Vault Comics will publish graphic novels based on the Darkest Dungeon series of games developed and published by Red Hook Studios.
Debuting in 2016, Darkest Dungeon is a gothic roguelike turn-based RPG about the psychological stresses of adventuring, co-created by Chris Bourassa and Tyler Sigman. Players recruit, train, and lead a team of flawed heroes against unimaginable horrors, stress, disease, and the ever-encroaching dark. Widely acclaimed for its gameplay and storytelling, and notorious among gamers for its difficulty, Darkest Dungeon is among the most beloved independent games of the last decade. In 2023, Red Hook Studios, published the sequel, Darkest Dungeon II, which received widespread acclaim.
Vault’s Darkest Dungeon graphic novels will be written by John Lees, and drawn by Maan House, working in close consultation with Red Hook Studios co-founder and Darkest Dungeon creative director, Chris Bourassa. Lees is known for his writing on acclaimed horror titles like The Nasty (Vault Comics) and Hotell (AWA). Meanwhile, House is known for drawing Dark Souls (Titan Comics), based on the best-selling video game, along with other other horror titles like The Cemeterians (Vault Comics).
Red Hook Studios co-founder, Chris Bourassa, said:
“I grew up reading comics. I learned to draw from studying the carefully crafted panels of the bronze age Batman books, and later, the exuberant splash pages of the Image Comics revolution. Darkest Dungeon was born of a deep love of this medium, and from day one, I’ve always dreamed of seeing it on the page. I couldn’t be more excited to work with the team at Vault to make this a reality – together, we’re going to do it right. This book will be a meaningful, canonical entry in the ongoing lore of Darkest Dungeon, offering long-time fans new and important insights while introducing new readers to the characters, tone, and world that made our games so successful.”
Vault’s all-new graphic novels will tell a canonical story set in the universe of Darkest Dungeon, revealing new details and introducing new mysteries at the heart of the Darkest Dungeon core mythology. Vault’s Darkest Dungeon graphic novels will debut with a launch campaign on BackerKit. Pre-launch sign-ups are now live. More details will be announced in the lead-up to launch.
Vault Chief Creative Officer and co-founder, Adrian Wassel, will lead the project for Vault, alongside Vault VP of Special Projects and Crowdfunding, Der-shing Helmer, with Bourassa overseeing creative for Red Hook Studios. Helmer also oversaw Vault’s record-breaking Dungeon Crawler Carl: Crocodile campaign. Helmer said:
“Our Darkest Dungeon graphic novel campaign will channel the spirit of the games—a realm filled with hidden rewards alongside myriad choices and dangers. We’ll have a little bit of something for everyone, from those who are newer to graphic novels to the most seasoned collectors of curiosities. We hope you’ll join the adventure and add this new story to your bookshelf before the torch goes out.”
Darkest Dungeon II is out now on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Switch.
