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Joe Madureira Not Drawing Battle Chasers #10-12, Image Will Republish Battle Chasers Anthology

Published Sun, 16 Jun 2019 12:00:31 -0500

As part of the $850,000+ Kickstarter for the Battle Chasers: Nightwar game from 2015, based on Joe Madureira's comic book Battle Chasers, published by Image Comics' Cliffhanger imprint back in the day, Madureira promised this reward.

Pledge US$ 100 or more
– COMPLETE NIGHTWAR DIGITAL EDITION –

The ultimate digital compendium of all-things Battle Chasers. Starts with the DELUXE edition and adds digital issues of the upcoming and all-new Battle Chasers #10, #11 and #12 as they are released; a digital compendium of Nightwar design notes and behind the scenes info; an extended Battle Chasers: Nightwar original soundtrack including roughs and B-Sides; and your name upgraded to the HALL OF LEGENDS on Battlechasers.com.
Estimated delivery Dec 2016

With the campaign stating,

The Legendary Comic Series continues!
You thought it would never happen. So did we. Alongside the release of Battle Chasers: Nightwar, new issues of the classic comic series will continue where the story left off.

Written and drawn by original series creator Joe Madureira, these new books mark his long-anticipated return to the most cherished and iconic work of his career.

Turns out you were right. As game rewards are (finally) coming through, there is plenty of non-delivery on the rest of the donor rewards. And the status of Battle Chasers #10 to #12 has been one of the most contentious. Well, Madureira just gave an update:

I just wanted to give you an update on the status of the new BC books. First of all, thank you for your continued patience! I realize this update is long overdue.

It's been a wild ride for us since Battle Chasers: Nightwar launched, diving headlong into our second project with no downtime. It's a big one for us, and you'll be getting a look at it VERY soon. Our little studio, Airship Syndicate is now close to 35 people developing not one, but two games concurrently. It's not something we planned on, but companies grow organically. Doors open and shut, and you've got to play a good hand when it's dealt. Our growth is pretty unprecedented for an indie studio, and I don't think any of us could've foreseen it back when we were a team of 6, launching our Kickstarter campaign (though we dared to dream). As far as rewards, introducing some new books to the comic series seemed like a no brainer, especially since it's been a personal goal of mine for some time.

Unfortunately, it's proven difficult to work on them alongside my responsibilities at the studio. Realistically, the only way to get the books finished and into your hands any time soon is to recruit some highly talented individuals to help out. I'll still be working on the story of course, and drawing as many pages as I can manage. One of the reasons I haven't let anyone take over the series in the last 20 years is because I always felt that if it were to continue, it had to be me. Or a team I had complete faith in, and I think I've found that team. I'll be releasing more details on that soon.

I realize many backers will be (understandably) upset by this news. We've heard from a few backers that the books were the ONLY reason they pledged. I sincerely hope those backers played Battle Chasers: Nightwar, because that's what our campaign was for after all, and we poured our hearts and souls into it. It's a damn good game. If you feel you can't or simply don't want to wait for the comics, please submit a request at support@airshipsyndicate.com and we will try to issue a refund for the unused portion of your pledge. I'm truly sorry to have let you guys down. Everyone else, I promise the wait will be worth it. This game has reinvigorated me to create new Battle Chasers stories, and I think they'll be among the best so far.

I've mentioned this somewhere before, but in case you missed it, issues #10-12 will pick up exactly where the last issue left off, and focus on Garrison, his past, and his complicated relationship with the fugitive Red Monika.

In related news: I get so many people asking whether the original Battle Chasers Anthology will be reprinted, and I'm happy to announce that Image is about to relaunch it in an affordable softcover format (the original giant-sized hardcover is impossible to find, and pricey). This collects all 9 issues of the original BC run, as well as a couple short stories, pinups and covers. It launches in September, so look out for it.

Thank you again for taking this journey with us. -Joe

You might be able to guess how this went down…