Tini Howard and Joe Jaro are heading back to the city of Vespers. BOOM! Studios announced yesterday that Marian Heretic: Book of Joan #1, a new one-shot set in the world of the creators' religious horror series Marian Heretic, arrives in comic shops on Wednesday, February 17, 2027. Check out the official post down below:
BOOM! calls the book a "bold, new, irreverent one-shot" featuring Howard and Jaro's "signature storytelling of rebellion, sexuality, and the hard truth that sometimes in order to follow your faith, you have to sin a little." The main cover is by Jaro and shows a blonde nun in a red cloak sitting in a forest clearing with a deer, a raccoon, rabbits and birds. The cover credits Howard, Jaro and colorist Walter Baiamonte, the same team behind the original series.
What Happens In Book Of Joan
Sister Marian sits this one out. According to BOOM!'s announcement, Marian has been "sidelined by a magical affliction," so Ravenna has to lead Sister Joan back into Vespers to confront a new order of nuns who wield their own brand of witchcraft to keep Marian and her fellow Sisters out of the city.
To get inside, Ravenna and Joan disguise themselves as new members of the convent. Their job is to uncover "the nature of the witches' magic," along with "the harm it's inflicting upon their Holy Mother before things get too far out of hand." The final order cutoff for comic shops is Monday, January 4, 2027.
The Story So Far In Marian Heretic
Marian Heretic is Howard and Jaro's first creator-owned series at BOOM!, first announced at San Diego Comic-Con in 2025. The official synopsis introduces Sister Marian as "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, Marian strikes a deal to become the Church's personal enforcer, delivering "murderous judgement night after night in the city of Vespers" to keep her Sisters alive.
In issue #2, nightmares of eternal damnation drive her to the witches who offered her a place in their coven, and they send her on a hallucinogenic trip. Issue #3 brings Ravenna's "questionable guidance" and a path "paved in blood." In issue #4, Marian faces the Church's tyrannical leader, the Hierophant, and issue #5 sends her on the run with Ravenna as an accomplice to the murder of a member of the Church, with the question of whether she will finally embrace her identity as a witch.
Marian Heretic #1 went on sale on October 8, 2025, with a main cover by Jaro and variants by Dylan Burnett, Jenny Frison and Suspiria Vilchez. It sold out at the distributor level before its release, and BOOM! sent it back for a second printing scheduled for November 19, 2025, the same day as issue #2. Marian Heretic Vol. 1, a 128-page paperback collecting issues #1 through #5, was released on July 28, 2026 for $17.99.
The Creative Team
Howard's credits include Catwoman and Excalibur, along with her creator-owned series Assassinistas. Jaro previously drew Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer. BOOM! has described Marian Heretic as "a provocative, high-octane new take on nunsploitation, religious horror, rebellion, and good ole fashioned monster hunting," and the Vol. 1 solicitation calls it a book "where theology meets heavy metal."
More From BOOM! Studios
The series comes from BOOM!'s own imprint, which also publishes BRZRKR by Keanu Reeves, Matt Kindt and Ron Garney, Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera, and Minor Arcana by Jeff Lemire. The Something is Killing the Children universe continues with Fall of the House of Slaughter #1, a new miniseries in which the House of Slaughter's ailing Old Dragon enters his final days and Cecilia Slaughter and the other Heads gather to choose his successor. Tynion and Dell'Edera's Swamp Thing Is Killing the Children #1, the deluxe crossover one-shot with DC, now lands on February 24, 2027, one week after Book of Joan. The flagship series is also headed for the screen, as covered in Something Is Killing The Children Live-Action Movie Enlists The Penguin Director Craig Zobel To Helm.
BOOM!'s horror anthology Hello Body Horror #1 collects stories including "Body Positive" by Mark Bouchard and Rye Hickman and "Minimal Scarring" by Derick Jones, with more from Michael W. Conrad, Martín Morazzo, Jeremy Bastian, Ziyan Qiu, Jenna Cha and Robert Hack.
Should BOOM! give Sister Joan and Ravenna their own ongoing series after Book of Joan, or keep Marian Heretic focused on Marian?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.