Faith Demands Sacrifice. Survival Demands Blood. Welcome to LAZARUS ORDER.

A collision of medieval horror, dark fantasy, plague-era paranoia, and straight-up nightmare fuel is coming this summer, and Mad Cave Studios is not playing around. LAZARUS ORDER is stepping out of the shadows like a plague doctor with a holy mission, a cursed blade, and zero patience for monsters in the village square.

Launching August 19, 2026, LAZARUS ORDER is an all-new dark fantasy horror series written by Sloane M. Siegel of Gotham Knights, co-created and character designed by Benjamin J. Stockham, with art and colors by the always visually dangerous Juan Doe of Vanishing Point, letters by DC Hopkins, and variant covers by Marguerite Sauvage and Georges Jeanty with Juancho. That creative lineup already tells you this one is coming with style, teeth, and the kind of atmosphere that makes you check the lock on your door twice.

The setup? Oh, this is nasty in the best way.

In the world of LAZARUS ORDER, illness is not just something that weakens the body. Nah, this sickness gets disrespectful. Disease can twist people into horrific, monstrous transformations, turning fear into flesh and infection into a full-blown nightmare walking on two legs, four legs, or whatever cursed anatomy decides to crawl out of the dark. Humanity is barely holding the line, and standing between mankind and total chaos is the mysterious and devout Lazarus Order.

These are not your average plague doctors wandering around with herbs and spooky masks. These are warriors of faith who have sacrificed their freedom in an oath to God, gaining supernatural abilities in exchange. Sounds powerful, right? Of course it does. But here is the catch, because in comics and in life, the bill always shows up. Every time they use their powers, it consumes them. Piece by piece. Use too much, give too much, fight too hard, and eventually they fade into nothing. That is the kind of sacrifice that hits different.

These plague doctors live in service, bound by faith, duty, and the brutal reality that humanity’s survival depends on people willing to burn themselves out so others can live. They protect the world from vampires, werewolves, the undead, the terrifying Rattusvir — yes, rat-man disease, because apparently medieval life needed one more reason to be absolutely wild — and other horrific variants of what is known as “The First Sickness.” Now that is a phrase that feels like it should be whispered in a candlelit room by someone who already knows too much.

What makes LAZARUS ORDER immediately stand out is the way it fuses grotesque creature horror with spiritual dread. This is not just monsters jumping out of the fog. This is fear wrapped in faith. This is disease becoming mythology. This is survival with a moral cost. The series looks ready to dig into that uncomfortable space where belief, fear, duty, and desperation all collide like a carriage crash on a haunted road. And let’s be real, that is where the good dark fantasy lives.

Mad Cave Studios is positioning LAZARUS ORDER as perfect for readers who love Berserk, Castlevania, Bloodborne, and The Last of Us, and that comparison tells you exactly what kind of party we are walking into. This is not clean, shiny heroism. This is mud, blood, prayer, rot, sacrifice, and monsters that look like they crawled out of somebody’s guilt. It is the kind of world where even victory feels expensive, and survival might leave you wondering what part of yourself you had to bury along the way.

That is the hook right there: what remains of humanity when faith, fear, and disease become inseparable?

That question gives LAZARUS ORDER its bite. Because beneath the monsters and supernatural chaos is something painfully human. When the world is collapsing, what do people cling to? Faith? Power? Duty? Each other? Or do they become something worse while trying to survive?

With Juan Doe handling art and colors, readers should expect a visual identity that leans hard into the grotesque and the atmospheric. This is the kind of premise that demands shadows, texture, twisted silhouettes, and creatures that make you say, “Nah, I’m good,” while still turning the page because curiosity is undefeated. Add in DC Hopkins on letters, and the whole thing has the chance to move with that heavy, cinematic rhythm that great horror comics need.

“Lazarus Order is a story that’s world and characters have become very dear to me, as we’ve already outlined and mostly written the entirety of this saga. Each of the characters are an extension of some part of myself, and I feel for them in their many struggles to discover who they are and how they believe they can change the world. Everyone in this story yearns for something, whether it is acceptance, heroism, freedom, redemption, or another core desire that drives humanity to become the individuals they are. I hope people learn something about themselves as they join our characters in their many quests and find something familiar in at least one of our developing souls.” —Sloane M. Siegel

“I hope that people enjoy immersing themselves in this world and characters as much as we had fun creating them! The world of the Lazarus Order is complex and interwoven, with lots of different faces and bits of Lore; It would be wonderful if people resonated with those aspects. This is our passion project, and that love for the material shines through in all aspects. It is my sincere wish that love is not only recognized but that it enriches our readers’ experiences as well.” —Benjamin J. Stockham

“Creating the art for Lazarus Order is the culmination of everything I have learned in my career working in comics. It has everything I have ever loved in this medium, from great characters, fantastically designed creatures, giant set pieces, action galore, and most importantly, an incredible story that goes beyond the spectacle of just trying to make cool pages. Lazarus Order represents an opportunity to visualize a universe grounded in a rich, complex lore that has staying power and years of story ahead of it. We invite everyone who reads it to follow along to its conclusion; it will be an adventure worth taking and one not soon forgotten.” —Juan Doe

LAZARUS ORDER #1 hits comic shops on August 19, 2026, with Final Order Cutoff on July 27, so this is the moment for readers to let their local comic shops know they want in. Dark fantasy fans, horror heads, medieval nightmare lovers, and anyone who likes their comics with blood on the boots and philosophy in the shadows — this one needs to be on your radar.

Mad Cave Studios continues to build one of the most interesting and creator-driven catalogs in comics, and LAZARUS ORDER looks like another strong swing from a publisher that knows how to give readers fresh worlds with serious edge. Between Mad Cave, Papercutz, Maverick, and Nakama Press, the cave keeps getting louder, weirder, sharper, and more exciting.

Faith demands sacrifice. Survival demands more.

And LAZARUS ORDER looks ready to collect.

Stay up to date with Mad Cave Studios and its imprints Papercutz, Maverick, and Nakama Press on social media, or visit www.madcavestudios.com to explore new releases, licensed series, and creator-owned titles.

Author Profile

Al Mega: I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!