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Monster-hunting royalty rules in IDW's new supernatural series, Wellington
Charles Dickens knew how much Victorians loved their ghost stories when he crafted A Christmas Carol back in 1843, especially when told within the framework of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.
In the grand tradition of spooky stories delivered during yuletide times, IDW Publishing is reaching into its supernatural sleigh and gifting readers with a new horror series featuring a British blueblood who's a notorious monster hunter on the side — and SYFY WIRE has a special expanded preview to share.
Wellington #1 arrived this week and features an otherworldly creative team led by writers Aaron Mahnke, host of the mega-popular Lore podcast, with New York Times bestselling author Delilah Dawson (Star Wars: Phasma, Sparrowhawk), mind-melting artwork from Piotr Kowalski (Wolfenstein, Dark Souls), and riveting colors courtesy of Brad Simpson (The Witcher).
The macabre storyline takes a deep drink from the weird well of creatures showcased in Lore's historical horror and shines an ethereal light on the myriad mysteries and monsters looming in the darkest shadows. Here we're introduced to the dashing, debonair Duke of Wellington—one of England’s foremost decorated military heroes and, hidden to many of the Empire's citizens, the most fearless beast slayers alive.
“As a huge fan of the pop culture phenomenon that is Lore, I jumped at the chance to work with Aaron Mahnke and the Wellington team to merge history with dark supernatural adventures,” says Dawson. “Add in the atmospheric art by Piotr and Brad, and you're going to see the spirit of Lore resurrected in an entirely new way. This is a book you're going to want!”
Mahnke sees this new 5-issue IDW miniseries as more of a byproduct of the podcast, infused with material from nearly five years of researching and writing stories about strange people and places in world history. Lore's faithful fans know Mahnke has held a healthy fascination with Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington, and a comic project was the natural destination for further exploration.
"I think it was the type of story that we wanted to tell, really," Mahnke tells SYFY WIRE. "We knew that we planned to usher the Iron Duke through a gauntlet of ideas and figures from folklore, and to do that well we needed a more visual format.
"Delilah is a master of stepping inside another IP and telling great stories, as she’s done with Star Wars and Spider-Man over the years," he continues. "And while there was no fiction-based IP for my Lore stories, working within the constraints of real, documented history certainly has the same feel. And she handled it brilliantly. And Piotr gives the story a soul. I mean, just look at his artwork. It’s gorgeous and textured and very dark, and that helped the story we wanted to tell come to life."
Dim the lights and step quietly into our exclusive preview of IDW's Wellington #1, including some illuminating interior process art, and a haunting variant cover by Robert Hack, in the gallery below.
