Pacific Rim Franchise Expands with New Graphic Novel and Ultimate Omnibus

Yesterday, Legendary Comics announced the continued expansion of Guillermo del Toro’s blockbuster film franchise with a new graphic novel companion, Pacific Rim: Blackout, and a new Pacific Rim: Ultimate Omnibus collection. In partnership with Rocketship Entertainment, Legendary will also create limited editions of each book as well as exclusive merchandise available through Kickstarter.

Written by Cavan Scott (Star Wars: The High Republic and Shadow Service) with art by Nelson Dániel (Detective Pikachu, TMNT, Clue), Pacific Rim: Blackout, now available for pre-order exclusively on Kickstarter, features an all-new adventure with fan-favorite Herc Hansen in a prequel story based on the Netflix anime Pacific Rim: The Black. Herc, along with his niece Olivia, his copilot Cooper, and Marshal Rask face “kaiju of epic proportions” as they seek to protect the Australian continent and all its inhabitants.

“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.”

The Pacific Rim: Ultimate Omnibus will bring together all of the franchise’s graphic novels into one 568-page oversized hardcover collection. For the first time ever, New York Times best-selling Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero (presented by Guillermo Del Toro and written by Pacific Rim screenwriter Travis Beacham) alongside the sequels Pacific Rim: Tales from the Drift (written by Joshua Fialkov), Pacific Rim: Aftermath, Pacific Rim: Amara (both from Cavan Scott), and the brand-new Pacific Rim: Blackout will all be in one book.

Backers on the Kickstarter can receive digital or physical copies of both books, along with additional perks like prints and pins. The Kickstarter runs until August 18 and has already been fully-funded.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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