Day Men! Fighters of the Night Men! Champions of the Sun! Okay, this news actually has nothing to do with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but those lyrics are forever stuck in my head, dammit… Next month, BOOM! Studios releases the first title in their Pen & Ink program, which offers some of the comic publisher’s best titles in a large black-and-white format, heavily annotated by their creators: all the better to appreciate the work of BOOM!’s finest artists. The first such title to get the Pen & Ink treatment is Day Men, featuring the always razor-sharp art of Brian Stelfreeze. Written by Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson, Day Men tells the tale of the vampire overlords who secretly control our planet with the aid of their day-walking assistants, the book’s titular figures. Day Men: Pen & Ink #1 showcases the first two issues of Day Men, and it’s due out on May 7th. Check out the size of the book below, as well as BOOM!’s official press release.

From the release:

“We have the good fortune to be working with some of the best comics artists in the industry, so what better way to spotlight their work than to present their art in its purest form, complete with insightful commentary that peels the curtain back on their creative process,” said BOOM! Studios Editor-in-Chief Matt Gagnon. “Brian Stelfreeze is an industry luminary and this Pen & Ink edition features his first monthly comics work since 2005. Kicking things off with his breathtaking work was a no-brainer. Future editions will go behind the scenes with more master artists like Humberto Ramos and George Pérez, and upcoming breakthrough artists like HIT’s Vanesa R. Del Rey.”

In Day Men, for thousands of years, the world has been controlled by the “50 Families”—a secret network of vampire covens engaged in a timeless struggle for power. But when the sun rises, the vampires are forced to employ the services of a human who acts as their daytime fixer and protector. Trained for centuries to be the mortal soldiers of their vampire employers, the Day Men go forth at sunrise, alone into the world, to do the bidding of their sleeping benefactors.

Look for the book in comic shops and online retailers on May 7th.