Dark Horse Comics has announced Steeple, a new five-issue miniseries from writer & artist John Allison. Allison, the Eisner-nominated creator of Giant Days, is joined by colorist Sarah Stern and letterer Jim Campbell for a story of the eternal battle between good and evil in a Celtic village.
Here’s how the publisher describes the series:
Tredregyn Parish – in a sleepy Cornish coastal town fabled for its cursed origins, a newly arrived vicar quickly befriends another local priest, before realizing that they serve very different masters. Beset on all sides by witchcraft, the Church of Satan, battling Reverends, officious housekeepers and the ever-present sons of the sea, Billie Baker and Maggie Warren must balance the war between good and evil with the needs of their parishioners. After all, this town has supernatural problems that a nice cup of tea won’t fix.
The unlikely friendship aspect of the series, between a Christian priest and a priest in the Church of Satan, should present some great opportunities for comedy in the midst of what could be an otherwise deathly serious story. The series also promises to explore the gray area between the two sides, highlighting what unites them more than what divides them. Allison himself notes the topicality of that examination:
“At a time where we align ourselves along ever more partisan lines and refuse to believe that the other side might have anything useful to say, Steeple is my attempt to show just how wide and deep the grey area actually is. I’m uniquely placed to tell this story, as personally, my carefully-held beliefs fold like a card table in the face of anyone who sounds like they know what they’re talking about.”
Check out the Allison-drawn main cover to the first issue, as well as a variant cover by artist Max Sarin, below. Steeple #1 (of 5) is due in stores in September.
