One of the delightfully horrific surprises to arrive in comics in the past few years was Jay Stephens’ Dwellings, which started life as a crowdfunded project but went on to be published by Oni Press and pick up an NCS Divisional Awards nomination.
And now it’s coming back, as Oni Press has announced not only a Halloween special for October, but also a new miniseries for next year.
The ‘Saturday Morning’ meets ‘Stroke Of Midnight’ retro cute horror is back just in time for tricks and treats! The Dwellings: All Hallows’ Eve Special arrives this October, with all the old-school fake ads and blood-stained vintage kids’ comics stylings you’ve come to squeamishly love,” said Stephens. “This standalone story brings us back to the haunted streets of Elwich for a tale about a tall, dark, and handsome visitor Hell-bent on hunting down the monsters who hide in the town’s shadows. Set in the tight-knit underground ‘Sangunarian’ Elwich goth scene, “Come Hither” flips the classic bloodsucker tale in it’s grave, as a delusional, self-proclaimed ‘vampire hunter’ seduces the black-clad youth one by one in order to lay them to rest for eternity. Happy Halloween, Dwellers!”
Here’s the full solicitation text, which Oni sent out late last week:
This Halloween, return to the terrifyingly tranquil streets that Dwellings calls home—as seen through the eyes of visitor Wolfgang LeGant! But Wolfgang is no ordinary tourist: He’s convinced he’s actually a seasoned vampire hunter, and this delusion has drawn him to Elwich to drive a stake through the once-unassuming town’s thriving “Saguinarian” goth subculture. But when Wolfgang meets Emmaline Momenta, a young woman similarly possessed by the idea that she’s a real vampire, irrational faith may be the only thing capable of stopping a mass murder in the making . . .
TRICK OR TREAT! LIVE OR DIE! Emmy Award–winning, Eisner Award–nominated comics master Jay Stephens (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss) captures the Halloween spirit in all of its blood-spattered, candy-colored glory in the first-ever standalone, double-sized Dwellings special . . . before the series makes its much-demanded return in 2025!
In addition to the main cover by Stephens, shown above, the Dwellings: All Hallows’ Eve Special will also come in a “skeletal” variant by Stephens or with an alternate cover by Katie Skelly:
The special comes out Oct. 9.
Oni and Stephens didn’t reveal a release date for the new series, but they did tease what’s to come:
“And, wait— what’s this?” Stephens said. “The Elwich Society of Psychical Research is receiving a message from the other side— yes, it’s clear now. The spirits want you to know that Dwellings will return in late 2025 with an all-new, four-issue miniseries. That’s right, more gory stand-alone tales of adorable terror set in the town of Elwich! Dwellings: Second Stories builds atop the bones of the original series with four new harrowing stories of psychological arthouse horror drawn like old Casper the Friendly Ghost comics. Come get possessed once again by the creeping ghosts of Elwich. Come home to stay.”
Oni promised more information on the new series will be revealed later this week at their panel during the San Diego Comic-Con.