Marvel and Riot Games have today announced a new collaboration that will soon see one of League 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 the League of Legends universe. This slate of stories is slated to kick off with League 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 in League 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 Legends is 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 gives League of Legends fans 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 the League of Legends universe like this moving forward and sets an interesting precedent for other storytelling opportunities in the future. As of now, the lore within League of Legends has always been gaudy and has never been delivered in a method like this.
We’ll see what comes of this partnership moving forward after Ashe: Warmother releases next May.