Earlier this year, io9 revealed the cover for LySandra Vuong’s Covenant, Oni Press’ graphic novel publication of the wildly popular Webtoon digital comic. Today, we’re thrilled to share the first chapter from the book, as well as some commentary from Vuong, aka Explodikid, ahead of the April 2024 release.
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On Webtoon, Covenant boasts “21 million reads and over 630,000 followers,” according to an Oni Press release, and it follows “a powerful exorcist with no faith in God, who is tasked to protect a seemingly normal human from rising demonic forces. The series features a slow-burn queer romance and explores religious faith, the weight of destiny, and what it means to be good in a world plagued by demons.”
Speaking about their book, Vuong said, “Ezra is a powerful exorcist blessed by the archangel Gabriel himself, and tasked with protecting a mysterious student named Sunny, a mission that is tied to saving humankind from impending doom. Despite his encounters with the supernatural, Ezra cannot bring himself to believe in God, a struggle which is especially precarious since his holy powers are derived from his faith. Ezra must grapple with his conviction in order to find the strength to save Sunny, and the world. Sunny, a seemingly normal albeit broody college student, actually has a few dark secrets of his own and suffers from a lifetime of being hunted by demons. Forced into a life of solitude and constantly being on the run, Sunny must learn to care for and work together with others if he is to survive. In a world where everything is not as it seems, Covenant encourages readers to find good in evil-looking things and evil in what appears to be holy. Covenant turns fantasy Catholicism on its head to grapple with different forms of faith and conviction.”
I recently had the privilege of attending Lightbox Expo, a convention near and dear to my heart, as an exhibitor at its third in-person show. This was especially monumental to me because it was meeting so many artists at the first Lightbox Expo that gave me the courage to pursue comics as my career at a time when I had just dropped out of engineering school. Returning as an exhibitor to meet so many Covenant readers and fans of my work has shown me how far I have come, and how far Covenant has come as my debut work.”
Keep scrolling to read Covenant’s first chapter. The first (of an eventual three) volumes will be released April 16, 2024; it collects and reformats episodes 1-18 of the Webtoon comic. You can pre-order now from Amazon.
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