Dark Regards #1
Publisher: Oni Press
Release Date: May 13, 2025
Cover Price: $4.99
Writer: Dave Hill
Artist: Artyom Topilin
Cover(s): Artyom Topilin (A), Andrew Krahnke (B), & Variants (See Below)
Format: 32 pgs., Full-Color
Rating: Mature

Publisher Description.  Warning!  Dark Regards #1 is the true story of the viral hoax so insane it could only be told as a comic book!  From the minds of writer-comedian-actor-musician Dave Hill (Tasteful Nudes) and artist Artyom Topilin (Cruel Universe, I Hate This Place) comes the shockingly true, terrifyingly hilarious, and only modestly exaggerated tale of how one stand-up comedian forged a secret online identity as America's first true black metal icon... and started an international incident that almost wiped Gary, Indiana off the map!

Two decades ago, Dave Hill and his first band set out to rock their high school auditorium in a fury of heavy metal hellfire.  They failed miserably.  Years later, Dave has made a new life for himself as a rising star in the New York comedy scene – a career where getting laughed at on stage is the entire point and not just a tragic consequence.  But when Dave's metal ambitions are re-awakened by the über self-serious, "Satanic" genre of Norwegian black metal, Dave creates a ridiculously hyperbolic alter ego and a band to match that, together, reignite the spark of his forgotten rock 'n roll fantasy.  But when Dave's internet-fueled rumors of Witch Taint – a metal band "so extreme that you must remove all sharp objects from the immediate area" when their music is played – spreads all the way to Europe, his story will spiral dangerously out of control as Norway's most extreme black metal butchers come to reap their revenge… and put everything and everyone Dave holds dear in the crosshairs (of their axes, which, truth be told, don't actually have crosshairs, but, hey, it's a metaphor).

  • Cover A by Artyom Topilin
  • Cover B by Andrew Krahnke
  • Flyer Variant (1:10) by Andrew Krahnke
  • Album Cover Variant (1:20) by Brian Level
  • Top Secret Variant (1:50) by Dave Hill

Click Gallery below for full-size images.