Since the shuttering of Vertigo Comics, DC Comics hasn’t had an official home for horror comics. The company did launch Joe Hill’s Hillhouse Comics in 2019, but the imprint has been quite recently after an initial deluge of titles.
Beginning this summer, horror comic fans will have an official place to go for their darker comics from DC with DC Horror. DC’s new “House of Mystery” will, like Vertigo, be geared toward adult readers (17+) and will crash onto the horror and comic scene in June with an official prequel to the upcoming entry in the highly successful Conjuring series: The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.
The Conjuring: The Lover is a five-issue monthly limited series (that debuts on June 4, the same day that the film will be released in theaters and HBO Max) that sets up the next installment in The Conjuring Universe, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. The terrifying prequel is co-written by The Conjuring 2 and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Rex Ogle, with art by Garry Brown.
Marie Javins, DC editor-in-chief is happy that horror genre now has an official home at DC, as the company “…has always been the home of great horror comics and characters. DC Horror continues this tradition with new frightening tales from both well-known and new storytellers that will keep fans spooked and entertained.”
In terms of the story content, The Conjuring: The Lover expands on the story of Jessica, a college freshman full of anxiety and troubles who “…soon comes to realize that something evil has made her its target, and it will not rest until it has her in its unholy grip. But why did this sinister presence set its sights on a seemingly normal college freshman?”
The new limited series will also feature backup stories that explore the mysteries of the Warren’s world-famous haunted museum with the frightening origin of one of the items by Scott Snyder and Denys Cowan. Issue two will provide another look at one of the Warren’s cursed items by writer Che Grayson and artist Juan Ferreyra, with more stories to follow in subsequent instalments.
The debut issue of The Conjuring: The Lover arrives in comic book stores and on participating digital platforms with a main cover by Bill Sienkiewicz and a 1-in-25 variant cover by series artist Garry Brown. Each issue sells for $3.99, with the card stock variant available for $4.99.
Additional titles from the DC Horror imprint are scheduled to be announced this July, so be sure to keep checking back with Conskipper for all of you horror comic needs.
