Posted in: Comics, Oni Press | Tagged: Dwellings, Jay Stephens, oni press

Something Is Killing Richie Rich? Jay Stephens' Dwellings at Oni Press

Twenty years ago, Oni Press was the home of many fast-rising stars in the comics world ... now, one of them is back: Jay Stephens.

Twenty years ago, Oni Press was the home of many fast-rising stars in the comics world … Kevin Smith, Mike Allred, Duncan Fegredo, Judd Winick, Greg Rucka, Cullen Bunn, Joelle Jones, and many others with formative titles. Now, one of them is back: Jay Stephens, the Eisner Award-winning Canadian cartoonist-animator behind animated series like The Secret Saturdays and Tutenstein, who produced many series for Oni in the early 2000s, like Land of Nod, JetCat Clubhouse, Atomic City Tales and more.

In August, Stephens will return to Oni as they pick up his small press comic Dwellings #1 – the first of three, 72-page issues published bi-monthly in prestige format and re-presenting his successfully self-published series that splices the visual style of 1960s Harvey Comics with hard-R horror and violence, previously crowdfunded on Crowdfundr as Black Eye Books, and won the Doug Wright "Pigskin Peters" Award for Best Small Press Comic

"As a young collector in the days before the internet, before our town even dreamt of a comic shop, I remember walking the train tracks on weekends, hunting back issues at garage sales and flea markets, picking up whatever I could find," said cartoonist Jay Stephens. "Though considered uncool, I was magnetically attracted to the irresistibly adorable Harvey comics… Casper, Spooky, Wendy and Hot Stuff in particular… and always kept an eye out for that one issue where they finally revealed who murdered Casper the friendly Ghost. If the definition of nostalgia is to 'return home in pain,' DWELLINGS is the most nostalgic work I've ever produced. And my re-imagining of that darker Harvey Comics backstory has festered and intertwined with my personal fears into something truly frightening." So, Richie Rich meets Something is Killing the Children in Riverdale? Here's the official synopsis:

Welcome to Elwich – an oasis of small town perfection, where the schools overflow with cheery-eyed children, lovingly adorned homes line the historic boulevards… and only the crows can see the deep, festering rot that lurks beneath the pristine surface. Murder. Demonology. Possession. Obsession. Elwich has them all on offer—and behind every dwelling awaits a horrifying new story to be told.

Oni Publisher & President Hunter Gorinson says "Like Something is Killing the Children force fed through a woodchipper with a stack of old Harvey Comics and a half-empty bottle of absinthe, Dwellings is a nightmarish combination of pathological violence, nerve-fraying intensity, and day-glo suburban charm – all from the pen of a master cartoonist who has been building toward this series for the better part of two decades. Even if you've read tens of thousands of comics, I can guarantee this: You have never seen anything like Dwellings before..and aren't likely to again anytime soon."

But it's not just people employed to say that who are saying that,

• "Jay Stephens' DWELLINGS wonderfully mixes glorious and gorgeous old school cartooning with a sinister underbelly, creating a comic unlike anything else out there. Highly recommended!"  — Jeff Lemire
• "DWELLINGS is one of my favorite current comic books, and without a doubt my favorite horror comic of the current genre 'boom.'" — Stephen Bissette
• "Jay's polished style thoughtfully subverts nostalgia without losing warmth and humor. An utterly unique voice."— Matt Kindt
• "A masterful job… I couldn't be more impressed with the art and storytelling."— Seth
• "One of the best cartoonists alive." — Phil Hester

Dwellings #1 will debut on August 9th with regular and "bloody" edition covers by Jay Stephens, plus shelf variants by Joe Palmer, Jenna Cha, and Brian Level.

DWELLINGS #1 (of 3)
Written by JAY STEPHENS
Art by JAY STEPHENS
Cover A by JAY STEPHENS
Cover B by JOE PALMER
Cover C by JENNA CHA
Cover D by BRIAN LEVEL
Bloody Variant (1:10) by JAY STEPHENS
$9.99 | 72 pgs. | PRESTIGE FORMAT | BI-MONTHLY | FULL COLOR
ON SALE AUGUST 9, 2023
SUGGESTED FOR MATURE READERS

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