In further developments of board games taking over entertainment, the Twilight Imperium and Android Board Game Universes are Going Graphic Novel. These are two popular board games with rich and deep storylines that make them perfect for the graphic novel treatment, and to of coarse then be transformed to TV or film.
Android Netrunner and Twilight Imperium are both games from publisher Fantasy Flight Games which is a sub-brand of mega publishing group Asmodee. They entered into a deal with another publisher CMON to make this happen. This seems odd because they do the same thing, but it is because CMON is in the comics game now and they are beginning to get their content going. They picked a couple of very smart and beloved properties. Here is a quick overview of each –
TWILIGHT IMPERIUM UNIVERSE – Players take on the role of one of seventeen factions vying for galactic domination through military might, political maneuvering, and economic bargaining. Every faction offers a completely different play experience, from the wormhole-hopping Ghosts of Creuss to the Emirates of Hacan, masters of trade and economics. These seventeen races are offered many paths to victory, but only one may sit upon the throne of Mecatol Rex as the new masters of the galaxy.
ANDROID UNIVERSE – Game of murder and conspiracy set in a dystopian future. Detectives travel between the city of New Angeles and moon colony Heinlein chasing down leads, calling in favors, and uncovering the sinister conspiracy beneath it all. The detectives must balance their pursuit of the murderer against their personal lives and their inner demons. There are characters like Louis Blaine, the crooked cop tormented by guilt and loss, to Caprice Nisei, the psychic clone who struggles to retain her sanity while proving that she’s human.
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With stories like these, it is surprising that Twilight Imperium and Android Board Game Universes are Going Graphic Novel only now. I can already imagine the Netflix series, seasons 1 – 4 because that is how long TV is now.
Reach the full announcement published on the CMON site below:
CMON LTD and Asmodee Entertainment have entered into a licensing partnership to bring two of the most famous boardgame universes of all time to the pages of comics! The best-selling game worlds of Twilight Imperium and Android are slated to make their graphic novel debut in 2021. This exciting deal is the latest example of Asmodee Entertainment’s continued expansion into licensed publishing opportunities. For CMON, this deal secures the first-ever licenses for their newly minted comics arm, Guillotine Press.
“We are delighted to announce this new partnership on the run-up to exhibiting at the Festival of Licensing in October. Bringing some of our most iconic intellectual properties to the medium of visual storytelling through the pages of these first graphic novels is a natural step for us to be taking and we are absolutely thrilled to begin this exciting journey with the great team at CMON,” commented Alexander Thieme, Licensing Manager for Publishing and Consumer Goods at Asmodee Entertainment.
As with CMON’s first set of graphic novels, these new books will be created by veteran writers and artists, who will bring their immense talents to the projects. Scheduled to be launched on Kickstarter in 2021, the books will be paired with tie-in game components designed to delight long-time fans of both franchises.
CMON COO, David Preti, noted, “All tabletop games tell stories, and we are especially happy to work with a great partner like Asmodee Entertainment to bring some of those stories to life. With our first wave of comics, the ones based on CMON titles, we worked hard to create book-and-game component combos that were exciting for comic fans and board gamers alike, making it one of the most successful publications on Kickstarters of all times. With this second wave of books, we hope to continue that precedent, and we aim to become the go-to publisher for board game inspired comics.”
Twilight Imperium, the genre-defining 4x strategy game immersing players into interstellar conquest and diplomacy for over 20 years, is set against the backdrop of a sweeping, epic space opera filled with iconic races, locations, ships, and characters. Meanwhile, the cyber-noir setting of Android explores a future where megacorporations compete across the globe and cyber-espionage is just business as usual whilst criminal gangs fight for dominance in the overcrowded streets below gleaming corporate starscrapers. Android has been explored through board games, card games, and roleplaying games for over a decade. Both the Twilight Imperium and the Android game lines are products of Asmodee’s renowned Fantasy Flight Games studio.
“Both graphic novels will make use of the combined three decades worth of Asmodee’s existing design and world development.” CMON’s VP of Licensing Geoff Skinner adds, “Both of these incredible games are fully realized and bursting at the seams with style, tone, and best of all, story possibilities. Our goal is for fans of the games to feel right at home in the pages of these books and to capture the essence of what makes each title special, while still making the titles accessible to newcomers who are in it for a great comic experience.”
“I am delighted to announce this groundbreaking deal with the team at CMON. Bringing together just two of the many Asmodee IPs and telling their stories in this unique ‘comic book and game component’ format, initially via Kickstarter, with some of the very best talents in the industry, is a fantastic project to be working on!” adds Andy Jones, Head of Asmodee Entertainment. Stay tuned for more details!
About Asmodee Entertainment
Asmodee Entertainment is a platform of global games publisher and distributor Asmodee. Its mission is to extend Asmodee’s leading intellectual properties into TV/film, book and comics publishing, location based-entertainment, consumer products and interactive games, working in parallel with sister platforms Asmodee Boardgames and Asmodee Digital. Asmodee Entertainment will reach many new audiences and further delight existing fans through the creation of compelling story and character content set in Asmodee’s vibrant game universes. By establishing best-in-class partnerships across the full spectrum of opportunities, Asmodee Entertainment aims to create truly global intellectual properties and brands.
About Asmodee
Asmodee Group is a leading international games publisher and distributor committed to telling amazing stories through great games with tens of millions of games sold in more than 50 countries. Through our portfolio of iconic game titles, including Catan, Ticket to Ride, Pandemic, Dead of Winter, Splendor, KeyForge, Dobble/Spot it! and Star Wars: X-Wing, we create a dynamic transmedia experience for players across a variety of digital and physical platforms. Asmodee also creates inspiring and innovative products in partnership with leading entertainment and technology companies. Asmodee operates in Europe, North America, South America and Asia and is headquartered in Guyancourt, France. Learn more at corporate.asmodee.com.
About CMON
CMON Limited is an international publisher and designer of board games, tabletop games and card games. Beginning from small hobbyist roots, CMON Limited has grown into a multinational group that publishes multiple award-winning games, including Zombicide™, Death May Die™, Arcadia Quest™, Rising Sun™, Blood Rage™, The World of Smog™, Marvel United™ and many more. Known in the hobby industry for working with the top game designers, artists, and sculptors in the world, CMON Limited has built an impressive portfolio of both original, best-selling IPs, as well as licensed material. In addition to having worldwide retail distribution, CMON is also the #1 fundraising company of any type on Kickstarter, having raised over $57 million on the platform since the debut of Zombicide in 2012. In 2019, CMON launched GUILLOTINE PRESS with the mandate to publish graphic novels and comics based on the best tabletop games in the industry. It’s first campaign became the #1 funded graphic novel at the time on Kickstarter.
Media contacts
Asmodee Entertainment: Vanessa Jack, [email protected]
CMON LTD: [email protected]
