Event Horizon: Dark Descent comic book series is a prequel to the 1997 sci-fi horror film

Six months ago, we heard that IDW Publishing, a company known for bringing us comic books based on popular established properties like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Trek, Godzilla, and others, were launching a new line of comics called IDW Dark, which would specialize in horror stories. It was also announced that in addition to featuring original horror stories, the IDW Dark line would include titles based on Paramount Pictures horror properties like Smile, A Quiet Place, Event Horizon, The Twilight Zone, Sleepy Hollow, and more. Now, Variety has revealed that IDW will begin publishing a comic book series called Event Horizon: Dark Descent in August, and this series will serve as a prequel to director Paul W.S. Anderson’s 1997 sci-fi horror film Event Horizon!

The five-issue series will embrace the hard-R rating of the movie and take place before the events of the film, telling the story of the final fate of the original Event Horizon crew and ask, what really happened to Captain Kilpack and the first crew as their ship journeyed across a nightmarish realm of torments beyond imagining? The series is coming our way from the team of writer Christian Ward, artist Tristan Jones, and colorist Pip Martin.

Ward provided the following statement: “It’s a huge privilege to be handed the keys of such a beloved film, one I take very seriously and I have some extremely exciting things up my sleeve. Big gory swings will be happening. You’ll never see the film in the same light again.” Jones added, “I think what Christian’s laying out and adding to the lore is going to surprise people. It’s certainly given me a lot of gnarly, visceral stuff to chew on visually, which is always fun and knowing that this is being done directly in collaboration with the team behind the film certainly helps lock things in as something fans of the film will want to explore with us.“

The first issue of Event Horizon: Dark Descent will reach store shelves on August 20th. There will be multiple covers to choose from, including a primary cover by Jeffrey Alan Love, variant covers by Ward, Martin Simmonds, and Joshua Hixson, a foil full art variant of Ward’s cover, and a sketch cover. Ward’s cover can be seen at the bottom of this article.

In case you need a reminder, Event Horizon had the following synopsis: The year is 2047. Years earlier, the pioneering research vessel Event Horizon vanished without a trace. Now a signal from it has been detected, and the United States Aerospace Command responds. Hurtling toward the signal’s source are a fearless captain, his elite crew and the lost ship’s designer. Their mission: find and salvage the state-of-the-art spacecraft. What they find is state-of-the-art interstellar terror. Anderson directed the film from a screenplay by Philip Eisner, and the cast included Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Richard T. Jones, Jack Noseworthy, Jason Isaacs, and Sean Pertwee.

Are you a fan of Event Horizon, and will you be reading the prequel comic book series Event Horizon: Dark Descent? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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