DC Comics is launching a brand new 17+ horror imprint, 'DC HORROR', and just announced the first comic debuting in it is a prelude to The Conjuring. The Conjuring: The Lover is a prelude to New Line Cinema's upcoming The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It and will release ahead of the film franchise's third film in the main series. DC Comics also announced there is set to be more titles to later be revealed.
The Conjuring universe, led by director James Wan, has had seven feature films release. The franchise started with The Conjuring starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga. The series has spun off into the three films in the Annabelle series, as well as solo features The Nun, and the Curses of La Lorna. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It from director Michael Chaves will be released later this year, with a sequel for The Nun and a new film called The Crooked Man also in development. The new comic miniseries will expand the world of The Conjuring with all-new stories.
DC HORROR is a collaboration between DC and WB, which will bring new mature series to readers. The first is The Conjuring: The Lover, a five-issue limited series from The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It screenwriters David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Rex Ogle, as well as art from Garry Brown. The series will expand on the story of Jessica, a college freshman who realizes something evil has become transfixed with her. The comic will also feature backup stories from Scott Snyder and Denys Cowan, while issue #2 features a story from Che Grayson and Juan Ferreyra. Check out covers for the series by Bill Sienkiewicz, Ryan Brown, and Garry Brown below.
DC Comics editor-in-chief Marnie Jarvis said in the press release that the publisher has always been home to some great horror stories, and the new imprint will allow them to continue to tell scarier dark tales. Previously, horror comics have been part of DC's Black Label line, such as Joe Hill's Hill House line, as well as stories in The Sandman universe. This new imprint seemingly streamlines those non-DC Comics heroes stories into one line.
DC Comics says more DC Horror titles are going to be announced later in July, which will release in October. The first issue of The Conjuring: The Lover will come to comic shops on June 4th, with issue two arriving on July, 2nd. It's going to be interesting to see how the DC HORROR line is used going forward and what other WB properties, such as The Conjuring, might get comic book adaptions going forward.
