The long-dormant Legacy of Kain franchise is officially expanding with an announced graphic novel prequel entitled Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Crystal Dynamics is launching a Kickstarter campaign to support the project, which follows Kain’s one-time lieutenant Raziel before the events of the Soul Reaver game. In over twenty years, its endearing fanbase is still clamoring for new content, the book sparks a new hope for solid readership.
Digging Deeper into Legacy of Kain
The new material intends to follow Raziel’s time as a human vampire hunter, leading up to his transformation into a vampire and his conscription into vampire lord Kain’s army. Crystal Dynamics has also hinted at the inclusion of a new vampire character with “deep connections to Raziel and Kain”.
There’s no shortage of material for the creative team to work with. As an elite warrior-priest in the Sarafan vampire hunting order, Raziel rose through the ranks to become Head Inquisitor. A millennium after his death, Kain resurrected Raziel to lead his conquering army of vampires, transforming him into the creature he had devoted his life to hunting. With his memories of a human life out of reach, Raziel followed Kain faithfully, until Kain’s betrayal again cost him his life.
With much of these details alluded to in the events of the series’ second game, Soul Reaver, the graphic novel will get to explore them in much greater detail. The rich lore surrounding the world of Nosgoth and its warring sects, species, and factions promise a deep well of narrative to draw from for the upcoming publication. The last Legacy of Kain game was 2003’s Defiance, the third installment in the series. While a compendium of lore has been collected in the interim, fans will finally get to experience the connective tissue between the first and second games.
As novel as this development is, it’s not the first time the Kain franchise has been put into comic form. Accompanying one-shot promotional comics released in conjunction with Soul Reaver and Defiance utilized material not included in the published games, expanding on or recapping major events in the series. The Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver comic illuminates the moments preceding that game’s opening cinematic, depicting Raziel receiving a prophetic warning from a construct of the Elder Gods.
The Future of the Franchise
Collaborating with Bit Bot Media (in their first print-publishing effort), Crystal Dynamics is preparing to roll out their Kickstarter at an unspecified future date. While the graphic novel is a exciting announcement for fans of the series, many players have continued to speculate about the possibility of a new Legacy of Kain game, either as a remake or an expansion. Embracer Group’s acquisition of the franchise and 2022 poll probing for interest in it was met with an overwhelming and positive response, and a seemingly unintentional branding reveal at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con seems to indicate that the IP may be getting a new lease on life.
The Legacy of Kain graphic novel brings together writers Joshua Viola (True Believers) and Angie Hodapp (Unioverse), interior artist Juan Samu (Godzilla, Star Wars), cover artists Dave Rapoza (Destiny, Magic: The Gathering) and Aaron Lovett (Monster Train), and letterer Jeremiah Lambert (Masters of the Universe). Artists Jonny Bush (Rob Zombie) and Ninja Jo (Stranger Things) will also contribute, with Brent Friedman (Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Call of Duty) lending additional narrative stewardship.
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