Mark your calendars. This October Brian Buccellato, Jennifer Young, and Matias Bergara have a new series coming out called Cannibal. If you're looking for some southern-gothic thrills this Halloween, Image Comics has you covered.

We asked Buccellato a few questions to find out more about this new series.

Comic Vine: What’s this book about?

Brian Buccellato: A small Everglades town is hit by a new virus that causes those it infects to crave human flesh. With no cure in sight, the region has become split over what to do with the victims. For the Hansen family the answer is simple: kill them. However all of that changes when the virus gets closer to those the family cares about most.

This is a story about a small Florida town dealing with the onset of a violent cannibal virus. Those infected are overcome with the desire to consume human flesh — it’s like an addiction with horrible withdrawals make them lose control. You can try to fight it, but everyone has a breaking point.

One major thing to note about these cannibals is that they are just like you and I. They feel remorse and guilt and they don’t actually want to eat you, but they must to survive - and thus a wedge is forced between someone that is carrying the virus and their everyday life, including work, family and friends. What do you do if someone you love has this virus? Do you turn them over to the police? Kill them? Put them out of their misery? Or do you help get them what they need to survive…and find them someone to eat?

Cannibal is an Allegory for addiction... a commentary on the over-medicalization of society and the stigma that is associated with disease, illness and the mob mentality that shuns them all.

How did you come up with the idea (and with who)?

This has been a passion project of Jennifer Young’s for several years. She is my SONS OF THE DEVIL editor, and she pitched me this world she’d been developing. I loved the concept and the twist on cannibals… and so we decided to co-write it as a comic series. You’ll have to interview her to get more details.

Is this a miniseries or ongoing?

The intention is for us to be an ongoing. But that said, we all know that creator owned comics is a tough racket. The economics will play a factor in how long the series runs, but the goal is to have a minimum of twelve issues. ISO I advise fans to buy the book in GINORMOUS numbers to ensure longevity.

Is it going to have a completely dark tone?

I don’t think so. There will be some moments of humor and LOTS of humanity in this book. This story is not built on gore and horrible things happening to people. At it’s core it’s about relationships and a community — dealing with what could become a pandemic.

Here's the official press release:

Image Comics is pleased to announce that New York Times bestselling author Brian Buccellato (SONS OF THE DEVIL, The Flash, Injustice), Jennifer Young, and artist Matias Bergara (Sons of Anarchy) are teaming up for a southern-gothic horror series set to launch this October. In CANNIBAL #1 a small Everglades town is hit by a new virus that causes those it infects to crave human flesh. But with no cure in sight, the region has become split over what to do with the victims. For the Hansen family the answer is simple: kill them. However all of that changes when the virus infects those the family cares about most. “It’s about a Florida town that is just trying to hold onto their everyday lives at the dawn of a cannibal epidemic,” said Young. “Told through the eyes of the Hansen family, it’s an anti-apocalypse story because mankind is too stubborn to give in. It’s a about family and community, and explores how people respond to the spread of deadly diseases.” “These cannibals are just like us. They feel remorse and guilt and don’t want to eat people,” added Buccellato. “But the virus manifests as an insurmountable addiction that builds up until they can’t control themselves. After they feed and sate their hunger, they must face the guilt and ramifications of their actions. At it’s heart, it’s an allegory for drug addiction.” Young continued: “In a world where your neighbor, your friend, your barber could suddenly try to eat you, this story is also about mankind’s resolve and deeply-ingrained desire to maintain the status quo—so deep that they will assimilate the idea of cannibals into their normal life.” This is the second collaboration by Buccellato, Young and Bergara, following the short story, “Jennifer” which appeared in SONS OF THE DEVIL, VOL. 1.

CANNIBAL #1 (Diamond Code AUG160575) will hit comic book stores on Wednesday, October 5th. The final order cutoff deadline for retailers is Monday, September 12th.