Legendary Comics announced a new companion graphic novel Pacific Rim: Blackout and a new collection Pacific Rim: Ultimate Omnibus, both further expanding the epic mythology based on Legendary Entertainment and Guillermo del Toro’s blockbuster film franchise. Partnering with Rocketship Entertainment, Legendary Comics will also create limited editions of each book along with exclusive merchandise available only through Kickstarter. Readers can now pre-order the limited-edition books becoming available simultaneously with the book market editions in January 2022.
From writer Cavan Scott and artist Nelson Dániel, Pacific Rim: Blackout allows readers to revisit the world of Netflix’s Original Anime Series Pacific Rim: The Black in an all-new prequel adventure featuring fan-favorite character Herc Hansen. The PPDC Ranger returns as a world-weary jaeger pilot dragged into battle as an influx of kaiju threatens to destroy the Australian continent and all its inhabitants. Along with his niece Olivia, his copilot Cooper, and Marshal Rask, Herc faces brand-new kaiju of epic proportions while battling his own inner demons.
For the first time ever, the Pacific Rim: Ultimate Omnibus brings together New York Times best-selling Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero alongside the sequels Pacific Rim: Tales from the Drift, Pacific Rim: Aftermath, Pacific Rim: Amara, and Pacific Rim: Blackout in a deluxe omnibus collection.
“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,” said Robert Napton, Senior Vice President of Legendary Comics. “Showrunners Greg Johnson and Craig Kyle created such a strikingly beautiful and hauntingly dangerous story featured in the anime series, and I couldn’t think of a better creative team than Cavan and Nelson to capture this vivid storytelling and visual style to bring to the page. We are also thrilled to offer fans of the franchise a new collection that allows them to revisit past adventures.”
“Working with Cavan and Nelson to bring this Pacific Rim story to life has been so much fun,” said Nikita Kannekanti, Senior Editor of Legendary Comics. “Cavan does such a great job balancing the action with the emotional character moments, and Nelson’s art is so full of energy in every single panel. I hope fans enjoy Herc’s story and learning more about what happened before the Black!”
Cavan Scott remarks, “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.”
“The Pacific Rim universe was something I wanted to draw, the Jaegers and Kaijus and the whole game of proportions is something I really enjoyed doing,” said Nelson Dániel. “I don’t know how many buildings I draw and how many destroyed, but they are never enough when it comes to epic battles. I hope the fans enjoy it as much as I do when I’m drawing it.”
