An unauthorized trip into ancient ruins, a relic with a direct line to an empress, and a deal asking for unwavering devotion? That is a whole stack of bad decisions waiting to become very good horror reading. Darrington Press and Dark Horse Books are bringing Candela Obscura to graphic novels with a new series set in the strange Victorian world of the tabletop role-playing game.
The creative team comes ready for supernatural trouble. Tini Howard (Excalibur, Knight Terrors: Harley Quinn) and Blake Howard (Vampire: The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth, Archie is Mr. Justice) write the horror drama, joined by artist Fernando Heinz Furukawa (Dragon Age: Knight Errant, Valiant Beyond: Bloodshot). Colors come from Charlie Kirchoff (Star Trek, Doctor Who), with lettering by Ariana Maher (Did You Hear About Mimi Green?, Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins).
The series introduces an all-new cast within the occult-confronting Candela Obscura secret society. That gives existing players fresh investigators to follow while offering newcomers an entry into the setting without asking them to bring an existing character history to the table.
Volume 1 follows Amelia Ashford, a junior member and resident loose cannon of the Circle of the Riddle and Key. Amelia heads off on an unauthorized adventure to investigate the hidden past of Empress Iomene. Her search takes her deep into Oldfaire, where the crumbling House of Iomene conceals a relic that does considerably more than sit there looking mysterious.
The object attunes Amelia to the Empress herself. Iomene offers answers, but the price is Amelia’s unwavering devotion. That is where the investigation becomes a bargain, and where being hungry for knowledge starts to look dangerous. Amelia has found a source willing to talk; the question is what that source plans to take in return.
Keeping the arrangement from her Circle will be a challenge of its own. Stern Javri already wants Amelia out for her troublemaking, leaving her to maneuver around suspicion while trying to prove herself to Iomene. As the artifact’s power and darkness become clearer, earning the Empress’s trust raises another problem: whether Amelia should trust her at all.
Candela Obscura Volume 1 arrives August 3, 2027, wherever books are sold. The 56-page hardcover measures 6.625 by 10.1875 inches and retails for $17.99. Preorders are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local comic shop or bookstore.
Dark Horse has a long history with original comics, manga, and licensed worlds, from Hellboy, Sin City, The Umbrella Academy, and Black Hammer to Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Witcher, The Last of Us, and Critical Role. Founded in 1986, the publisher has also brought readers manga including Lone Wolf and Cub, Trigun, Berserk, and Blade of the Immortal; Dark Horse Media became part of Embracer Group in 2022.
Visit Dark Horse for more on the new series, and ask your local shop about reserving the hardcover. Amelia’s search for answers begins next August, and the Empress is already naming her price.
Powered by WPeMatico