The delightful people at Elden Ring (opens in new tab) developer FromSoftware’s parent company have decided that yes, we deserve a comic—well, Japanese Manga—adaptation of Elden Ring. That parent company is Kadokawa, one of the largest publishers of manga in the world.
So they’ve taken their vast stable of talent and decided to make… a comedy. A gag strip. A goof. A series of laughs. You can read the first two issues, for free, today, via comic-walker. (opens in new tab) The announcement was made on Famitsu. (opens in new tab)
If you’ve never read Japanese comics before, know that you start reading from top right to bottom left, and click the left side of the screen to advance pages. The first two issues are called “You Thought This’d Be Serious, Didn’t You?” and “Probably Maiden.”
Manga fans will be pleased to know that the joking adaptation will be done by Nikiichi Tobita, the creator of equally-goofy fantasy comic A Cursed Sword’s Daily Life. If you’ve read any of that one, well, it’s a perfect match: It’s also a comic that turns a dark fantasy world into a comedy.
The debut issues are absolutely packed with gags both fourth wall breaking and in-game. “It’s just a lot of new proper nouns here,” says the confused protagonist at one point, perfectly mimicking the attitude of new FromSoft game players everywhere. (Of which, in Elden Ring’s case, there are a lot. (opens in new tab))
So if you’re down for a comic about armored knights kicking some dimwit into orbit, or a horse that’s into firm thighs, or a lady who’s very frustrated at the limited selection of companions she’s got available, or Elden Ring generally, go ahead and check it out over on comic-walker. (opens in new tab) The English releases will come alongside the Japanese, with the next issue set for September 19th.
In other Elden Ring news, there’s 800-pages of official art books (opens in new tab) on the way. Those are Japanese only for now, but expect English eventually because Elden Ring is undeniably a massive, massive hit that’ll prove influential for years to come. Our Tyler Colp is already saying that Elden Ring is the new Skyrim (opens in new tab), citing developers who’ve talked about how the game has already changed their in-progress games.