Synergy is back! DC Comics is launching a new DC Horror imprint this summer, and kicking things off with The Conjuring: The Lover. This five-issue miniseries is a prelude to the film The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, the latest in the Conjuring franchise which hits theaters and HBO Max on June 4.
The new imprint will be rated 17+ and more titles will be announced in July for an October release. It’s a return to the horror genre for DC, as well as a tie-in to other WB-owned series, in this case New Line’s horror films.
The Conjuring: The Lover come will be co-written by the film’s screenwriter David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and New York Times bestselling author Rex Ogle (Free Lunch, Death of Wolverine: Life After Logan, Teen Titans), with art by Garry Brown (Babyteeth) and colors by Chris Sotomayor. In excellent news, Bill Sienkiewicz provides the covers, with variants by Ryan Brown (Dark Nights: Death Metal), and a 1-in-25 “ratio” variant cover by Garry Brown. Additionally, each issue will include shorter tales of terror from well-known comics creators, including Scott Snyder and Denys Cowan.
The Conjuring film universe comprises eight films thus far, spinning out of, first, The Conjuring in 2013, which stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as supernatural investigators, with each film being based on well-known real life cases. The original film was directed by James Wan (now busy in the DCEU with Aquaman 2) and led to a follow-up, The Conjuring 2. The Devil Made Me Do It is sort of a direct sequel to these two films, while the rest of the series has gone off into other titles, including Annabelle, The Nun and The Curse of La Llorona. Ya got all that?
Meanwhile, back at the comics, a DC Horror line continues a very long tradition of disturbing comics from DC. “From early titles like House of Mystery and House of Secrets to current series featuring Swamp Thing and John Constantine: Hellblazer, DC has always been the home of great horror comics and characters,” said Marie Javins, DC editor-in-chief in a statement. “DC HORROR continues this tradition with new frightening tales from both well-known and new storytellers that will keep fans spooked and entertained.”
As for the first release:
The Conjuring: The Lover expands the tragic story of Jessica, a college freshman returning to campus after winter break, bringing with her the anxieties of last semester’s poor grades, the awkwardness of facing a boy she wishes she’d never slept with, and an undeniably unnerving feeling of being watched.
Jessica 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?
This terrifying series will also feature backup stories that further explore the mysteries of the dreaded artifact room of Ed and Lorraine Warren from The Conjuring Universe. Issue #1 contains a bloodcurdling story exploring the frightening origin of one of the items from the Warrens’ haunted artifact room, written by comics superstar and Dark Nights: Death Metal mastermind Scott Snyder, with art by Denys Cowan (Hardware, The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage). In issue #2, writer Che Grayson (Bitch Planet: Triple Feature) and artist Juan Ferreyra (Green Arrow) double down on the fear with another tale of a cursed item from the artifact room.
The first issue of The Conjuring: The Lover arrives on the same day as The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It—Tuesday, June 1, 2021, with issue #2 available on July 6, 2021. Each 22-page issue sells for $3.99, with the card stock variant available for $4.99.
Updated 4/27/21 2:30 PM with corrected release dates
Brilliant!
Not one mention of Vertigo—or its demise—in a recap of this cynical PR
Pure hackery…
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