In The Heir, Dani's first trip to Ireland with her fiancé, Conor, is supposed to be a chance to announce their engagement to his family. Instead, the couple arrives for the funeral of Conor's grandfather, setting the stage for a disturbing journey into the family's buried past.
As Dani becomes entangled in a web of child abduction, dark history, and ancient Irish folklore, the situation spirals into murder, curses, and monstrous encounters. With ominous forces closing in, she must race against time to save the person she loves most — no matter the cost.
This is the plot of the upcoming Mad Cave Studios five-issue limited comic series from Slayers: A Buffyverse Story writers Amber Benson and Christopher Golden, illustrated by The Closet artist Gavin Fullerton, with colors by Juancho! (Revolution 9) and letters by Becca Carey (Absolute Wonder Woman).Â
Mad Cave describes the series as a Gothic-tinged descent into madness, centered on a mysterious Irish estate and its supernatural horrors. The publisher is positioning the comic for fans of Hokum, Ready or Not, and The Haunting of Hill House, as well as readers drawn to the darker corners of Irish mythology. Benson cited classic 1970s psychological horror as a major influence on the project, specifically naming Rosemary's Baby and The Wicker Man.
“The Heir has all the good stuff: dark family curses, bloody sacrifice, and ghostly creatures beckoning from deep in the woods,” Benson said. She added that the goal was to leave readers feeling unsettled and praying they'd remembered to lock their doors before they started reading.
According to Golden, The Heir began life several years ago as a potential independent horror film before the creators found an opportunity to bring the story to comics through Mad Cave Studios. “Irish folk horror, creepy woods, bloody murder, and creatures out of legend make for great comics,” Golden said, describing Fullerton as the ideal artist to bring the story to life.
For Benson, the series marks a return to original comic book storytelling outside established franchises. Best known to genre fans for playing Tara Maclay on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Benson is also a Bram Stoker Award-nominated writer whose work includes the Calliope Reaper-Jones series and the Echo Park Coven trilogy. Her collaborations with Golden have spanned books, animation, and audio drama, including Ghosts of Albion and Slayers: A Buffyverse Story.
Golden, meanwhile, is a multiple Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award-winning author and a New York Times bestselling writer. His comics work includes the Gothic alternate-history franchise The Outerverse, co-created with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, as well as numerous Buffy the Vampire Slayer tie-in stories. He also co-created the original limited series Talent and The Sisterhood with Thomas E. Sniegoski.
Fullerton's involvement brings a personal connection to the material. The Irish artist, whose previous work includes The Closet, BAGS (or a Story Thereof), and Bog Bodies, has frequently explored unsettling subject matter across creator-owned comics. He also wrote and illustrated the horror-fantasy one-shot Tuatha for IDW.
For The Heir, Fullerton draws on his Irish roots and the landscapes and cultural traditions around him. “Chris and Amber have crafted a beautifully tragic horror story,” Fullerton said, explaining that he drew inspiration from the people and places around him while illustrating the book.
The mix of Irish mythology, an isolated family estate, and a protagonist increasingly trapped by forces she may not understand gives The Heir the ingredients for a particularly bleak strain of folk horror—one in which the past refuses to stay buried and the monsters may be closer to home than anyone suspects.
The debut issue will also feature variant covers from an impressive lineup of comic book artists, including Jamie McKelvie (The Wicked + The Divine), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Rebekah Isaacs (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), with colors by Marissa Louise (Stranger Things), and Chuma Hill, known for work in DC's Absolute Universe. The covers will be revealed at a later date.
The Heir #1 arrives at comic book shops on January 13, 2027, with a final order cutoff date of November 30, 2026. The series will also be available digitally. Readers interested in the upcoming folk horror series can preorder through their local comic shop or directly from Mad Cave Studios.
