TV Cult Classic ‘The Twilight Zone’ Gets A Black And White Anthology Series From IDW Dark

by Olly MacNamee

IDW’s horror imprint, IDW Dark, is debuting a new black-and-white comic book series this September with The Twilight Zone anthology. Aiming to tap into “the vein of the iconic series,” each issue will feature a standalone story by a different creative team.

The first issue is by writer Dan Watters (Batman: Dark Patterns) and artist Morgan Beem (Swamp Thing: Twin Branches), with Watters stating how his new story tries to emulate The Twilight Zone‘s unique tone:

“The Twilight Zone is a genre unto itself. It’s a cultural titan and a North Star in the strangest skies revealing what science fiction, fantasy and horror can do for us: revealing uncomfortable truths about what lies in our own hearts. This is precisely the vein we hope to tap with our story; the unsettled space between angry and unnerving that is forever the purview of The Twilight Zone.”

Beem added:

“I have long been a fan of all horror, but creepy stories that slowly build to unnerve you have always been first in my heart. Few series have captured that feeling like The Twilight Zone. Like being trapped in a fever dream or moving through a liminal space, the stories play with the feeling of wrongness, of things out of place. This is the feeling Dan has masterfully captured in our story, and which I hope, through my deep love of all things creepy, will flow through the art. It might not shock you, but you may not be able to stop thinking about it in the middle of the night.”

Following issues will feature creators Tom Scioli, James Stokoe, Nate Powell, and Francesco Francavilla.

And we’ll leave you with Scioli giving us his take on this iconic TV show and the aims of his contribution:

“Ever since I was a kid I wanted to write a Twilight Zone story and wondered if it was something I was even capable of doing. How does one go about creating a classic? The Twilight Zone brought to television one of the established formats of comic books, the sci-fi/horror anthology with literary ambitions, twist endings, and a social conscience. It pushed the limits of what you could do in the medium of commercial television and now we’re going to push the comic book medium to the breaking point of its stapled paper and see what lies beyond. With those impossibly lofty standards in mind, I’ve created something that I humbly submit for your approval.”