Hex Publishers and Random Games are partnering to create original comics based on the Unioverse videogame and platform, and they have provided ComicBook.com with an exclusive look at the first issue, which is due in stores next week. A six-part series of interconnected one-shots will introduce the first five playable Unioverse heroes from the Unioverse videogame. The comics are co-written by Colorado Book Award winner Joshua Viola and Angie Hodapp, with interior art by Ben Matsuya (Cryowulf, Jupiter Jet), and cover art by AJ Nazzaro (Hearthstone, Overwatch). The series launches on May 9th, 2023 with Unioverse: Reyu.
Set in the near future, the Unioverse story centers around a technology discovered on Mars that allows anyone to instantly transport their consciousness across galaxies. A playable alpha sequence from the first Unioverse game, The Proving Grounds, was launched this year by a team of gaming and entertainment industry veterans behind titles such as Grand Theft Auto, Donkey Kong Country and Crackdown. The narrative direction of the Unioverse is led by Brent Friedman, a master storyteller whose previous credits include writing on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Walking Dead, Call of Duty, and Star Trek: Enterprise.
"The Unioverse was designed to be a transportive transmedia experience for fans," Brent Friedman said in a statement. "From day one, the narrative team approached worldbuilding with the expressed intent to create a solid canonical foundation on which countless stories could be told in games, comics, anthologies, movies, and more. Unioverse: Reyu represents the first expression of our vision for storytelling beyond the Unioverse website. I feel like a proud parent!"
The Unioverse comic book series will comprise of six issues:
Issue 1: Reyu (Release date: 5/9): Reyu, respected warrior, the last of his kind, must bring a notorious assassin to justice. But Reyu knows something about the assassin that just might change the course of his own fate.
Issue 2: Krishah (Release date: 6/6): Krishah never misses her mark…until she does. Now, the religious cult that controls her offers her one shot at redemption: Kill Reyu.
Issue 3: Tor Gret (Release date: 7/11): Merge Keeper Tor Gret is forced to take on the merciless Vipers and their sadistic leader alone, since the mercenary he hired to fight alongside him got a better offer. Tor will deal with him later…
Issue 4: Annill (Release date: 8/8): A bombing at a political soirée forces bodyguard Annill to risk her life saving many important guests. While waiting for the all-clear, she recalls the tragic history of her planet and her people.
Issue 5: Vella Janx (Release date: 9/5): Vella Janx and his loyal companion, 9Bot, agree to help Tor Gret complete a dangerous exfiltration mission. But when a better offer from an enigmatic stranger comes along, Janx is all in. Business is business…
Issue 6: Silas Kyruk (Release date: 10/10): Silas Kyruk lost everything the instant Malcolm Orion reawakened the Mass-O. But this mastermind has a plan to get it back. All he needs are the finest, most capable fighters in the Unioverse—Reyu, Krishah, Tor Gret, Annill, and Vella.
"As a writer, it was exciting to build upon the established lore of the videogames and give players and readers alike an opportunity to really familiarize themselves with our heroes and the sci-fi sandbox they're playing inside," said co-writer and Hex Publishers Founder Joshua Viola. "In issue one, readers are introduced to our hero, Reyu—the legendary Ja'din hunter of the fabled Origin 5 Species. Reyu, the last of his kind, is on a mission to bring a notorious assassin to justice, but he knows something about the assassin that might change the course of his own fate."
The Unioverse comic book series marks the first exploration of the Unioverse beyond the games, ahead of the release of the prose anthology Stories of the Reconvergence, edited by Angie Hodapp and Joshua Viola, which will showcase some of today's most popular genre-fiction writers, including Stephen Graham Jones, Linda D. Addison, Kevin J. Anderson, Mario Acevedo, Andy Baker, Carina Bissett, Kenneth W. Cain, Kevin Dilmore, Sean Eads, Brent Friedman, Maxwell I. Gold, Warren Hammond, Angie Hodapp, Jamal Hodge, Akua Lezli Hope, Gabino Iglesias, Matthew Kressel, Lee Murray, Wyeth Ridgway, Jeanne C. Stein, Joshua Viola, Tim Waggoner, Dayton Ward, Carter Wilson, Jezzy Wolfe, Jane Yolen, and Alvaro Zinos-Amaro.
"The narrative team conceived of such a rich, multifaceted world, and getting to be one of the first writers to tell stories in that world has been a privilege," said co-writer Angie Hodapp. "We hope these comics and the anthology will feel like an invitation to other storytellers whose imaginations are sparked by the Unioverse."
You can see some preview pages below.
