Red’s School Bus Graveyard has officially made the jump from WEBTOON to print. Penguin Random House’s Ink Pop imprint published School Bus Graveyard, Volume 1 on June 30, 2026, bringing the first 32 episodes of the supernatural thriller to hardcover and paperback. For webtoon readers, the release marks a significant new chapter for one of the platform’s most recognizable original horror series.
Created by Red, the YA thriller has built a readership of more than 250 million WEBTOON views, according to the publisher. The print edition also received an early spotlight through Penguin Random House’s Comics Giveaway Day, giving fans a preview of the adaptation before the full graphic novel arrived.
From vertical scroll to graphic novel
School Bus Graveyard follows Ashlyn, a high school student who prefers being alone until a field trip to an old house changes everything. After the visit, she and several classmates begin seeing a sinister phantom that remains invisible to everyone else. The creature seems harmless during the day, but at midnight, the world shifts into a red-sky nightmare filled with murderous ghosts.
The central hook is familiar horror territory—teenagers trapped with an unknowable supernatural threat—but Red builds the premise around group dynamics as much as scares. Ashlyn must work with classmates she might otherwise avoid, turning survival into an uncomfortable group project where trust is just as important as speed, strategy, and courage.
That combination helps distinguish the series from a straightforward monster story. The horror provides the immediate danger, while the school setting creates space for rivalry, awkward alliances, humor, and emotional tension. WEBTOON officially labels the series as a thriller with romance elements, making it a natural fit for readers who like their supernatural stories to include character relationships alongside the scares.
What Volume 1 collects
The first print volume collects WEBTOON episodes 1 through 32 and includes additional character artwork from Red. Penguin Random House lists the book at 272 pages, with both hardcover and paperback editions available. The publisher categorizes it as a teen and young adult graphic novel, with an age range of 14 and up.
Collecting the opening 32 episodes gives new readers a substantial introduction to the series’ rules, cast, and escalating supernatural conflict. It also changes the reading rhythm. On WEBTOON, suspense can be stretched across weekly installments and carefully timed episode endings; in print, those sequences can be read in a concentrated sitting, allowing the early mystery to build with more momentum.
That difference is especially interesting for a horror webtoon. Vertical scrolling gives creators control over pauses, reveals, and the distance between one visual beat and the next. A print collection cannot reproduce the exact experience of scrolling through a phone screen, but it can emphasize page composition, repeated imagery, and the cumulative effect of reading several episodes without waiting for the next update.
A horror series with crossover appeal
Penguin Random House positions the book for fans of Stranger Things and Five Nights at Freddy’s, comparisons that point to the series’ blend of teen ensemble drama, ominous supernatural imagery, and survival-horror tension. The premise should also appeal to readers of action-oriented webtoons, since the classmates are not simply running from danger; they must learn how to respond to a recurring threat under changing conditions.
The series’ strongest point of entry is likely its ensemble structure. Ashlyn serves as the emotional and narrative anchor, but the survival setup depends on the classmates functioning as a group. That makes the story accessible to readers who enjoy friendship drama, reluctant teamwork, and character-driven horror rather than purely atmospheric ghost stories.
For romance readers, the relationship material appears to operate as part of a broader ensemble rather than replacing the thriller plot. Readers primarily seeking action or horror will find the supernatural conflict at the center, while fans of school-life drama may be drawn to the way danger forces guarded teenagers into closer contact.
Comics Giveaway Day offered an early look
Before the full volume’s publication, Penguin Random House included School Bus Graveyard CGD 2026 in its Comics Giveaway Day lineup. The sampler was distributed on May 2, 2026, alongside other promotional comic editions and graphic-novel previews.
The giveaway edition was designed as a first look rather than a replacement for Volume 1. Its advertised extras included never-before-published illustrations, character art, bonus materials, and a preview of the print presentation. For longtime WEBTOON readers, that offered a collectible piece of the transition; for newcomers, it provided a low-commitment introduction to Red’s premise and visual world.
The distinction between Comics Giveaway Day and Free Comic Book Day is worth noting. Although the events took place on the same date in 2026, the School Bus Graveyard sampler was part of Penguin Random House’s Comics Giveaway Day program rather than a standard Free Comic Book Day publication.
Why the print release matters
School Bus Graveyard arriving in bookstores demonstrates how successful digital comics can move into traditional publishing without losing their original identity. The series was built for serialized online reading, but its horror premise, recognizable cast, and episode-based structure also translate naturally into collected volumes.
The print edition gives existing fans a physical version of a series they may have followed on screens for years. It also places Red’s work in libraries, bookstores, classrooms, and graphic-novel sections where readers who do not regularly browse WEBTOON may encounter it for the first time.
At the time of the print release, WEBTOON lists the series’ second season finale as episode 96, published on February 18, 2025. No additional adaptation announcement is established by the available information, so the graphic novel should be viewed as a print expansion of the original webtoon rather than evidence of an anime, live-action, or game project.
For readers who enjoy supernatural mysteries, high-school ensembles, and horror that turns social discomfort into literal survival pressure, School Bus Graveyard, Volume 1 is a particularly accessible entry point. Red’s series now has two distinct ways to experience its opening nightmare: the original vertical-scroll format on WEBTOON and a polished print collection from Penguin Random House.
Sources
- bleedingcool.com
- penguinrandomhouse.com
- webtoons.com
- prhcomics.com
