Exclusive Preview: Welcome To The World Of Blackwood

No place is quite like Blackwood, and we've got an exclusive look at Dark Horse's newest series!

If you're trying to learn the ways of the occult, Blackwood College is the place to be, but as you can see it isn't exactly the most welcoming place. Fans will meet several new recruits of Blackwood, including Reiko Oyuki and Wren Valentine, though it seems Wren is having a harder time adjusting than others. Unfortunately, things are just going to get more difficult for the new recruits, as the first few pages tease a great darkness setting over the school.

You can check out our exclusive preview of Blackwood #1 in the gallery.

Blackwood is written by Evan Dorkin, who compares the series to cult classics and iconic horror films alike.

"The initial inspiration was '70s/'80s horror-comedies from back when I was a teenager," Dorkin told the AV Club. "Movies like Fright Night, Re-Animator, Night of the Creeps and Return Of The Living Dead. Also some straight comedies like Animal House, Better Off Dead, and Real Genius. I wanted to write some horror stuff that wasn't about animals. I love working on Beasts Of Burden, but the concept can be really restrictive—the animals don't have hands, so just opening doors can become a plot problem. I get stumped a lot writing those stories, I can't have them use computers, tools, or weapons. Blackwood unofficially takes place in the Beasts Of Burden world. It's using that same set of RPG rules to set up a new game, if you get me."

Blackwood #1 Preview Gallery

Blackwood #1 is written by Evan Dorkin and drawn by Veronica Fish, and you can check out the official description of the issue below.

"From the multi-Eisner award-winning creator of Beasts of Burden and the artist of Archie and Slam comes this supernatural fantasy about a magical murder in a sorcery school.

When four teenagers with haunted pasts enroll in Blackwood College--a school that trains students in the occult--their desire to enhance their supernatural abilities and bond with others is hampered by an undead dean's curse, ghosts in their dorm, a mischievous two-headed mummy-chimp, a plague of mutant insects, and the discovery of an ancient evil that forces our heroes to undergo a crash course in the occult for the sake of the world."

Blackwood #1 hits comic stores on May 30.