In Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s We Have Demons, a young woman named Lam discovers her father isn’t who she thought he was: instead of being a priest, he’s a member of a demon hunting organisation, and now it’s time to follow in his footsteps. For fans of the pair’s work, which includes the incredibly successful Batman run during the New 52 era, that concept alone is reason enough to follow the pair to Comixology, where those books will fall under Snyder’s Best Jackett imprint.
At the book’s panel for New York Comic-Con 2021, Snyder used the time to talk about his larger plans for the Comixology deal. As important as it is to have creative freedom for all his books — like the neon thriller Clear with Francis Manapul or Barnstormers with Tula Lotay — the writer also wants to have physical and digital comics work in tandem with one another. “Digital and print are held in these competitive spaces for too long,” he said. “[How] a lot of us consume entertainment these days is you browse it on streaming, and if you want it on collectible, you get it.”
The first trio of books — Demons, Clear, and Night of the Ghoul from Francesco Francavilla — will be released as monthly books like typical comics. Once their three-part runs have finished, another wave of new titles will take their place. Six months later, their physical releases will be handled by Dark Horse, but the exact release format will depend on each book. “It’s a new way to fall in love with comics all over again. You browse what you like and go to your store, talk to retailers about getting it on your shelf.” A book like Demons he thinks can handle being released in single issues, but something like Clear or Barnstormers may just release as a full collection because of its structure. Citing the popularity of online platforms like Webtoon and Shonen Jump, which then translate to physical sales, he admitted to wanting a piece of that pie.
Snyder’s plans sound ambitious, but he’s confident that he and his collaborators can get it done. “A lot of these are experiments, and I think they’re all the best books that I’ve done,” he said. “You’ll know that this is what we like to do, and we’re just doing it better and bigger here to get you in.”
We Have Demons #1 is available now on ComiXology, with Clear #1 releasing later this week on October 12, and Night of the Ghoul on October 19.
Editor’s Note: Release dates within this article are based in the U.S., but will be updated with local Australian dates as soon as we know more.