Artist LySandra Vuong – AKA Explodikid – has quickly become one of the most popular creators on WEBTOON. Their Covenant series – concisely described on their website as being “a supernatural action comic about hot priests fighting even hotter demons” has had over 21 million reads – and now it's in print, courtesy of Oni Press.
Covenant Volume One is the first of three planned collections and collects the first 18 episodes of the series in 6×9″ paperback format, with an all-new cover by Vuong.
The series follows Ezra, a tattooed exorcist whose faith in God wanes until he is sent on a mission to protect a mysterious boy, Sunny, who has “hidden secrets and a bloody past nipping at his heels.” Somehow, the two must find common ground while battling deadly demonic threats.
Check out an exclusive preview of the new book in the gallery below.
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“Covenant combines classic shounen manga tropes with fantasy Catholicism to tell an action-packed story in which angels speak to us and demons walk among us,” Vuong said in a statement. “Covenant is an unconventional comic. It's supernatural, a little blasphemous, a little sexy and unapologetically queer.”
Speaking exclusively to Newsarama, Vuong explained the relevance of the tattoos on their machine gun-wielding priests. “I'm a big, BIG fan of tattoos. I have a lot of them myself. But it really bothers me that people see my tattoos before they see me and assume I'm a bad person just because of my tattoos. I wanted to subvert this perception with the ecclesial factions of the Covenant world. Sure, the Exorcists of Providence are covered in ink, but they have good intentions, even if the Great Church wants to present them otherwise!
Sierra Hahn, editor-in-chief of Oni Press, added in a statement: “Covenant takes the exorcist subgenre that made stories like Constantine so beloved in a refreshing, modern direction with action sequences that recall the brilliance of shounen manga like Blue Exorcist and the slow romance of a Kaori Yuki or Clamp series. We can't wait to introduce debut creator LySandra Vuong's powerful and unique storytelling to a whole new audience.
Covenant – Volume One is published by Oni Press on May 15.
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