Ice Cream Man is a semi-anthological dark comedy horror comic book series that premiered in 2018 from Image Comics. The series is written by W. Maxwell Prince with art by Martin Morazzo. The plot follows an ice cream man named Rick and his nemesis Caleb, as Rick attempts to spread misery and death wherever he goes; with Caleb doing what he can to prevent it. The series was optioned for an adaptation in 2018.
Contents
Premise
The series is a anthological horror comic series of very loosely connected stories that share a common link- a seemingly normal ice cream man named Rick (who is later revealed to be actually called Riccardus), who possesses inexplicable dark powers which he uses upon unsuspecting people. Rick's role in each issue ranges from protagonist to brief cameo but appears most often as a supporting character. Rick's nemesis, Caleb; a man dressed in an all brown cowboy outfit, sporadically appears in the series trying to thwart Rick's plans.
The stories range from bleak and graphic horror to light comedy, with surrealness mixed into most stories- issues often incorporate gimmicks into their format (e.g. three stories being told simultaneously with each page containing one panel of each, an issue taking place in multiple television shows, and a issue meant to be reread backwards).
Reception
Since its debut the series has received positive reviews. On the review aggregator, Comic Book Roundup, the series averaged a rating of 8.5 out of 10 based on a sample of 150 critics.
Adaptation
In October 2018, it was announced an adaptation of the series was in development at Universal Cable Productions. In February 2020, it was announced the series had been picked up by mobile streaming platform Quibi. With Quibi's shutdown in December 2020, the fate of the series was mostly undetermined. However, in January 2021 W. Maxwell Prince mentioned that the series is still in production. In September 2024, it was announced Screen Gems had acquired the rights to the series with Alfred Gough and Miles Millar writing the adaptation.
Collected editions
Uncollected specials
Two specials have been released which have not been collected into trades or hardcovers.
Ice Cream Man Presents: Quarantine Comix Special was released on September 9, 2020. It includes multiple mini-comics from various creators which were originally released online early on during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ice Cream Man: The Mortal Coil Shuffle was released on November 5, 2025. It consists of a deck of 55 "playing" cards which are intended to be read in order to form a sequential story. Its original release was specifically described as being a one-time thing which would not be printed again.
