The Last of Us: American Dreams Comic Explores Ellie’s Origins

On October 12, 2012 in New York City, at a panel during New York Comic Con, Dark Horse Comics and Naughty Dog announced The Last of Us: American Dreams. We are stoked to be working with Dark Horse and really excited to reveal the first details about the prequel to the public. To the right is the first promotional image for the comic book series (click for full-size).

The Last of Us: American Dreams is a four issue comic book series that peels back the layers on the early days of Ellie as it dives into her backstory. It will expose her personality and the motivations that drive her as it explores the first steps of the journey that leads to becoming the character we ultimately meet in the game.

The series will be made by collaboration between Naughty Dog Creative Director Neil Druckmann, artist and writer Faith Erin Hicks, and colorist Christina Strain. Neil and Faith will be co-writers on the project and Faith will be doing the drawing while Christina handles the coloring duties.

Naughty Dog Creative Director and Co-Writer on the series, Neil Druckmann, had this to say about the comic books:

“Because we haven’t finished the game yet, we’ve been able to weave some of those threads into the story of the game.”

“I wanted to see a story that can stand on its own, so if you’ve never played the game you’d still be able to read this comic and get an intriguing story with these characters but, at the same time, if you do read this comic book and you play the game, you should get greater depth, a greater understanding of these characters and the world and what’s going on with them. The other cool thing is that working on the comic book has helped me develop more of Ellie’s backstory. Because we haven’t finished the game yet, we’ve been able to weave some of those threads into the story of the game. So there are certain parts as you play the game, if you’ve read the comic book, you’ll understand what Ellie’s referring to, or have a deeper understanding of what made her make that decision.”

Additionally, Faith recently posted up early concept art she did for Ellie:

You can see more of Faith’s awesome concept sketches for The Last of Us: American Dreams version of Ellie along with her thoughts on what makes a good video game comic book over on her Tumblr page.

In addition to the comic book series, Dark Horse Comics will be publishing the The Last of Us art book that explores the characters, the infected humans, and the highly detailed, rich world of the game. We will have more information about the art book over coming months.

The Last of Us art book will be released in conjunction with the launch of the game in 2013. The Last of Us: American Dreams comic book series will be coming out in spring 2013. We’ll have additional updates including cover reveals for the comic book issues as they are ready. If you want a complete look into the world of The Last of Us the art book is a must-have. If you want additional insight into Ellie’s character (and a good story to boot) don’t miss this comic series. We can’t wait to share more information with you as it becomes available!