DIE: Loaded #1
(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Stephanie Hans
DIE returns for an epic new story of a dark fantasy adventure game gone horrifically right or wonderfully wrong. A year after their return from the hellish game world, the players gather for Chuck’s wake. They’ve finished with the game. The game isn’t finished with them. The three-time Hugo Award-nominated series is back in November. Get ready to roll initiative. Who’s going to DIE this time?
Dive into the imagination of one of comics’ most ambitious and creative minds with Humble Bundle‘s Kieron Gillen bundle! The collection includes complete sets of Gillen’s best series: The Wicked + The Divine gives a contemporary spin to ancient mythology from around the world. Die follows a group of friends attempting to free their comrade from a roleplaying game. Britpop-influenced Phonogram follows magicians who use music to alter reality. And that’s barely the tip of the iceberg! As always, choose what you want to pay for this great bundle, and a portion of the proceeds will go to BINC to help bookstores and comic stores with their emergency needs.
Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans return to the hellish TTRPG world of Die in their new series Die Loaded #1. It’s definitely helpful to be familiar with the previous series, but in gaming parlance, this first issue is “new player friendly” and slowly unravels the lore and relationships from Die. Die Loaded is a dark fantasy/horror series, but it’s also grounded in authentic, real world relationships. The main focus for this launch issue is Ash, who is a female Dictator in the game world, but is a nonbinary person in the real world and dealing with becoming a father and good partner to their wife Sophie, who had a child while they were trapped in the game. Gillen writes the majority of the issue from their POV as they adapt to a “normal life” after a great crisis although that normal life happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. He and Hans use parenting as the initial throughline for the series, but things definitely get fantastical later on.
From page 1, Die Loaded felt like being reunited with an old friend who I thought I’d never see again: Dominic Ash. In previous articles, I’ve mentioned my connection to the character and their complex relationship with their gender identity and nostalgia in the fantasy genre. So, it’s cool to see them take on the unexpected role of “Daddy” and navigate an even more complicated relationship with their partner Sophie because they definitely don’t reveal 100% of what happened in Die to them. Kieron Gillen’s narrative captions for Ash are downright confessional and add an extra dimension to a seemingly mundane of a couple getting ready for a night out, which is Chuck’s (The Fool from Die and a wealthy fantasy author.) wake. I felt so seen when Ash mentioned putting their “gender bullshit” on hold to deal with other things in their life.
The social maze that Ash and Sophie must traverse is just as frightening as any fantasy quest, and Stephanie Hans’ use of shadow and color gives the function a sinister vibe as she and Gillen check in with various characters and their families/partners from the previous series. She makes the real world feel like a dissociative episode using more straightforward shots and layouts for friendly encounters and more askew one for conflicted ones. Hans’ palette in Die Loaded is muted compared to the majestic fantasy or Gothic horror of some sequences in Die. Her choice of color and lighting almost screams for normalcy. She and Kieron Gillen pace the wake scene like any massive social gathering where you have close relationships with some folks, dislike others, and are intrigued/overwhelmed by others.
Kicking off Die Loaded with a wake is an ingenious piece of storytelling from Gillen and Hans as the various old/new characters reacquainting themselves with each other mirrors readers coming back to a series that made an impact on them, but it’s been a few years. The focus on Ash and Sophie’s dynamic as partners and parents is a wonderfully mature hook for the series before it goes into Goth Jumanji chaos, and it gives a freshness to the sequel instead of going the Die Harder route. I feel both blessed and cursed (In an in-universe kind of way.) to return to this world.
Die Loaded #1 is on sale November 12, 2025.
Story: Kieron Gillen Art: Stephanie Hans Letters: Clayton Cowles
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.4 Overall: 9.2 Recommendation: Buy
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Pre-Order: Kindle
The Power Fantasy #12
(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Caspar Wijngaard
That Etienne Lux guy, eh? He’s an interesting fella. What’s going on with him? Also, %@$!ing chaos fallout from issue 11. Seriously, we’re just throwing handfuls at poop at every fan we see, then demanding more poop and more fans. More poop! More fans!
