Dark Horse Comics has acquired the rights to the Magic: The Gathering franchise, and they'll be publishing a new line of books in the months and years to come. We've got an exclusive first look at the cover art to Dark Horse's first Magic series, dubbed Magic: The Gathering: Untold Stories - Elspeth.
Check out the slideshow gallery below for a closer look at the cover art to this new four-issue miniseries:
Magic: The Gathering: Untold Stories - Elspeth is an adaptation of an unpublished story from the Theros Beyond Death expansion. The series is written by Dan Watters (of the recently announced TMNT: Shredder series) and illustrated by Owen Gieni (Manifest Destiny, Rat Queens). The creative team also includes colorist Hilary Jenkins and letterer Clayton Cowles.
Here's Dark Horse's official summary for the series:
Elspeth is dead. But her story is not yet over.
The sun god Heliod, having grown envious of his champion, struck her down to the underworld. There, she is forced to relive the worst moments of her life for all eternity. But Elspeth does not submit to despair—she emerges from each conflict a greater hero than before. And for a great hero like Elspeth, what is death but another challenge to overcome?
“I'm so honoured to illustrate the story of these great characters and lore," said Gieni in a statement. "And Dan’s scripts are absolutely amazing, legitimately brilliant stuff. The only request I gave him at the start was to give me some of those epic Theros gods and monsters to draw, and he fully delivered with a vengeance! Killer stuff that I think MtG fans are gonna love.”
Magic: The Gathering - Final Fantasy Starter Kit
"Elspeth’s journey has always resonated deeply with our fans and bringing her untold story to life in this exciting new format has been a real creative highlight for us,” said Jackie Jones, Vice President of Creative for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast. “Working with Dark Horse and this phenomenal team of artists and writers, we’re thrilled to give players and readers a deeper look into one of Magic’s most iconic heroes.”
"We can't wait to finally tell the story of Theros: Beyond Death,” said Roy Graham, Senior Story Lead for Magic: The Gathering at Wizards of the Coast. “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.”
Magic: The Gathering: Untold Stories - Elspeth #1 will be released on September 10, 2025.
In other Magic: The Gathering news, we got a new look at some of the cards featured in the hotly anticipated Final Fantasy expansion.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
