R.L. Stine Is Coming to BOOM! Studios for New Comic, Just Beyond

Renowned horror writer R.L. Stine is returning to comics in an exclusive deal with BOOM! Studios, the publisher announced Monday. The four-volume series, Just Beyond, will be published through BOOM!’s KaBOOM! imprint. According to Stine, his comics line will focus on the same audience his popular Goosebump novels did: middle-grade readers.

The flagship book, Just Beyond: The Scare School, follows three 12-year-olds as they run through time, escaping a cyborg creature called a Drogg. To Stine, this book outlines his strategy for writing in the YA genre: Scaring the reader requires beginning somewhere relatable and grounding, as in this case, the main characters start out in middle school. Once that’s settled, he can play with the fantastical twists—looking at you, Drogg.

“Kids spend a lot of time in school. So it’s the perfect place for scares. What if everything you thought you knew about your school was wrong?” said Stine in a statement. “What if your school held a secret so terrifying it could threaten your life? That’s where the idea for The Scare School began. Where the story ended surprised even me!”

Stine, though heavily influenced by comics, has only written one professionally. Last year, he penned a Man-Thing miniseries for Marvel. After that, he began talks with BOOM! to launch this new imprint.

See below for a preview of Just Beyond’s first volume, with gorgeous art by siblings Kelly and Nichole Matthews—the twins have worked together on several horror series, such as Pandora’s Legacy and Toil and Trouble—and the cover by Julian Totino Tedesco. Look for Just Beyond to hit shelves next September.

Just Beyond: The Scare School Cover Art by Julian Totino Tedesco