Dark Horse and 343 Industries are set to release a new anthology series based on Halo Wars 2. Halo Wars 2, 343 Industries’ real-time strategy video game, introduces a new ruthless villain, Atriox. This five-chapter anthology collects stories by acclaimed comics creators Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, Conan the Slayer), Jody Houser (The X-Files: Origins, Faith), John Jackson Miller (SMITE: The Pantheon War, Halo: Tales from Slipspace), Alex Irvine (Hellstorm: Son of Satan, Dark Sun: Ianto’s Tomb), Claire Roe (Batgirl and the Birds of Prey, Saltire: Annihilation), Josan Gonzalez (Weird Detective), Jonathan Wayshak (Call of Duty: Zombies, Halo: Tales from Slipspace), and Tristan Jones (Rebels, Aliens: Defiance).

The first issue of Halo: Rise of Atriox finds Atriox, who is still a member of the massive alien collective known as the Covenant, leading his Brute brethren into an all-out assault on a UNSC outpost. Leader and creator of the Banished, Atriox is a fearsome warrior who rose to power by his charismatic personality and talent for shrewd strategic planning honed during his time serving as a member of the Covenant. Cullen Bunn composes this first issue, Claire Roe provides her gorgeous artistic skills to the Halo universe, Jeremy Colwell makes the illustrations pop with his gritty colors, and topping it all off is a breathtaking cover by Aleksi Briclot (The Art of Remember Me, Conan: Road of Kings).

To date, Dark Horse and 343 Industries have produced two blockbuster comic series with canonical story lines scripted by writers from the video game franchise: Halo: Initiation and Halo: Escalation. The partners also released the graphic novels Halo: Fall of Reach and Halo: Tales from Slipspace in 2016.

The first issue of Halo: Rise of Atriox goes on sale August 2, 2017, and is available for preorder on DarkHorse.com!