‘Black Mirror' Is Becoming A Graphic Novel — Get A Free Sneak Peek
Black Mirror fans will soon be able to experience the dystopian world of their favorite satirical sci-fi anthology series in graphic-novel form, and publisher Twisted Comics is giving a free preview of what's to come.
On Thursday, the U.K.-based indie publisher released on gaming platform Steam the first 20 pages of the inaugural issue in the comics series. The issue is an adaptation of season 4 episode USS Callister , which routinely ranks as one of the most beloved Black Mirror installments.
In the episode, the co-founder of an immersive online multiplayer game called Infinity, feeling underappreciated by co-workers, simulates a Star Trek –style space adventure within the game where he serves as the fearless captain on a quest to defeat an archenemy. Naturally, this William Shatner-like leader has a dark, vengeful side. This is Black Mirror after all.
The first issue in Twisted Comics' first graphic-novel adaptation of "Black Mirror" episodes publishes later this year. Twisted Comics
Twisted Comics is known for its best-selling series of psychological thrillers Twisted Dark, among other offerings . That a publisher with 'twisted' in its name is behind the Black Mirror graphic novels feels fitting given how macabre and transgressive the show can get as it explores the unintended consequences of our reliance on digital technology and how it exposes human flaws. Twisted Comics founder and editor-in-chief Neil Gibson wrote the USS Callister issue, which is illustrated by artist Silvano Beltramo, with a cover by Butcher Billy.
'It's great to see the best stories retold in different ways,' Gibson, a longtime comics lover, said over Zoom from London. 'It's my mission in life to get more people reading and creating comics.'
Gibson is an avowed Black Mirror fan who has seen all but one episode since TV writer Charlie Brooker's series debuted on British public broadcasting channel 4 in 2011 — it gained a global cult following once it started streaming on Netflix in 2016. Next up in the Twisted Comics graphic-novel series will be an adaptation of the moving season 3 episode San Junipero, about a town where older and deceased people can live forever in virtual reality as their younger selves. That one's expected in 2026, with the USS Callister available for preorder now, and expected to publish later this year.
An early look at USS Callister, the first issue in a new graphic-novel series based on sci-fi anthology series "Black Mirror." Twisted Comics
Gibson wouldn't say exactly how many Black Mirror episodes overall will get the comics treatment, only that it will be 'many.' Twisted Comics is selecting episodes for adaptation by reviewing episode rankings for the most celebrated, he said.
'With my stories, the aim is always to entertain, educate and surprise, and Black Mirror does that. It makes you think, and some of the stories stay with people for days.'
Twisted Comics secured the rights to adapt Black Mirror from Banijay Rights, which represents the Black Mirror brand. The early snippet of USS Callister is available on Steam via Inky Pen , an all-you-can-read comic subscription service that's available on the Nintendo Switch and just launched on Steam.
Twisted Comics is also currently running a Kickstarter campaign for the USS Callister issue that offers perks such as the chance to be drawn in the actual comic alongside the spaceship's crew. The campaign has already exceeded its goal by more than $38,000 dollars, with six days to go, proving no amount of dystopian bleakness will deter true Black Mirror fans.
The visual style on the comic alternates between the world of the gaming company and the world of the fictional spaceship. Twisted Comics
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