The Eisner Award nominated The Power Fantasy by multiple award winning writer Kieron Gillen and fan-favorite artist Caspar Wijngaard, and published by Image Comics, will kick off a pulse-pounding new story arc with issue #12 next month. This new chapter will center around the enigmatic Etienne Lux character.
In The Power Fantasy #12, readers are drawn deeper into the chaos of Etienne Lux’s world—where the stakes are high and the consequences unimaginable. The issue opens with a gripping new development, brought on by the fallout of previous betrayals and power plays, and sets the stage for unpredictable confrontations to come.
Gillen and Wijngaard’s The Power Fantasy is a Cuban Missile Crisis scenario reimagined through a cracked mirror of superhuman paranoia and ideological brinkmanship—except instead of nuclear warheads, the world teeters on the edge of annihilation at the hands of the weaponized superpowered few.
Locked in a deadly chess match over ideology and survival, The Power Fantasy builds a world where superpowered beings are the arms race—living warheads of ego, trauma, and propaganda.
The Power Fantasy‘s characters are trapped in a zero-sum game where escalation is easier than empathy, and every move risks planetary fallout. Trust is a luxury, diplomacy is performance, and every moment is a gamble with extinction.
The Power Fantasy #12 Cover A by Wijngaard (Lunar Code 0825IM0300) and The Power Fantasy #12 Cover B by Chloe Brailsford (Lunar Code 0825IM0300) will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, October 8.
Closer
(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Steve Lieber
It starts with birds materializing. It’ll end with the death of the heavens. Cosmic horror you can dance to in a one-off apocalypse romance from Kieron Gillen (The Wicked + The Divine, The Power Fantasy), Steve Lieber (The Fix, Superman’s Pal, Jimmy Olsen) and Tamra Bonvillain (Once & Future).
Image Comics has revealed a first look at Die: Loaded—Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans‘ highly anticipated return to the beloved Die series. This brand new chapter will invite fans back to the series this November, being published by Image Comics.
Alongside this spectacular new issue, will be The Die RPG Quickstart Game Guide, by Gillen and Hans (Lunar Code 0925IM0268)—released simultaneously in November—for fans interested in trying out the Origin Award winning Die RPG in a standalone and inexpensive format. It includes everything needed to play—rules, characters and a multi-session scenario fans need to play. Just add dice, friends, and a desire to get sucked into a game.
A year after the hellish game world events of Die #20, the players reunite in Die: Loaded to gather for Chuck’s wake. They’ve finished with the game. But the game isn’t finished with them. Get ready to roll initiative. Who’s going to DIE this time?
Over the course of its original run, Die topped Image Comics’ sales charts, with multiple distributor-level sellouts and strong reorder activity fueling its rise. Often described as “goth Jumanji,” the series has gained a cult following since its 2019 debut.
Die: Loaded #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, November 12:
Power Fantasy #11
(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Caspar Wijngaard
We said this is a comic where fighting was the lose state. We’ve kept that promise. We didn’t say anything about murder.
Bestselling We Called Them Giants juggernauts Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans will return to the twisted RPG realm of Die in an all-new story arc, Die: Loaded. The brand new campaign will invite fans back to the British Fantasy Award winning, three-time Hugo Award nominated Image Comics series this November.
Alongside this spectacular new issue, will be TheDie RPG Quickstart Game Guide, by Gillen and Hans—released simultaneously in November—for fans interested in trying out the Origin Award winning Die RPG in a standalone and inexpensive format. It includes everything needed to play—rules, characters and a multi-session scenario fans need to play. Just add dice, friends, and a desire to get sucked into a game.
A year after the hellish game world events of Die #20, the players reunite in Die: Loaded to gather for Chuck’s wake. They’ve finished with the game. But the game isn’t finished with them. Get ready to roll initiative. Who’s going to DIE this time?
Die: Loaded #1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, November 12:
The Power Fantasy #10
(W) Kieron Gillen (A) Caspar Wijngaard
In Shops: Jul 09, 2025
SRP: $3.99
Find out what happened when the Pyramid went to hell (complimentary) and how it makes the present day go to hell (derogatory). Come celebrate THE POWER FANTASY’s triumphant, celebratory tenth issue (issue 10 is issue 100 in old money).
