James Tynion IV’s Tiny Onion production house, created by Tynion to work on his many acclaimed projects, is officially moving into full-fledged publication, creating the Crying Eye Press imprint. The company is breaking into the book world with a holiday-themed children’s picture book, Crumbs: A Very Bad Elf. Featuring a story by Tynion and full illustrations by Jensine Eckwall, this delightfully wicked Christmas tale features the titular elf Crumbs and the spectacular haunting of his annual trip to Vintersburg. It promises a spooky atmosphere and delightful art that’s equal parts adorable and chilling, a la movies like The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Speaking of the classic movie, Tiny Onion is announcing their very first children’s book in style. A hand-made stop-motion animated trailer brings the nightmare elf to life, produced by Unknown Film Organization. Directed and edited by Jesse Gouldsbury (The VelociPastor), cartoonist Alex Krokus provided scripts and storyboards, with music and voiceover by Alec Lambert. Charles D’Avignon (SpongeBob SquarePants) created the puppets and handled the animation, while Eckwall brought the background art and environment to life. ComicBook is pleased to provide an exclusive first look at the trailer, right here.
Crumbs: A Very Bad Elf takes us to the picturesque village of Vintersburg. While every other village loves the holidays, anxious for their elf to pay a visit, Vintersburg dreads the return of Crumbs, who always brings mischief, mayhem, and, if the trailer gives us the right impression, teeth. This might be Tiny Onion’s first foray into children’s tales, but that doesn’t mean that this story will be all rainbows and roses, either. Tynion is known for pushing boundaries with dark and mature subject matter, and this book is definitely aiming to reach beyond its age range while still giving kids a brand-new holiday tradition. It’s a mix of cozy and unsettling in the same way as stories like those by Charles Addams and The Grinch.
“The stretch between Halloween and Christmas is my favorite time of year, and spooky holiday stories like A Nightmare Before Christmas were foundational in turning me into the writer I am today,” said Tynion. “Originally published as a short story in DSTLRY’s Through the Boughs, I could not be more thrilled for Crumbs: A Very Bad Elf to be the inaugural publication of Crying Eye Press, expanding Jensine’s hauntingly holly artwork into a bespoke hardcover children’s book that we believe could become a future perennial.”
“Working on Crumbs with James was so much fun,” said Eckwall. “Every line of the script created an opportunity for a strange new image that helped Crumbs come alive. After I sketched a few different elf designs and we settled on his shape and feel, his crackly, twisted, curious yet malevolent nature just fell into place. I remember only getting a note on one piece when turning in sketches for one of the panels, and that was to make it weirder and scarier!”
The actual book itself also embraces the classic children’s book style, featuring a textured red cloth cover and gold foil stamping. The art inside is just as detailed as the trailer promises, with a focus on being expressive to the point of giving us a true taste of Crumbs’s wickedness. The trailer is Tiny Onion’s first foray into stop motion, but it’ll be far from their last venture on the animated side of the world. The company has roots in comic publishing, but already has plans and contracts to bring Tynion’s other stories to life across all forms of media, from an Exquisite Corpses live-action movie to an animated Something Is Killing the Children adaptation.
Crumbs: A Very Bad Elf is available to purchase now through the Shop Tiny Onion online store. This is just the start of Tiny Onion’s breadth of stories, but it is the perfect example of what they want to do going forward, so be sure to check out this wonderfully horrifying story starting Friday, November 13th!
Which of Tynion’s many acclaimed works are you most excited to see adapted? Let us know in the comments below!
