The previously announced horror series The Missionary is getting an even more depraved variant: so horrific that it had to be put in a plastic bag. That’s the DSTLRY RED LABEL edition of The Missionary #1 by writer Ryan Stegman (Venom, Superior Spider-Man, X-Men, Vanish) and artist Jason Howard (Batman, Trees, Big Girls, The Astounding Wolf-Man).
The Missionary #1 is out on September 25, with the standard editon sporting a standard number of variant covers A-G – but oh, variant H will be the polybagged DSTLRY RED LABEL edition, featuring a new colorway of Jason Howard’s A cover colored by Tamra Bonvillain. Just what is in the bag? More depravity and gore – and a double page spread of the regular edition’s final splash page – revealing the carnage previously left to the imagination, we’re told.
Although many will tell you that true horror lies in the imagination, for those who need to see it, this all-out edition will set you back an extra buck, priced at $9.99 instead of the regular edition’s $8.99, which gets you a 48 pages of perfect-bound, spot varnished, Prestige format mayhem.
And what is the horror we’re leading up to?
The Missionary follows Bryce Hunter, a devoutly religious man whose world shatters when he discovers his wife in a scandalous affair with an Elder from his church. This revelation leads Bryce into the grasp of a demonic entity named Uvydus. Rather than rejecting the possession, Bryce embraces it, eager to learn the ways of “bad,” while Uvydus seeks to temper its evil nature. Together, the pair must navigate a world threatened by demons escaping Hell, poised to reshape Earth into their new kingdom.
“Creating the RED LABEL edition has been a thrilling challenge,” says co-creator and writer Ryan Stegman. “We’ve pushed the boundaries to deliver an experience that shocks and enthralls. This version of The Missionary gives fans and collectors a different taste of the story, and I can’t wait for them to experience it.”
“The RED LABEL edition allowed us to add another layer to the story and art with added NSFW elements and gore,” says co-creator and artist Jason Howard. “It’s a testament to the possibilities of comics, and working on it has been an absolute blast.”
The Missionary #1 will be available at local comic shops and digitally via www.dstlry.co on September 25, 2024. Fans can pre-order the DSTLRY RED LABEL edition (Cover H), and all the other cover variants via their comic shops through August 19th, 2024.
Here are the covers being seen for the first time, including a humorous Skottie Young variant, the blank sketch cover and the new RED LABEL cover:
And previously released covers by (in order) Jason Howard, Ryan Stegman, Chip Zdarsky, Ryan Ottley and Riley Rossmo.
PS: Am I the only person who gets Ryan Stegman, Ryan Ottley and Ryan North mixed up? Just me? OK.
