"Dark Regards: The Comic with an Outrageous Origin Story"

Dark Regards stands out as one of the most captivating new indie comics to hit the shelves in a long while. The backstory behind this series is as wild and chaotic as the comic itself, and you can dive into the madness with our exclusive preview of Dark Regards #1. Be warned, though—the preview contains some NSFW language, so brace yourself!

Take a peek at the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive sneak peek into the new series:

Oni Press' Dark Regards #1: Preview Gallery

13 Images

Dark Regards is the creative brainchild of the multi-talented Dave Hill, who is known for his work as a comedian, writer, and musician, and the talented artist Artyom Topilin (known for Cruel Universe and I Hate This Place). This four-issue series draws inspiration from Hill's own wild journey of forming a fictional Satanic metal band named Witch Taint and the ensuing spiral of chaos that followed.

Here's how Oni Press officially describes the series:

Two decades ago, Dave Hill and his first band set out to rock their high school auditorium in a fury of heavy metal hellfire. They failed miserably. Years later, Dave has made a new life for himself as a rising star in the New York comedy scene – a career where getting laughed at on stage is the entire point and not just a tragic consequence. But when Dave's metal ambitions are re-awakened by the über self-serious, “Satanic” genre of Norwegian black metal, Dave creates a ridiculously hyperbolic alter ego and a band to match that, together, reignite the spark of his forgotten rock 'n roll fantasy. But when Dave's internet-fueled rumors of Witch Taint – a metal band “so extreme that you must remove all sharp objects from the immediate area” when their music is played – spreads all the way to Europe, his story will spiral dangerously out of control as Norway's most extreme black metal butchers come to reap their revenge . . . and put everything and everyone Dave holds dear in the crosshairs (of their axes, which, truth be told, don't actually have crosshairs, but, hey, it's a metaphor).

In a statement, Hill shared the origin of the series: “A few years back, I sat down in my underwear late one night and decided to let my obsession with Norwegian black metal run wild by emailing a Norwegian black metal record label, telling them all the bands on their label sucked despite the fact that I had never listened to any of them, and suggesting they sign my extremely extreme black metal band Witch Taint, which had yet to record any music and didn't even exist beyond the band name I'd just made up on the spot. This first email led to months of correspondence with the record label that I never intended for anyone to see. But the Internet being the Internet, eventually a lot of people saw it and things got nuts. Now, beyond my wildest dreams, this story has become my first comic book series Dark Regards, written by me and illustrated by the amazing Artyom Topilin. If you don't devour every single issue, you are basically insane.”

Dark Regards #1 is priced at $4.99 and will hit the shelves on May 13, 2025.

For more thrilling comic book previews, be sure to check out the final issue of TMNT: The Last Ronin II and the The Dark Knight Returns-inspired Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell.