reveal the impending doom of the Janson family."
The Goddamn Tragedy will be released in May 2025.
This new issue is just one part of Oni's ambitious publishing plans for 2025. Previously, IGN got an exclusive first look at four new graphic novels launching next year, as well as an exclusive look at Free for All, the new work from Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees creator Patrick Horvath.
For more on what's new in the world of comics, check out our breakdown of how Absolute Superman introduces a radically different Man of Steel.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
