AfterShock Comics has announced The Ocean Will Take Us, a new series debuting in April. The supernatural thriller comes from the creative team of writer Rich Douek, artist Carlos Olivares, colorist Manuel Puppo, and letterer Dave Sharpe. Olivares will provide the main cover for the first issue of the series, which follows a student at a new high school who discovers something sinister after he tries out for the swim team. The debut issue of the series will also sport an incentive variant cover by Hayden Sherman.

Here’s how AfterShock describes The Ocean Will Take Us:

Something’s lurking in the waters of Almanzar Bay – and when Casey March tries out for the swim team, he learns firsthand that messing with the social order of his new high school can have dangerous – even deadly – consequences!

From Bram Stoker-Award nominated writer Rich Douek (Sea of Sorrows, Road of Bones) and artist Carlos Olivares, comes a new tale of horror and intrigue – where a group of high school outcasts band together to fight a growing evil in their school and town.

The Ocean Will Take Us is the first AfterShock Comics work for writer Rich Douek, and the first collaboration between Douek and artist Carlos Olivares. Douek is no stranger to underwater horror, though, having created the five-issue Sea of Sorrows with artist Alex Cormack at IDW.

In a statement announcing the new series, Douek described some of his inspirations for his latest work:

“One big one was your classic 80s teen movies, like The Breakfast Club or The Karate Kid, and others are more recent teenage dramas like Buffy or Riverdale. I thought it would be really fun to take a group of teenage misfits dealing with all the drama of being in high school and throw them into a situation where the stakes are higher than they could ever have imagined.” 

Check out an unlettered preview of interior pages from the first issue of the new series, as well as Sherman’s variant cover, below. The Ocean Will Take Us #1 is set to arrive in stores and digitally on Wednesday, April 6th.