The fears that fueled the moral panics of the 1980s will become the backdrop for a new horror comic from Mad Cave Studios this fall.
Mad Cave has announced Satanic Panic, a four-issue miniseries from writer Matt Miner, artist Clayton McCormack, colorist Oliver Mertz and letterer Matt Krotzer that mixes classic slasher horror with the real-life paranoia that Satan was infecting America’s children through heavy metal music, Dungeons & Dragons and other means during the 1980s.
Set at the height of the so-called Satanic Panic, the series follows three teenage outsiders after a masked killer begins stalking their small town. With every unconventional teenager viewed as evidence of devil worship, the trio quickly become the prime suspects in a string of gruesome murders and must uncover the real killer before the hysteria claims more victims.
“Growing up, my mom was caught up in the religious hysteria centered around heavy metal and D&D,” Miner said. “She burned my Ozzy tapes, my gaming stuff, all of it—so it’s nice to tell a story highlighting just how stupid that all was.”
Miner, whose previous work includes Poser, Young Men in Love and Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins, said the series explores how fear and misinformation can transform innocent people into scapegoats. McCormack (Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker) provides the interior art and main cover, with a variant cover by Justin Coffee:
Satanic Panic #1 arrives in comic shops on Oct. 28. The announcement is one of several new titles Mad Cave is unveiling ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, joining recent reveals including Pop Kill: Big Candy and Filthy Lambs. Mad Cave will exhibit at Booth #2806 during San Diego Comic-Con this week.