SDCC 2024: Jay Stephens’ Horror Hit DWELLINGS Returns with Brand-New ALL HALLOWS’ EVE SPECIAL for Halloween

Welcome Back to Elwich – The Town Where Every Piece of Candy is Just a Razor Blade Waiting to Be Revealed!

DWELLINGS: ALL HALLOW’S EVE SPECIAL | Cover A by Jay Stephens

PORTLAND, OR (July 22nd, 2024) – In advance of San Diego Comic Con 2024, Oni Press – the multiple Harvey and Eisner award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to announce the best-selling horror phenomenon, DWELLINGS – from Emmy Award-winning, Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist Jay Stephens (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss) – is set for a bloodcurdling return this October in the DWELLINGS: ALL HALLOWS’ EVE SPECIAL #1 … before the series mounts its full-scale resurrection with the first issue of an all-new limited series, DWELLINGS: SECOND STORIES #1, in 2025.

First: On October 9th, return to the terrifyingly tranquil streets of Elwich in the DWELLINGS: ALL HALLOWS’ EVE SPECIAL #1 – a self-contained, 40-page introduction to the terrifyingly tranquil streets that DWELLINGS calls home—as seen through the eyes of visitor Wolfgang LeGant! But Wolfgang is no ordinary tourist: He’s convinced he’s actually a seasoned vampire hunter, and this delusion has drawn him to Elwich to drive a stake through the once-unassuming town’s thriving “Saguinarian” goth subculture. But when Wolfgang meets Emmaline Momenta, a young woman similarly possessed by the idea that she’s a real vampire, irrational faith may be the only thing capable of stopping a mass murder in the making . . .

The ‘Saturday Morning’ meets ‘Stroke Of Midnight’ retro cute horror is back just in time for tricks and treats! The DWELLINGS: ALL HALLOWS’ EVE SPECIAL arrives this October, with all the old-school fake ads and blood-stained vintage kids’ comics stylings you’ve come to squeamishly love,” said Stephens. “This standalone story brings us back to the haunted streets of Elwich for a tale about a tall, dark, and handsome visitor Hell-bent on hunting down the monsters who hide in the town’s shadows. Set in the tight-knit underground ‘Sangunarian’ Elwich goth scene, “Come Hither” flips the classic bloodsucker tale in it’s grave, as a delusional, self-proclaimed ‘vampire hunter’ seduces the black-clad youth one by one in order to lay them to rest for eternity. Happy Halloween, Dwellers!”

Trick or treat! Live or die! This fall, comics master Jay Stephens captures the Halloween spirit in all of its bloodspattered, candy-colored glory in the first-ever standalone, double-sized Dwellings special – featuring standard and “skeletonized” covers by Stephens himself, alongside a variant cover from Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist Katie Skelly (Twisted Romance, Nurse Nurse) – before the series makes its much-demanded return with DWELLINGS: SECOND STORIES in 2025!

DWELLINGS: SECOND STORIES | Promo Art by Jay Stephens

Heralded as “quite possibly the best horror comic of the last 20 years” by The Comics Journal, Jay Stephens’ DWELLINGS arrived to universal critical acclaim and multiple sold-out issues upon its debut at Oni Press in 2023. Now, BECAUSE EVERY HAUNTED HOUSE DESERVES A SECOND STORY,Stephens’ master class in horror hijinks will soon continue with DWELLINGS: SECOND STORIES #1 – the first of four, all-new 40-page issues revisiting Elwich’s darkest corners … and revealing even more adorably aggravated residents plagued by hauntings, possessions, psychic threats, and demonic psychosis.

“And, wait— what’s this?” added Stephens. “The Elwich Society of Psychical Research is receiving a message from the other side— yes, it’s clear now. The spirits want you to know that Dwellings will return in late 2025 with an all new, four issue mini series. That’s right, more gory stand-alone tales of adorable terror set in the town of Elwich! DWELLINGS: SECOND STORIES builds atop the bones of the original series with four new harrowing stories of psychological arthouse horror drawn like old Casper the Friendly Ghost comics. Come get possessed once again by the creeping ghosts of Elwich. Come home to stay.”

Find out more about DWELLINGS’ upcoming return to comic shops everywhere next week at San Diego Comic Con 2024 with the ONI PRESS: GROUNDBREAKING COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS panel on Thursday, July 25th at 11 am PTin Room 28DE as Jay Stephens himself joins an all-star cast of Oni Press creators to reveal what awaits in the pages of the DWELLINGS: ALL HALLOWS’ EVE SPECIAL and DWELLINGS: SECOND STORIES! Plus: Look for Jay Stephens signing daily and exclusive DWELLINGS merch – only at the Oni Press booth (#1829)!

PRAISE FOR JAY STEPHENS’ DWELLINGS:

“It’s the sort of thing you can enjoy once, and then resolve not to read again because it was too disturbing and then immediately pick back up.” – The New York Times

“A twisted horror comedy series where darkness lurks beneath the squeaky-clean exterior of an idyllic small town.”—IGN

“Jay Stephens’s Dwellings wonderfully mixes glorious and gorgeous old school cartooning with a sinister underbelly, creating a comic unlike anything else out there. Highly recommended!”

—Eisner Award Winner Jeff Lemire

“Quite possibly the best horror comic of the last 20 years.”—THE COMICS JOURNAL

“DWELLINGS is like Lynchian horror as a Saturday Morning Cartoon… ” — BOING BOING

“Jay’s polished style thoughtfully subverts nostalgia without losing warmth and humor. An utterly unique voice.”—New York Times best-selling writer Matt Kindt

“Dwellings is an unnerving collection of interconnected short stories set in the town of Elwich. Each story combines the aesthetics of classic all-ages comics with horror tropes to create a unique, unforgettable reading experience.”—CBR

“A superb debut… a compelling read from start to finish.”—COMICS BEAT

“This year’s most unique and twisted horror reading experience… Retro cuteness and bloody gore make for a disturbingly nostalgic twinge… An oversized 72-page helping of deliciously discomforting horror.”—HOUSE OF NERD