When games have a dedicated fan base and a complex game world, more often than not they branch out into other mediums to expand on their stories. These can encompass books, comics, and even films, and serve as a chance for gamers to engage with the games they love in-depth. Dead Space, the sci-fi horror franchise, is one of these medium-spanning examples and covers multiple titles, two films, books, and a comic book series.
Developed by EA Redwood Shores — which later became Visceral Games before it closed in 2017 — Dead Space was the original brainchild of series creators Glen Schofield and Michael Condrey. The games quickly became classics in the genre, transplanting the traditionally eerie and atmospheric tropes of survival horror into outer space, as players explore an abandoned mining vessel. The comic series serves as a prequel to the main story of the games, and is key for any fans who want to wring all the narrative juices they can from the franchise.
What Happens In The Dead Space Comics
In 2008, Image Comics published a miniseries of six issues, which were later compiled into a graphic novel and detailed the five weeks leading up to the destruction of a space colony on the planet Aegis VII, before the first Dead Space game. Alongside an animated film titled Dead Space: Downfall, the limited series expanded the story of the first game and became a multimedia narrative known as "IP cubed." The comic series was written by Antony Johnston (whose other work includes Wasteland), and illustrated by Ben Templesmith. Critics praised the miniseries, noting its suitably dark atmosphere and narrative tension as each issue built towards the finale.
The comics detail the discovery of a monolithic artifact by an illegal mining operation on the planet Aegis VII funded by Unitology — a religious movement that believes humans were created by the intelligent design of a divine alien agency. The basis for this antagonistic religion is the Markers, which are mysterious objects with unknown origins and purposes. The Unitology-funded outfit on Aegis VII believes the artifact they discover is a Marker, but as the story unfolds the mysterious object begins to have a sinister effect on the colony.
At first, colonists experience strange and unexplained symptoms like insomnia and hallucinations, but these eventually develop into madness and even homicidal violence. The Unitoligists on-site refused to stop worshipping the so-called sacred Marker, and tensions among the colonists escalate. A ship called the USG Ishimura removes the Marker, but even as it leaves the planet's surface, the ominous occurrences do not abate.
Colonists are driven mad, strange organic matter is found in vents, and soon corpses start to reanimate as mutated Necromorphs. Chaos ensues, as the colony is all but wiped out after more and more Necromorphs are created and the captain of the USG Ishimura refuses to help any of the potentially infected colonists escape.
How The Comics Leads Into The Dead Space Games
The comics cover the earliest point in the Dead Space timeline and show how human greed to uncover resources to combat Earth's own diminishing assets leads to deadly consequences. Once it picks up the Marker, the Ishimura faces the same Necromorph infestation as the planet's surface, and slowly the entire crew is overcome by the insidious antagonists. Onboard the ship is Nicole Brennan, the girlfriend of series protagonist Isaac Clarke, who sends a message to him that leads to his arrival on the Ishimura and the discovery of the horrors for himself.
This leads nicely into the events of the first Dead Space game and sets up the continuing action of the two following titles of Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. Isaac begins his fight against the Necromorphs, which not only costs him the people he loves but also contributes to his deteriorating mental state as he combats the dread of the creatures and the trauma of his experiences. A remake of the first game was confirmed in July of this year by EA who have added that it is under development at Motive Studios.
The Dead Space remake releases in late 2022 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.