Over the years, Wizards has tried a lot of different methods when it comes to telling the story of Magic: The Gathering. We’ve seen traditional novels, online articles, videos, and much in between. Every now and then, we’ve also seen graphic novels, expanding Magic’s beloved art into full-page spreads. It’s been a couple of years since we were last treated to one of these, but it looks like the drought is over. Today, Dark Horse Comics announced MTG Stories Untold – Elspeth, a brand-new graphic novel series.
Starting later this year, this series will cover what Elspeth was up to during the events of Theros Beyond Death. Interestingly, this will include material taken from stories written at the time, but never published due to internal issues. For anyone invested in Magic’s story who felt robbed of content back then, this new series is a Godsend. For those outside of this category, the potential for spicy new promos may be a draw all on its own.
MTG Untold Stories – Elspeth
Announced in an article from IGN, MTG Untold Stories – Elspeth is a new graphic novel series from Dark Horse Comics. This isn’t the first time they’ve released comics based on Magic, but it is the first since the new Wizards/Dark Horse partnership was announced last year.
The series will follow Elspeth’s journey during the events of Theros Beyond Death. This is a journey that, crucially, players never got to properly witness the first time around. At the time, Wizards was tweaking its approach to Magic’s story, which resulted in the Beyond Death content being delayed and ultimately cancelled. In fact, a full novelization of the story by Dan Wells was completed, but never published or released.
With this series, Wizards and Dark Horse can correct this past injustice. Speaking to IGN, Senior MTG Story Lead Roy Graham had the following to say about the new series:
“We can’t wait to finally tell the story of Theros: Beyond Death. Our fans and dedicated readers have wanted to see Elspeth’s escape from the underworld brought to life since the iconic set was first released and working with Dark Horse to make it happen is a dream come true.”
Roy Graham, via IGN
The announcement article confirms that this will be a four-issue miniseries. It also confirms a release date for the first issue: September 10th, 2025. Elspeth fans won’t have long to wait before they can sink their teeth into a new (old) chapter of her story.
This news is exciting enough in itself, but there may be even more to come. ‘MTG Untold Stories’ appears to be a broader title for a series, not specific to just Elspeth. This means we could see Dark Horse adaptations of other unpublished story material from the past, perhaps content fans aren’t even aware of. Alternatively, Dark Horse could take a ‘filling in the gaps’ approach, and publish stories that slot in between other published material. Either way, it’s great news for any Vorthos’ out there.
A History Of (Graphic) Violence
MTG Untold Stories – Elspeth is certainly an interesting proposition, but it’s far from the first time Magic has waded into the world of graphic novels. We’ve seen several different attempts to translate the game’s characters and world onto the inky page over the years.
The first to take this challenge on was Armada Comics. It released a wide range of comics based on old-school Magic sets between 1995 and 1996. These included Arabian Nights, Legends, Ice Age, and others. It was a solid run, all things considered, and some prolific MTG artists like Rebecca Guay were involved with the art side of things.
In 1998, Dark Horse took its first stab at Magic graphic novels. Its four-part ‘Gerrard’s Quest’ series covered the titular hero’s exploits during the Weatherlight Saga. This miniseries approach was something we’d see time and again with MTG comics. IDW released two such series, based on Dack Fayden and Chandra, in 2012 and 2018, respectively. The Dack Fayden series was notable for including special alternate-art promo cards, such as this now-ubiquitous take on Faithless Looting.
Boom! Comics has the most recent take on Magic graphic novels, going back to a longer-form approach with its series covering the War of the Spark arc. This was released from 2021-2023, and unfortunately, didn’t come with any promos this time around.
With all of this history, Dark Horse’s new series has a lot to live up to. Hopefully, it can finally establish a solid foothold for Magic graphic novels, and they can become a regular part of the game’s story pipeline. If they can include some sweet promos too, so much the better.
Stick with us here at mtgrocks.com: the best site for Magic: The Gathering coverage!