The Missionary #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeThe Missionary #1 marks Ryan Stegman's debut as a primary writer on a creator-owned series at this scale, pairing him with acclaimed artist Jason Howard for a horror title that blends spiritual crisis, demonic possession, and dark comedy. The issue carries additional structural significance as the inaugural release under DSTLRY's NSFW 'Red Label' imprint, establishing a new content tier within a publisher already reshaping how creator equity works in comics. Thematically, its 'consensual possession' conceit — a man who willingly accepts a demon rather than being overtaken by one — inverts the genre's standard template in ways critics noted recalled the Eddie Brock/Venom dynamic Stegman helped define, but filtered through an entirely creator-owned adult-horror lens. The debut issue sold out at the distributor level, prompting DSTLRY to redirect convention stock back into the direct market.
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DSTLRY announced The Missionary on May 29, 2024, with co-founders Chip Mosher and David Steinberger — both former ComiXology executives who launched DSTLRY in April 2023 as a creator-equity-forward publisher — describing it as a horror project unlike anything they had published before. Stegman, previously known primarily as a penciler on mainstream titles like Venom and Superior Spider-Man, crossed fully into the writer's seat here alongside artist Jason Howard, whose career includes co-created work with Robert Kirkman (The Astounding Wolf-Man, Super Dinosaur) and Warren Ellis (Trees). A free 12-page digital ashcan preview was released ahead of the September 25, 2024, on-sale date to drive pre-orders, and DSTLRY simultaneously announced the polybagged Red Label edition — the imprint's first — which featured NSFW content and an expanded ending not present in the standard edition.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of protagonist Bryce Hunter, the demon Uvydus, and the unnamed 'world's greatest Exorcist' — all original characters created for this series.
- Written by Ryan Stegman (Venom, Superior Spider-Man, Vanish) — marking his most prominent creator-owned writing debut — with interior art by Jason Howard (Trees, Big Girls, The Astounding Wolf-Man).
- Published by DSTLRY on September 25, 2024, as a 48-page, magazine-sized, perfect-bound prestige-format issue.
- The issue is the inaugural release under DSTLRY's 'Red Label' imprint, a polybagged NSFW sub-line featuring expanded content; the Red Label edition (Cover H) adds ultraviolence and a double-page-spread ending not included in the standard edition, with Cover H colored by Tamra Bonvillain.
- Standard edition shipped in seven cover variants (Covers A–G), with retailer incentive variants by Ryan Ottley (1:10), Chip Zdarsky (1:25), Riley Rossmo (1:50), and a wraparound by Skottie Young; Cover B is a variant by Stegman himself.
- A 14-page ashcan (digital preview) was made available free via DSTLRY's website ahead of the on-sale date to support retailer pre-orders.
- The series is a three-issue limited run, consistent with DSTLRY's standard miniseries format, with a hardcover collection planned upon completion.
- Issue #1 sold out at the distributor level shortly after release, prompting DSTLRY to release previously reserved convention stock of the Red Label edition back into the direct market.
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