Jeff Lemire and Dean Ormston's Black Hammer is a revelation in the comics industry with its charismatic cast of deconstructed Golden Age superheroes stuck in a pastoral netherworld after a cataclysmic event imprisoned them amid the barns and cornfields of Rockwood. Dark Horse's imaginative and nostalgic creator-owned title has received an avalanche of accolades since first appearing back in 2016.

Since then, and a well-earned Eisner Award for Best New Series, the sublime superhero-noir series has branched out with two spinoff mini-series, Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil and Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows, as well as a fresh story arc debuting this year titled Black Hammer: Age of Doom and a far future incarnation just released this summer, The Quantum Age.

Written by Jeff Lemire with artwork by Emi Lenox (Plutona, EmiTown), a monstrous new one-shot, Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, is squirming its way into the Hammerverse in December and SYFY WIRE has a first peek at the cover and interior art.

The single issue centers around Cthu-Louise, daughter of the Lovecraftian Black Hammer villain, Cthu-Lou, first seen in the pages of 2017's Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil #2. As modern-day high school can be a living hell for almost anyone, it’s especially tough for teenage girls spawned by the emissary of an ancient Cthulhu god!

Joined by Black Hammer colorist Dave Stewart (Hellboy, Black Hammer), and legendary letterer Todd Klein (Sandman, Fables), Dark Horse's Christmastime one-shot is adorned with striking variant covers by Lenox and Jill Thompson (Beasts of Burden, The Scary Godmother).

In Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise, the darling little Cthu-Louise struggles to fit in and is frequently teased at school due to her otherworldly appearance. Once the adorable green girl is finally fed up with the constant bullying and abuse, she decides she will do anything to make herself “normal.” Cthu-Louise is yet another tantalizing tentacle emerging from the ever-expanding Hammerverse that explores the unfortunate realities of attending public learning institutions as an outsider.

Dark Horse Comics' Black Hammer: Cthu-Louise crawls comic shops on Dec. 12.