Captain Harlock Heads West with Ambitious Comic by ABLAZE

Captain Harlock has been one of the oldest, most recognizable anime characters to have ever been developed in the medium, predating the likes of Mobile Suit Gundam, Dragon Ball, and numerous other series, and now the space pirate will be making his way to the West with an upcoming comic book series by Ablaze Publishing. First appearing in the manga series in 1977, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, the space-faring adventurer has traversed several anime series and feature-length films over the decades, and now, the upcoming comic book series will see the return of series creator Leiji Matsumoto.

Ablaze Publishing took the opportunity to share one of the variant covers for the upcoming first issue of the manga adaptation, sharing art from comic book creator Yanick Paquette, who is most famous for their work on the likes of Wonder Woman, Wolverine, Batman, and more:

The official description for the upcoming mini-series titled Space Pirate Captain Harlock, which releases its first issue this summer on June 9th, reads as such:

“From the legendary Leiji Matsumoto, along with Jerome Alquie, comes an epic new story! Set within the timeline of the original series, this brand-new Captain Harlock adventure marks the beginning of a new story arc. Planet Earth is threatened by an upcoming invasion by the Sylvidres and despite being banished as a pirate, Captain Harlock won’t give up trying to save the world. This time, the source of danger comes directly from Earth, not outer space.”

The upcoming series won’t just see the creator of the space pirate return in the writer’s seat, it will also bring on artist Jerome Alquie to continue the story of Captain Harlock. The last time we saw the space pirate in an anime in 2013, he was in a feature-length computer-animated film titled Harlock: Space Pirate, which brought the classic anime character back with a modern makeover. Considering the longevity of the anime character, we definitely wouldn’t be surprised to see him appear again in numerous ways in the future.

Will you be picking up this upcoming comic series following one of anime’s biggest space pirates? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of space.