Grail Quest Books is proud to announce that it has teamed with the game company, Decipher INC, to adapt its proprietary science fiction, WARS, into a comic book series and tie-in graphic novellas.

WARS is set in our Solar System during the late 24th century. The Earthers and Gongen are locked in a decade-old civil war, while the Mavericks engage both sides for their benefit. Then a rift in the fabric of the universe opens, allowing two more warring alien cultures to enter the system and increasing the stakes for control of the Solar System.

The comic series will take place in the months leading up to the appearance of The Mumon Rift. “There is a lot of interesting play-up between the three human factions before the celestial tear appears,” says Josh Radke, owner of Grail Quest Books and one of the main writers on the project. ” The Earthers and Gongen are two sides in a bitter war, and Sean and I plan to each focus on a side. The Mavericks–being mostly mercenaries and gangsters–will certainly play a role in the storytelling.”

Sean E Williams, who is also developing an animated series based on WARS‘ Gongen faction, will be writing the opening story arc for the comic book series. Sean will be using the comic title as an opportunity to lead-in to his animated series arc. “The Gongen struggle for independence against the Earthers immediately drew me to them; call it an underdog factor. And the fact they’ve managed to update sword technology and continue to use it in space is just plain cool. Decipher has created an amazing universe in WARS, with endless possibilities for storytelling.”

Collaborating with best-selling science fiction and Star Wars authour, Michael A Stackpole, the WARS story debuted as one of Decipher’s trading card games, the first set which released in October 2004. The property was also developed into a roleplaying game by Mongoose Publishing. Josh always felt that WARS was fertile ground for fictional development, and it was a property that he hoped he would have the opportunity to commercially nurture whenever his goal of owning a publishing company became a reality.

“I am very hard to pick up on science fiction,” Josh points out. “But WARS intrigued me right from the moment Decipher announced their card game five years ago. It has a strong space-fantasy element to it that I really think is the story’s essence. It’s a human conflict of survival through science and technology, sure, but to me the Earther-Gongen civil war is the larger story. Also the Gongen have allies which are certainly beyond science, and when The Rift appears it brings an ‘X factor’ that is nothing to do with physics or tech.”

Known worldwide since 1994 for its acclaimed, best-selling card games for Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, and Star Trek, Josh looks at this project as an opportunity to give something back to a company whose games have played a sizable role in his career success. “I have worked with Decipher’s games in a variety of volunteer capacities through the last decade or so, and I am thrilled to work with them to bring their WARS property to a broader audience of science fiction and fantasy fans. It is a real honour given all the amazing experiences, friends, opportunities, and memories Decipher has provided me through their games thus far. I think I speak for everyone involved when I say that we are all very excited.

More information on the tie-in graphic novellas is forthcoming. Meanwhile, Decipher is very close to releasing its revolutionary new card game, Fight Klub (and when you sign up be sure to mention that “GrailQuestBooks” sent you).