Legendary Comics announced two new reasons for Pacific Rim fans to get excited; they will be expanding on the storyline based on the film franchise and universe. In regards to the announcement, Robert Napton, Senior Vice President of Legendary Comics, said the following:
“The Pacific Rim universe is so rich with opportunities to tell all-new captivating stories, and we are thrilled to bring a new prequel adventure based on the popular Netflix anime series to fans. Showrunners Greg Johnson and Craig Kyle created such a strikingly beautiful and hauntingly dangerous story featured in the anime series. I couldn’t think of a better creative team than Cavan and Nelson to capture this vivid storytelling and visual style bring to the page. We are also thrilled to offer fans of the franchise a new collection that allows them to revisit past adventures.”
Coming together for the first time are the following five Pacific Rim stories in an omnibus collection: Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero, Pacific Rim: Tales from the Drift, Pacific Rim: Aftermath, Pacific Rim: Amara, and Pacific Rim: Blackout — which will put together the Pacific Rim: Ultimate Omnibus collection. This 568-page hardcover is everything readers will need to cancel the apocalypse.
Plus, there will be a new graphic novel, Pacific Rim: Blackout, which occurs before the Netflix series Pacific Rim: The Black. This story is all about Herc Hansen and how he gets dragged into fighting off the kaiju while dealing with his demons in Australia with his niece Olivia, co-pilot Cooper, and Marshal Rask. This epic story is from artist Nelson Daniel (Detective Pikachu) and writer Cavan Scott (Star Wars: The High Republic), who had the following say about coming back to the series.
“It has been an absolute joy to return to the world of Pacific Rim for this original graphic novel and to also provide a link between the original movie and the fantastic anime series. Herc’s story really resonates with me; a man who has seen the world change and his friends fall away as the monsters keep on coming. But he never gives in, never lets events he cannot control defeat him. The monsters we see Herc facing in his personal life are just as destructive as the kaiju that are razing cities across Australia. As always, Pacific Rim is just as much a story about people caught in extraordinary times as it is a spectacle of monsters vs. mechs. That’s not to say that Blackout doesn’t feature killer kaiju fight scenes. Nelson has done an incredible job balancing cataclysmic events with heartfelt personal moments. I hope Pacific Rim fans young and old enjoy these final moments before Australia becomes the Black.”
You can pre-order your copy of Pacific Rim: Blackout and Pacific Rim: Ultimate Omnibus Collection and more exclusively from Kickstarter. If you need to be convinced, check out the graphic novel trailer below!