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

Dark Regards stands out as one of the most captivating new indie comics in recent years. With a backstory as wild as the comic itself, it's a series that promises to intrigue and entertain. Dive into our exclusive preview of Dark Regards #1 and form your own opinion about this unique narrative.

Explore the slideshow gallery below for a sneak peek into the new series, but be warned—some content includes NSFW language!

Oni Press' Dark Regards #1: Preview Gallery

13 Images

Dark Regards is the creative brainchild of comedian, writer, and musician Dave Hill, alongside artist Artyom Topilin, known for his work on Cruel Universe and I Hate This Place. This four-issue series draws inspiration from Hill's real-life escapade of forming a fictional Satanic metal band named Witch Taint, leading to a whirlwind of unexpected chaos.

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 with a fury of heavy metal hellfire. They failed miserably. Years later, Dave has carved out a new life for himself as a rising star in the New York comedy scene—where being laughed at on stage is the point, not just a tragic consequence. However, when Dave's metal ambitions are reignited by the über self-serious, "Satanic" genre of Norwegian black metal, he creates a ridiculously hyperbolic alter ego and a band to match, sparking his long-forgotten rock 'n roll fantasy. But when Dave's internet-fueled rumors about Witch Taint—a band so extreme that you must remove all sharp objects from the vicinity when their music plays—spread to Europe, his story spirals dangerously out of control. Norway's most extreme black metal butchers come seeking revenge, putting everything and everyone Dave holds dear in their sights (metaphorically speaking, as axes don't actually have crosshairs).

In a statement, Hill shared, “A few years back, I sat down in my underwear late one night and let my obsession with Norwegian black metal run wild. I emailed a Norwegian black metal record label, claiming their bands sucked without ever having listened to them, and suggested they sign my extremely extreme black metal band, Witch Taint, which at that point was just a name I'd made up on the spot. This first email led to months of correspondence I never intended for anyone to see. But the internet being what it is, many people saw it, and things got crazy. 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're basically insane.”

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

For more exclusive comic book previews, check out a look at the final issue of TMNT: The Last Ronin II and the The Dark Knight Returns-inspired Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell.