'Marvel's Contest Of Champions' Gets New Comic Series In October

Contest of Champions comic — Maestro, Venom and Gamora are featured on the cover of "Marvel's Contest of Champions No. 1." CNET.com

“Marvel’s Contest of Champions” has proved to be a popular mobile fighting game, thanks to constant game updates and an expanding roster. Now the company has announced that the game will have its own comic series. “Marvel Contest of Champions” will be one of the many ongoing comics that will be released after “Secret Wars,” featuring the writing talents of Al Ewing and the artistic contributions of Paco Medina.

The announcement was made on CNET, where the videogame-turned-comic was discussed extensively. This reportedly will be the first time a comic is created based on a Marvel mobile game, as previous video game tie-in comics like “Rise of the Imperfects” were original storylines that featured characters from the game.

So far, details about the story seem to revolve around what happens when the chosen contestants aren’t fighting each other. The comic will explore how these characters interact and if they try to escape the grasp of the Collector, just like in the mobile game.

This will be an interesting collaboration between Marvel and the game’s developer, Kabam, as the company will occasionally give input and offer storylines for the comic. The partnership has led to an original character for the “Contest of Champions” comic called Guillotine, who possesses a magic sword that dates back to the French Revolution.

Comic Book Resources has found the comic’s cover quite telling, as it seems like the Maestro will play a big role as the villain. The Maestro is an evil version of the Hulk, who comes from an alternate future where he rules all. The character has been playable in the “Contest of Champions” game and should be an interesting foe in the comic.

There also seems to be a fair bit of Marvel continuity in the comic, as Maestro apparently will be part of the Marvel universe after the “Secret Wars” event. Gamora from “Guardians of the Galaxy” also is shown with the powers she obtained in the “Black Vortex” storyline, which was a crossover event that featured the Guardians and the X-Men.

Fans interested in “Contest of Champions” can pick up the comic in October in most retail comic stores, along with other post-“Secret Wars” comics. The “Contest of Champions” game is free for download on iOS and Android devices.