‘World of Warcraft’ Comic Series to Reveal Mythology of Fantasy Franchise

Before Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft hits the big screen next year, the history and mythology of the fantasy game franchise will be explored in a series of books announced Thursday by Dark Horse Comics.

World of Warcraft: Chronicle is described by the publisher as the “definitive tome of Warcraft history [that] reveals untold stories about the birth of the cosmos, the rise of ancient empires, and the forces that shaped the world of Azeroth and its people.” The first volume, to be released later this year, is “a journey through an age of myth and legend, a time long before the Horde and the Alliance came to be,” according to Dark Horse.

Although a writer for the first volume was not identified — interestingly enough, the Amazon.com preorder page lists Blizzard Entertainment as the author — an artist has been: The first volume will contain illustrations by Peter Lee, a concept artist who has worked with Blizzard on the actual games.

In a statement accompanying the announcement of the series, Paul Sams, COO of Blizzard Entertainment, said that the company “often get[s] questions from players who want to know more about the origins of the Warcraft universe, and the rise and fall of their favorite characters. This new series digs deeply into all of that — we can’t wait for players to read it.”

World of Warcraft: Chronicle Vol. 1 will be released Nov. 4 in specialty comic book stores and Nov. 17 in bookstores.

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