Dark Regards is shaping up to be one of the most captivating new indie comics in recent memory. Its backstory is as wild and unpredictable as the comic itself, and you can be the judge with this exclusive preview of Dark Regards #1.
Browse the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive sneak peek into the new series, but be warned: there's some NSFW language ahead!
Oni Press' Dark Regards #1: Preview Gallery
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Dark Regards is the brainchild of comedian/writer/musician Dave Hill and artist Artyom Topilin (Cruel Universe, I Hate This Place). This four-issue series draws inspiration from Hill's own experiences forming a fictional Satanic metal band, Witch Taint, and the ensuing chaotic whirlwind.
Here's Oni Press' official synopsis:
Two decades ago, Dave Hill and his first band attempted to ignite their high school auditorium with heavy metal hellfire. They failed spectacularly. Years later, Dave has carved a new path as a rising star in the New York comedy scene—a career where being laughed at onstage is the goal, not a tragic consequence. But when his metal ambitions are rekindled by the intensely serious world of Norwegian black metal, Dave creates a ridiculously hyperbolic alter ego and a band to match, reigniting his dormant rock 'n' roll fantasies. However, when internet rumors of Witch Taint—a metal band "so extreme that you must remove all sharp objects from the immediate area" when their music plays—reach Europe, his story takes a dangerous turn. Norway's most extreme black metal musicians seek revenge, putting everything and everyone Dave holds dear in their crosshairs (of their axes, which admittedly lack crosshairs, but hey, it's a metaphor).
“A few years back, I impulsively emailed a Norwegian black metal record label late one night, criticizing their bands despite never having listened to them, and suggesting they sign my extremely extreme black metal band, Witch Taint, which hadn't even recorded any music," Hill explains. "This email sparked months of correspondence I never intended for anyone to see. But the internet being the internet, it went viral. Now, beyond my wildest dreams, this story has become my first comic book series, Dark Regards, illustrated by the amazing Artyom Topilin. If you don't devour every issue, you're insane.”
Dark Regards #1 is priced at $4.99 and will be released on May 13, 2025.
For more exclusive comic book previews, check out the final issue of TMNT: The Last Ronin II and the Dark Knight Returns-inspired Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell.
