Ahead of Oni Press‘ upcoming panels at San Diego Comic-Con, the comic book publisher has announced the acquisition of upcoming Christmas creature horror series Yuletide for feature adaptation by Valhalla Entertainment.
Created by writer George Northy (EC's Shiver SuspenStories) and artist Rachele Aragno (Mike Mignola's Leonide the Vampire), Yuletide is set to hit shelves in October, and is described as “a fast-placed family adventure in the tradition of The Goonies, Goosebumps, and Hocus Pocus with a horrifying holiday twist”:
Welcome to the small town of Christmas, Pennsylvania – the merriest place on Earth . . . or so they'd like everyone to think. When December rolls around, these folks pull out all the stops for America's biggest, brightest holiday display . . . but not everyone in Christmas, PA, is so enthusiastic. Teenagers Jake, Abe, and Wyn are more interested in the dark side of the holiday that their parents like to pretend doesn't exist . . . The ancient legends of mythic monsters and pagan pandemonium that are deeply tied to the festival's long-forgotten origins. So when their hobby leads them to an abandoned wing of the local Christmas museum to investigate, they'll discover an ancient relic that, when activated, will bring a furious procession of yuletide horrors long since banished from our plane – and with it, a darkness that has been waiting centuries for its chance to overtake the world.
Northy will script and produce the adaptation of Yuletide, with Gale Anne Hurd and Phillip Kobylanski producing for Valhalla, alongside David Steward II, Hunter Gorinson, and Jeremy Colfer for Oni Press.
Here's what Northy has to say of Yuletide and its upcoming feature adaptation:
“I’ve long been fascinated by the dark, strange, obscure Yuletide monsters from various cultures, from Germany to Iceland to Wales. The way these demons have been buried and forgotten felt like the perfect metaphor for how we often bury our own darkness and personal demons throughout the holidays […] If Buffy taught us “High School can be Hell,” then Yuletide will show that the best way of dealing with our own holiday demons isn’t by pretending they aren’t there, it’s by facing them together.”
With the first issue set to debut in comic shops in October, the Yuletide series will span three, extra-long, 40-page monthly chapters – counting down to an artfully timed finale on shelves just in time for the holidays in December. Oni Press will reveal more about Yuletide during its upcoming appearance at Booth #1829 at SDCC, beginning on Wednesday, July 23rd.
