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Darkest Dungeon Is Getting an Expansion from a Dark Souls Veteran
Vault Comics is set to launch a crowdfunding campaign in October to fund a series of canonical graphic novels expanding the universe of Darkest Dungeon, Red Hook Studios' punishing 2016 roguelike role-playing game. The project marks a significant expansion of the franchise beyond video games, following the 2016 original, its 2023 sequel, and new DLC due for release on 18 August, and aims to deepen the game's mythology of ancestral sin, ancient evil and mental deterioration for both existing fans and new readers.
The comics will be written by horror author John Lees and illustrated by Maan Hause, previously known for Titan Comics' Dark Souls adaptation, working alongside Darkest Dungeon creative director and Red Hook co-founder Chris Bourassa. Bourassa has cited Bronze Age Batman and Image Comics as influences behind the game's visual style, while Vault's chief creative officer Adrian Wassel pointed to X-Men as an inspiration Bourassa drew on. The crowdfunding campaign will offer rewards aimed at both comics collectors and game fans new to graphic novels.
In short
- Vault Comics to crowdfund Darkest Dungeon graphic novels from October
- Dark Souls comic artist Maan Hause and writer John Lees involved
- Comics developed with Red Hook's Chris Bourassa to expand game's lore
Explained simply
Darkest Dungeon is a role-playing game series made by Canadian studio Red Hook Studios. In the games, players lead a group of adventurers through dangerous places, where they face monsters and the mental strain of their journey.
The story draws on the ruin of a family estate and the dark history behind it, including ancestral wrongdoing and an ancient evil. Its bleak artwork and focus on stress and fear have helped shape the series’ identity.
Red Hook co-founder Chris Bourassa is the game’s creative director, while Vault Comics publishes graphic novels and comics. John Lees writes horror comics, and artist Maan Hause has worked on a Dark Souls comic adaptation; Dark Souls is another fantasy game series known for its challenging world.