Dark Regards is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing indie comics in recent memory. Its backstory is as wild and unpredictable as the comic itself. See for yourself with this exclusive preview of Dark Regards #1.
Browse the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive look inside the new series. Fair warning: there's some NSFW language.
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 chaos.
Here's Oni Press' official description:
Two decades ago, Dave Hill and his first band attempted to rock their high school auditorium in a blaze of heavy metal glory. They failed spectacularly. Years later, Dave has carved a new path as a rising star in the New York comedy scene—a career where onstage laughter is the goal, not a tragic byproduct. But when Dave's metal ambitions are rekindled by the ultra-serious world of Norwegian black metal, he creates a ridiculously hyperbolic alter ego and a band to match, reigniting his dormant rock 'n' roll dreams. 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 spirals wildly out of control as 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 it's a metaphor!).
“A few years back, I impulsively emailed a Norwegian black metal record label late one night, trashing their bands despite never having listened to them, and suggested they sign my extremely extreme black metal band, Witch Taint, which didn't exist beyond the name I'd just invented,” Hill explains. “This email sparked months of correspondence I never intended for anyone to see. But the internet being the internet, it went viral, and things got crazy. Now, beyond my wildest dreams, this story is my first comic book series, Dark Regards, co-created with the amazing Artyom Topilin. If you don't read 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.
