‘Kiss Me, Satan’ Leads New Dark Horse Horror Line This Fall

The publisher of Hellboy, Creepy Comics, Eerie Comics, To Hell You Ride, Criminal Macabre and more, Dark Horse Comics has always distinguished itself as a comic book company with a serious love for horror. Indeed, the publisher's haunting Ragemoor by Jan Strnad and Richard Corben earned a place on ComicsAlliance's list of the best comics of 2012, as did the year's particularly grim installments of B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth, and the cover artwork of Colder #1 was very arguably the most startlingly horrific image to grace comic book stands (or iPads, as the case may be).

Naturally, Dark Horse is seeking to amplify its recent successes in 2013. The company's plan? A hefty slate of horror titles that includes four more Richard Corben adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories; a new series of Guillermo del Toro's The Strain by Dave Lapham and Mike Huddleston; and the all-new supernatural crime project with a fantastic name, Kiss Me, Satan written by Victor Gischler and drawn by Juan Ferreyra, the Colder artist whose work really got into your head last year.

Dark Horse Editor-in-Chief Scott Allie and writer Victor Gischler told us a little about the new horror line and shared some early images from Kiss Me, Satan, including covers by Dave Johnson.

(click images to enlarge)

Originally announced as Witch Hunt, the book opens with a werewolf crime boss learning some troubling and even dangerous news about his unborn heir. The old witch who gave hm that news is on the run for knowing too much, but with a price on her head she and her daughters are sitting ducks. Enter Barnabus Black, a fallen angel who's tasked with protecting the coven from ultra-violent werewolves in exchange for his lost wings.

"Barnabus Black is the action hero you've been waiting for," Gischler told CA. "A hero perfect for a world populated with werewolves, witches. vampires and malicious spellcasters. Dark urban fantasy with a noir edge and plenty of eye popping visuals."

Witch Hunt's name was changed at the last moment to Kiss Me, Satan due to a legal challenge from another party producing an unrelated product. While undoubtedly a harrowing experience for all the clerical workers involved, it was definitely worth it because the new name, Kiss Me, Satan, is plainly superior. Allie agreed the name suited the comic, saying it "reflects the fun, crazy nature of the book. There's a lot of supernatural stuff, and it's set in New Orleans."

Some ComicsAlliance readers will recognize Gischler from his many acclaimed crime novels, but the writer has also written a number of comics including Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth for Mavel and Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Spike for Dark Horse. His Kiss Me, Satan collaborator Juan Ferreyra has drawn Solomon Kane and Rex Mundi books for Dark Horse, and he made a critical splash last year with writer Paul Tobin in the horror book Colder.

"[Colder] was sort of the surprise hit of the line, garnering a lot of attention for the art," Allie said, adding that Gischler's Buffy work "blew us all away."

Also coming fromt he fall's new horror line are four new Edgar Allan Poe adaptations by Richard Corben, who's been producing them for many years now. The Assignation and Alone will appear in the September and October issues of the Dark Horse Presents anthology, respectively, and a one-shot, The Raven and the Masque of the Red Death will be released in October.

Coming slightly earlier in July is The Strain: The Fall #1, which begins the next cycle in the series devised by horror director Guillermo del Toro. The project reunites writer David Lapham with artist Mike Huddleston and cover illustrator E. M. Gist.