James Tynion IV has shown his affection for “True Weird” stories — stories of UFOs, cryptids and other stories about people’s real-world encounters with the unexplained — in the past, most recently on his Substack newsletter and through titles like Blue Book. These stories will continue on at Dark Horse, starting with Let This One Be A Devil next February.
Tynion is teaming up with co-writer Steve Foxe, artist Piotr Kowalski, colorist Brad Simpson and letterer Tom Napolitano on the four-issue miniseries. It’ll also feature a “True Weird” back-up story by Rachel Deering, with art by Jesse Lonergan and lettering by Aditya Bidikar.
“Starting with Blue Book, the beating heart of the Tiny Onion publishing program with Dark Horse has been the exploration of what I call ‘True Weird’ stories–comics based on the real stories of encounters with the strange and impossible,” said Tynion. “Let This One Be a Devil is the first in a whole new set of titles in our True Weird library at Dark Horse, in which we’ll tell the stories inspired by the accounts that brought figures like the Jersey Devil, Bigfoot, and The Loch Ness Monster into the public consciousness. This is just the beginning.”
Here’s how Dark Horse describes the series:
In the early 1900s, Henry Naughton returns home to the family farm in the swampy Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. One night, he encounters a strange predator stalking the woods. This sends the young scholar on a research project that uncovers the legend of Mother Leeds and the terrible birth of the Jersey Devil in 1735.
“The legend of the Jersey Devil spans centuries and bridges the supernatural and the cryptozoological in a way unique among figures of American monster folklore,” Foxe said. “With Let This One Be a Devil, we’re setting out to tell the definitive Jersey Devil story, combining an original narrative with all the many contradictory tales of the creature to reveal what’s really been stalking the Pine Barrens all these years. And as with many cryptids, the story behind the Jersey Devil’s history has proven to be just as fascinating as its outsized myth.”
The first issue will feature covers by Gavin Fullerton (shown above) as well as Kowalski and Max Fiumara:
The first issue of four will arrive in stores Feb. 19.