A new order of witch nuns has taken over the city of Vespers in Marian Heretic: Book of Joan #1, a one-shot from writer Tini Howard and artist Joe Jaro. BOOM! Studios revealed the book yesterday, and it hits comic shops on Wednesday, February 17, 2027, with Ravenna and Sister Joan going undercover while Sister Marian is out of action. Check out the official post down below:
A Rival Order In The City Of Vespers
BOOM!'s announcement says Marian has been "sidelined by a magical affliction." With their Mother Superior down, Ravenna leads Sister Joan back into Vespers to face a new order of nuns "wielding their own brand of witchcraft to keep Marian and her fellow Sisters out of the city."
The pair disguise themselves as new members of that convent. Once inside, they have to uncover "the nature of the witches' magic," as well as "the harm it's inflicting upon their Holy Mother before things get too far out of hand." BOOM! describes the one-shot as built on Howard and Jaro's storytelling "of rebellion, sexuality, and the hard truth that sometimes in order to follow your faith, you have to sin a little."
Jaro drew the main cover, which shows a blonde nun in a red cloak in a forest clearing with a deer, a raccoon, rabbits and birds gathered around her. Walter Baiamonte, the colorist on the main series, is credited on the cover alongside Howard and Jaro. Comic shops can order the issue until Monday, January 4, 2027.
Nunsploitation, Witches And A Corrupt Church
BOOM! launched Marian Heretic in 2025 as "a provocative, high-octane new take on nunsploitation, religious horror, rebellion, and good ole fashioned monster hunting." The collected edition's description says it is a book "where theology meets heavy metal."
Sister Marian is "a witch hunter of the highest order, a Mother Superior, and a heretic guided by a Goddess the Church refuses to acknowledge." When the Holy Father brands her order blasphemers, she agrees to become the Church's personal enforcer. Each night she delivers "murderous judgement" in Vespers to keep her Sisters alive, and with every soul she condemns, she feels her own slipping further into darkness.
Issue #2 has Marian haunted by nightmares of eternal damnation, and when she turns to the witches who offered her a place in their coven, they send her on a hallucinogenic trip through her own fears. Issue #3 follows Ravenna's "questionable guidance" toward a path "paved in blood," while a figure called the Redeemer reveals a godly side. In issue #4, Marian stands against the Church's tyrannical leader, the Hierophant, with martyrdom looking like her only future. Issue #5 puts her on the run with Ravenna after she becomes an accomplice to the murder of a member of the Church, while the Church's enforcers arrive at her Sisters' door.
Howard And Jaro's First Creator-Owned Book
Marian Heretic is the first creator-owned series from Howard and Jaro at BOOM!, revealed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2025. Howard has written Catwoman, Excalibur and Assassinistas, and Jaro's previous work includes Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer.
Marian Heretic #1 came out on October 8, 2025, with variant covers by Dylan Burnett, Jenny Frison and Suspiria Vilchez. It sold out at the distributor level ahead of release, and BOOM! scheduled a second printing for November 19, 2025, the same day as issue #2. Marian Heretic Vol. 1 collected all 5 issues in a 128-page paperback on July 28, 2026.
BOOM!'s Horror Line Heading Into 2027
BOOM!'s other horror books include the anthology Hello Body Horror #1, which features "Body Positive" by Mark Bouchard and Rye Hickman, in which a fitness influencer's mind goes where her body cannot follow, and "Minimal Scarring" by Derick Jones, about a plastic surgeon to the ultra-rich who uses the pieces they leave behind to transform himself.
The Something is Killing the Children universe is expanding with Fall of the House of Slaughter #1, in which the House of Slaughter's ailing Old Dragon nears death and Cecilia Slaughter and the other Heads gather to pick his successor. James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera's crossover Swamp Thing Is Killing the Children #1 follows on February 24, 2027, one week after Book of Joan. Plans to bring Erica Slaughter to the screen are covered in SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN Adult Animated Series AND Live-Action Feature In Development.
Which side are you on in Marian Heretic: the Church that turned Marian into its executioner, or the witches who keep trying to bring her into their coven?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.