Dark Horse Books announced Loving, Ohio, a new coming-of-age story from Matthew Erman and Sam Beck. The graphic novel follows a group of high school friends dealing with a string of murders after the tragic loss of their friend after what appears to be a mysterious suicide.

“Loving, Ohio is the best piece of fiction I’ve written so far in my life,” said Erman. “I grew up in a cult, as many people do and Loving, Ohio says everything I want to say on the matter. I am immensely proud of it and so grateful for Sam and the gorgeous book she created with me. I can’t wait for you to read this because I think you all are going to be wowed by what we’ve made. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

Loving, Ohio will be available in physical book stores on August 6, 2024 and comic book stores on August 7, 2024.

Official Press Release

MILWAUKIE, Ore., (December 12, 2023)— Dark Horse Books presents Loving, Ohio, a coming-of-age graphic novel written by Matthew Erman (Good Luck, Witchblood, Long Lost) and illustrated by Sam Beck (Verse, Renegade Rule).

After the mysterious suicide of their friend, Sloane, Elliott, Cameron, and Ana are just trying to get through the rest of high school in Loving, Ohio–a town built around The Chorus, a new-age cult that has infiltrated every structure of Loving. 

As the group of friends deals with their grief, a series of murders throws them into a mystery connected to everything around them. Sloane and her friends have to escape a roaming murderer, figure out their place in the world, and deal with loss, all in the looming shadow of The Chorus. But through it all, they will find the cost of friendship and the adulthood they seek. 

 “Loving, Ohio is the best piece of fiction I’ve written so far in my life,” said Erman. “I grew up in a cult, as many people do and Loving, Ohio says everything I want to say on the matter. I am immensely proud of it and so grateful for Sam and the gorgeous book she created with me. I can’t wait for you to read this because I think you all are going to be wowed by what we’ve made. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” 

Loving, Ohio is recommended for fans of Courtney Summer’s The Project and Daria Polatin’s Devil in Ohio and is already getting advanced praise:

“Loving, Ohio creates a haunting, gorgeous seam in reality and opens it wide to reveal a story that feels all too real. This book is a best-of-the-year with a bullet.”—Sarah Gailey (Just Like Home, Eat the Rich, Know Your Station)

“A gorgeous small-town nightmare where teenage grief walks hand-in-hand with cosmic horror, and the only way forward is to. Get out, get out of this town. By any means necessary.”—Trevor Henderson (Scarewaves, creator of Siren Head)

“A coming-of-age story that blurs the line between reality and the supernatural. Erman and Beck pit a group of teens against the nightmare of pseudo religious jargon, a knife wielding arsonist, and growing up. Hertfelt and unsettling. One of the best books of 2024.”—Mark Bouchard (It Took Luke)

Loving, Ohio TPB, 216 pages, will be released in bookstores on August 6, 2024 and in comic shops on August 7, 2024. It is now available to pre-order for $19.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, local comic shops, and indie bookstores.