Back in their very early days, BOOM! Studios released a couple of horror anthologies titled Zombie Tales and Cthulhu Tales, which ran for 12 issues each and featured stories by the likes of Mark Waid, Keith Giffen, Steve Niles, William Messner-Loebs, Joe R. Lansdale, Fabio Moon and many more. Now BOOM! is getting back into the horror anthology business with Hello Darkness, which kicks off this summer.
The title will feature “the darkest stories yet,” promising to cover everything from “primal fears to modern political horrors.” The first six issues will include a new Something Is Killing The Children story by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera.
“My whole careers started writing comic shorts, so it’s very exciting to bring it all around full circle and tell a SIKTC story in that format. The story Werther and I are going to be telling here is one that’s been in the back of my mind for almost five years, and I’m thrilled we finally have the perfect platform to bring that story to readers,” Tynion said.
The first seven issues will also include a new serialized story by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan.
“It’s always a pleasure having a story in an anthology title, seeing what the other creative teams have come up with, being just one part of a larger endeavor,” Ennis said. “This time out I have the added bonus of working with the always excellent Becky Cloonan, something I’ve wanted to do for some time–I’m looking forward to the readers seeing what we’ve come up with together. Brace yourself for ‘The War.'”
Other creators you can expect to see stories from include R.L. Stine, Francesco Francavilla, Brian Azzarello, Vanesa R. Del Rey, John Arcudi, Ryan Sook, Cullen Bunn, Sas Milledge, Sarah Gailey, Liana Kangas, Marguerite Bennett, Michael Conrad, Martín Morazzo, Andy Lanning, Trevor Hairsine, Steve Orlando, Genevieve Valentine, Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Letizia Cadonici, Sarah Andersen and more.
Paolo Rivera drew the main cover, shown above, while Jenny Frison and Perach Momoko provide variants for the first issue:
“I’ve been a fan of R.L. Stine and his work for some time, and I’ve been a fan of all horror things my whole life. So I’m very excited to be joining creative forces with him for a brand new scary tale for BOOM!’s new anthology. Can’t wait for you all to embark on this spine-chilling journey with us,” Francavilla said.
Look for the first issue to arrive in stores July 24.