The secret society of Candela Obscura is heading to comics. Dark Horse Books and Darrington Press, the publishing arm of Critical Role, have announced a horror drama graphic novel series set in the world of the tabletop role-playing game, following a new group of investigators who confront the occult in the Fairelands. Volume 1 arrives on August 3, 2027. Check out the official post down below:
Dark Horse's announcement invites readers to investigate the horrors of a strange Victorian world. The series is written by Tini Howard and Blake Howard, illustrated by Fernando Heinz Furukawa, colored by Charlie Kirchoff and lettered by Ariana Maher.
A Relic From The Ruins Of Oldfaire
Volume 1 centers on Amelia Ashford, a junior member of the Circle of the Riddle and Key whom Dark Horse calls the group's resident loose cannon. Amelia goes on an unauthorized hunt for the veiled past of Empress Iomene. Deep in Oldfaire, in the crumbling ruins of the House of Iomene, she discovers a strange relic that attunes her to the Empress.
Iomene offers a bargain: she will answer Amelia's questions in exchange for her unwavering devotion. Amelia must hide the deal from her Circle, including the stern Javri, who wants her ousted for her troublemaking. As she earns the Empress's favor, Amelia realizes that great power and darkness hide inside the artifact, and she has to wonder whether Iomene trusts her in return.
The book is a 56-page hardcover priced at $17.99, available for pre-order from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, comic shops and bookstores.
The Horrors Of The Fairelands
Candela Obscura is set in the Fairelands, a coastal valley in the country of Hale. Magical horrors bleed into the world through thinnings of The Flare, the boundary that separates the different worlds of this universe. After a cold wave called the Shiver struck the region, Hale was attacked by the Otherwhere, and it won the 6-year war with new military equipment made possible by the invention of electricity.
By 1907, the city of Newfaire is enjoying a period of prosperity, but mysteries lie beneath it in the ruins of Oldfaire, the dead civilization that once lived there. The secret order Candela Obscura has spent centuries studying and containing these phenomena. Its investigators work in small circles, each guided by a Lightkeeper.
From Actual Play To Rulebook
Critical Role launched Candela Obscura as a horror anthology series in which actors play the game. It was created by Taliesin Jaffe and Chris Lockey and premiered on Twitch and YouTube on May 25, 2023. It was Critical Role's first show to use a game and system owned by the company. Each chapter follows a different circle in a mostly self-contained story:
- Chapter 1: The Circle of the Vassal & the Veil, run by Matthew Mercer
- Chapter 2: The Circle of Needle & Thread, run by game designer Spenser Starke
- Chapter 3: The Circle of Tide & Bone, run by Aabria Iyengar
- Chapter 4: The Circle of the Crimson Mirror
A live one-shot, The Circle of the Silver Screen, was recorded at The United Theater on Broadway in Los Angeles on May 25, 2024, and the show went on hiatus in June 2024. Jaffe plays the Lightkeeper across the series and opens each episode with a prologue.
The game itself runs on the Illuminated Worlds system. Starke has highlighted its drive economy and the marks and scars system, saying it "lets the impacts of the damage you take live with you and, quite literally, change you." Darrington Press released the Quickstart Guide on the show's premiere date and the Core Rulebook on November 14, 2023. Beadle & Grimm later partnered with Darrington Press on Horrors of the Fairelands, a sourcebook with 8 adventure assignments.
Dark Horse's horror catalog includes Mike Mignola's Hellboy, as covered in Hellboy Crashes Satan's Funeral In Hellboy In Hell: Parade Of Horrors From Mike Mignola. More on its recent horror releases is in Zombie Manga I Am A Hero Is Getting A Full Reprint From Dark Horse, With Vampire Hunter D Coming Next.
Which Candela Obscura circle would you most like to see on the page after Amelia's story?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.