Bullets Fly When Devout Meets Demonic In DSTLRY’s ‘The Missionary’
by Austin Gorton
Fresh off helping relaunch the X-Men as part of this summer’s From the Ashes event, Ryan Stegman is launching a new horror series from DSTLRY. Joined by artist Jason Howard, The Missionary is a “horror comic for the ages,” and will be available late summer in both print and digital formats.
A devoutly religious man, Bryce Hunter’s faith is shattered when he catches his wife fooling around with an Elder from his church. Before long, Hunter is spiraling into the hands of a demon named Uvydus. Accepting Uvydus rather than fighting him puts Bryce into conflict with the world’s greatest exorcist at the same time a group of demons escapes Hell to remake Earth. Together, Bryce and Uvydus must work together to stave off the forces of good and evil, reconciling their opposite natures to become the Missionary.
“Jason and I are having a hell of a time grappling with eternal questions of ethics and spirituality, but we’re also making The Missionary as exciting as possible,” Stegman explains. “Jason is doing the work of his career and I can’t wait for you to see these tortured souls on their missions of damnation.”
Artist and co-creator Jason Howard continues, “The Missionary has been an absolute blast to bring to life. Ryan has made a blockbuster that transcends heaven and hell with a very human heart, and I’ve had an amazing time putting it on the page.”
Perfect for fans of Preacher, Chainsaw Man, and The Exorcist, each issue of The Missionary will be published in DSTLRY’s Prestige format, featuring wraparound covers with spot gloss on robust cover stock.
In a joint statement, Chip Mosher and David Steinberger of DSTLRY say, “Ryan and Jason have proven themselves as modern masters of sequential art, and The Missionary is a brilliant culmination of their expertise. It’s an enthralling mix of action, character, and horror that we’ve never seen before. These are exactly the kind of voices that we want to add to DSTLRY’s roster.”
