It’s been more than two decades since the last issue of Battle Chasers came out, as creator Joe Madureira left comics for video games and issue #9 ended on a cliffhanger that’s been hanging out there since 2001.
But now Battle Chasers and Madureira are back, with issue #10 scheduled to arrive in June. The comic will feature artwork by Ludo Lullabi.
“I’ve been really moved over the years by the level of excitement Battle Chasers still generates decades after its original release,” Madureira told Gizmodo. “With the success of the Battle Chasers game ‘Nightwar’ and a TV show in the works, it felt like the perfect time to drop some new books. Working with these characters again has healed some part of my soul, and Ludo’s artwork is so incredible, I can’t wait for readers to get their hands on it.”
Here’s the description for the new issue; I’m not sure if this picks up from the issue #9 cliffhanger or not:
Battle Chasers #10 promises fans an action-packed new story, with art by game and comics sensation Lullabi. In this new story arc, titled “Martial Law,” readers are introduced to the bloody tale of retired swordsman Garrison and the fugitive Red Monika as they face off against Maestro’s gang of supernatural killers—the Martial Paladins!
Check out a preview of some of the interior pages:
Battle Chasers debuted in 1998 as part of the Cliffhanger imprint at Wildstorm, but migrated to Image in 2001. Issue #10 was originally supposed to come out in November of 2001. In the press release, Image said The Battle Chasers Anthology trade paperback that came out in 2019 “saw an unheard of sales spike upon its release” and “has gone back to print multiple times,” which helped with the decision to release new issues. It’s scheduled to arrive in stores on June 14, but I wouldn’t blame anyone who treated this as a “I’ll believe it when I see it” situation.