Another popular WEBTOON is making the leap from screen to page. Oni Press announced today that they will bring LySandra Vuong‘s Covenant to print in a series of three volumes, with the first slated to release in April of next year.
Here’s how Oni Press describes Covenant:
In a world where priests are decked out in holy tattoos and brandish machine guns in the face of demons, a powerful exorcist and a mysterious boy cross paths…in a college classroom. Erza’s faith is waning when God intervenes and sends him on a mission to protect Sunny, an outwardly normal human, from demonic forces. Looks can be deceiving, however, as Sunny proves to have hidden secrets and a bloody past nipping at his heels. Between Erza’s sunny sarcasm, and Sunny’s closed-off distant demeanor, the two struggle to find any common ground to bridge the gap. Yet, as much as the two bicker and retain distance, neither can help but be drawn to the other. With his church under scrutiny and the threat of war on the horizon, will Ezra find his conviction in time to keep Sunny safe? Will Sunny even accept his help? Or will they both suffer the consequences?
The queer romance Covenant launched on WEBTOON in August of 2020. The first season ran for 50 episodes, wrapping in September of 2021, and season 2 premiered in July of 2022. 76 total episodes of the series have been released thus far, with more to come.
In a statement announcing the print partnership, Vuong, who also goes by the handle explodikid, described the series, and why they wanted to bring it to print at Oni:
“COVENANT combines classic shounen manga tropes with fantasy Catholicism to tell an action-packed story in which angels talk to us and demons walk among us,” said LySandra Vuong. “Covenant is an unconventional comic. It’s supernatural, a little blasphemous, a little sexy, and unapologetically queer.”
“A few years ago, in a time where many publishers still frowned upon manga-inspired art styles, I thought the only place for my story would be the wild west of webcomics, where all sorts of wacky and weird comics live,” said Vuong. “To see Covenant coming to print, to bookstores, to a physical format, with such an amazing publisher as Oni Press is beyond my wildest dreams.
Oni Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn also expressed their enthusiasm at bringing Covenant to print:
“COVENANT takes the exorcist sub-genre that has made stories like Constantine so beloved into a refreshing and modern direction with action sequences that recall the flare of shounen manga like Blue Exorcist and the slow burn romance of a Kaori Yuki or CLAMP series,” said Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn. “We can’t wait to introduce a brand new audience to the powerful and unique storytelling of debut creator LySandra Vuong.”
Look for the first of three print collections of Covenant to arrive in stores in April 2024.