From ‘Sirens: Love Hurts’ to ‘Tortured Hearts’: Tini Howard Makes Valentine’s Day Deadly
Tini’s a must-buy for Valentine’s Day, with two different specials
Sami’s already covered the upcoming Sirens: Love Hurts by Tini Howard and Babs Tarr, but I’m here to talk about another of her upcoming specials for V-Day (Yep, she’s kicking ass with two) with husband, Blake Howard, called Tortured Hearts #1.
Hitting comic shops February 11th, this 56-page EC Comics one-shot special blends romance with blood, as the Howards kick things off with “The Spark”, a story about keeping the flames of passion alive by involving other people… murderously.
Drawn by artist Arjuna Susini, the story takes a stab at what it means to spice things up in the bedroom, redefining the definition of that painful expression: love hurts.
“Blake and I have been making scary stories together as long as we’ve been in love, so EC’s TORTURED HEARTS was the perfect place for us,” says co-writer Tini Howard. “Our story is about passion, the spark, and the fun and frightening ways couples keep things spicy. After all, the lovers who slay together, stay together!”
“I’m so thrilled to welcome the great Tini Howard and Blake Howard to the EC fold, in their debut story, “The Spark!” says editor Allyson Gronowitz. “This story provides an explosive answer to the age-old question of: how do you reignite the passion in a decaying romance...the EC way? You’ll wish you never found out!”
The rest of the issue will feature stories that’ll make your heart race, with originals by Jordie Bellaire, Ann Nocenti, and Amy Roy, alongside the works of such stellar artists as Sebastián Cabrol, Fabiana Mascolo, and Dan McDaid. To top it all off, much like ShiverSuspenseStories, they’ve also brought back a restored classic from the EC vault done by William M. Gaines, Al Feldstein, and Reed Crandall!
Check out the preview pages and covers below.
INTERIOR ARTWORK DONE BY ARJUNA SUSINI
COVER A BY DUSTIN WEAVER
COVER B BY MIGUEL MERCADO
COVER C BY TOM FOWLER
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY SHAWN McMANUS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER
ARCHIVE EDITION VARIANT (1:50) BY PATRICIA MARTÍN
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EC TORTURED HEARTS #1 (ONE-SHOT)
WRITTEN BY JORDIE BELLAIRE, TINI HOWARD & BLAKE HOWARD, ANN NOCENTI, AMY ROY & MORE
ART BY SEBASTIÁN CABROL, FABIANA MASCOLO, DAN McDAID, ARJUNA SUSINI & MORE
COVER A BY DUSTIN WEAVER
COVER B BY MIGUEL MERCADO
COVER C BY TOM FOWLER
EC HOMAGE VARIANT (1:10) BY SHAWN McMANUS
B&W ARTIST EDITION VARIANT (1:20) BY TOM FOWLER
ARCHIVE EDITION VARIANT (1:50) BY PATRICIA MARTÍN
ON SALE FEBRUARY 11th, 2026 | $8.99 | 56 PAGES | FC
IOC: 12/27/2025
FOC: 1/19/2026
Christian Angeles is a writer and entertainment journalist with nearly a decade of experience covering comics, video games, and digital media. He was senior editor at The Beat during its Eisner Award–winning year and also served as managing editor of The Workprint. Outside of journalism, he writes comics and books.
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