Marvel and Riot Games have today announced a new collaboration that will soon see one ofLeague of Legends' most recognizable characters hitting a comic shelf near you.
In May 2019, Marvel will begin publishing a new series of graphics novels in theLeague of Legendsuniverse. This slate of stories is slated to kick off withLeague of Legends: Ashe: Warmother, a new story that centers around the champion Ashe. The narrative will serve as an origin arc for Ashe and will follow her as she becomes the Iceborn warrior that many know her as inLeague of Legends. The graphic novel will be written by Riot’s own Odin Austin Shafer with Nina Vakueva serving as the artist and Cardinal Rae on lettering.
Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski spoke about this new team up and why it made sense to collaborate on the project by saying the following:
“Many fans of the Marvel Universe and comics share their interests and passion for storytelling with the gaming community.League of Legendsis one of the most well-known games in the industry, and their unique world and extensive roster of rich characters and are a perfect fit for comic books. We’re excited to partner with Riot and help build the League of Legends Universe for fans and players around the world.”
Riot’s Head of Creative Development also gave a statement about this crossover:
“We love comics as a way to tell stories because it givesLeague of Legendsfans an opportunity to see the world of Runeterra and not just read about it. We see similarities between the League of Legends Universe and the Marvel Universe, as both of them feature an array of characters with compelling and diverse backgrounds. Marvel’s success at developing a world through comics and creating great stories is industry-defining, and we’re thrilled to be working with them to bring our own stories to life."
It’s definitely interesting to see Riot opt to tell more stories in theLeague of Legendsuniverse like this moving forward and sets an interesting precedent for other storytelling opportunities in the future. As of now, the lore withinLeague of Legendshas always been gaudy and has never been delivered in a method like this.
We’ll see what comes of this partnership moving forward afterAshe: Warmotherreleases next May.
