Unioverse Inks Deal With Hex Publishers to Tie-In Anthology and Comic Book Series

Random Games, the innovative startup behind the Unioverse entertainment franchise, today announced a partnership with independent sci-fi and horror genre publishing company Hex Publishers to create a Unioverse tie-in fiction anthology of short stories and poetry, as well as a comic book series.

The Unioverse is an epic original science fiction story, videogame series, and platform for user-generated creativity launched this year by a team of gaming and entertainment industry veterans behind titles such as Grand Theft Auto, Donkey Kong Country, and Crackdown. Set in the near future, the Unioverse story centers around a technology discovered on Mars that allows anyone to instantly transport their consciousness across galaxies. The narrative direction of the Unioverse is led by Brent Friedman, a master storyteller whose previous credits include writing on Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Walking Dead, Call of Duty, and Star Trek: Enterprise.

Stories of the Reconvergence, edited by Angie Hodapp and Joshua Viola, will showcase short stories and poetry set in and inspired by the Unioverse from some of today’s most popular genre-fiction writers, including:

• Stephen Graham Jones, New York Times bestseller, Bram Stoker Award winner, Ray Bradbury Prize winner (Earthdivers, My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Only Good Indians)
• Linda D. Addison, Bram Stoker Award winner, Horror Writers Association (HWA) Lifetime Achievement Award winner (Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Predator: Eyes of the Demon)
• Kevin J. Anderson, National and international bestseller (Dune, Spine of the Dragon, Star Wars, X-Files, Zombie P.I.)

Each story will also feature its own original Unioverse artwork created by concept artist Stuart Jennett (Battlestar Galactica, Star Citizen, Warhammer), and the book will have cover art by Aaron Lovett (Cyber World, Inkbound, Monster Train). Stories of the Reconvergence will be published in Summer of 2023.

“A franchise as ambitious as the Unioverse is ripe for multi-platform storytelling,” said Joshua Viola, Founder of Hex Publishers and Editor, Writer and Creative Director on the Unioverse anthology and comics. “The anthology will deepen the lore of the Unioverse and open it up to diverse storytelling, while the comic books provide rich art and a perfect starting point for fans just beginning their Unioverse journey.”

In addition to the anthology, Hex is leading the creation of a series of six comic books that introduce the initial five Unioverse heroes that people will be able to play in Unioverse videogames. The series is written by Hex Publishers Founder and Colorado Book Award winner Joshua Viola and Angie Hodapp, Director of Literary Development at Nelson Literary Agency, with interior art by Ben Matsuya (Cryowulf, Jupiter Jet), cover art by AJ Nazzaro (Hearthstone, Overwatch) and a variant cover by Tyler Kirkham (DC, Marvel). The first comic, titled Unioverse: Reyu, will be available digitally in Spring of 2023.

“This anthology and comic series are just the beginning for Unioverse storytelling,” said Tony Harman, Co-Founder and CEO of Random Games. “Not only will we develop more stories with established authors and artists, the Unioverse platform will help us discover and promote the next generation of talent.”

This partnership with Hex Publishers follows the recent launch of the Unioverse and Random Games, which announced last month $7.6 million in seed funding led by Resolute Ventures and Asymmetric, with participation from IGNIA, 2 Punks Capital, ID345, Polygon, and notable game-developer David Jones (Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto).

Complete list of Stories of the Reconvergence writers:

• Mario Acevedo • National bestseller, Colorado Book Award winner
  • Killing the Cobra, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats, X-Rated Blood Suckers, University of Doom
• Linda D. Addison • Bram Stoker Award winner, Horror Writers Association (HWA) Lifetime Achievement Award winner
  • Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Predator: Eyes of the Demon, The Place of Broken Things
• Kevin J. Anderson • National and international bestseller
  • Dune, Spine of the Dragon, Star Wars, X-Files, Zombie P.I.
• Andy Baker
  • The 7th Portal, The Accuser, The Backstreet Project, House of the Dead
• Carina Bissett • Colorado Book Award winner
  • HWA Poetry Showcase, Shadow Atlas, Upon a Twice Time
• Kenneth W. Cain • Splatterpunk Award finalist
  • Darker Days, Embers, A Season in Hell, Tales from the Lake
• Kevin Dilmore • Amazing Stories, Famous Monsters of Filmland, Rainbow Bright, Star Trek, The Village Voice
• Sean Eads • Colorado Book Award finalist, Lambda Literary Award finalist, Shirley Jackson Award finalist
  • Classic Monsters Unleashed, It Came from the Multiplex, Lord Byron’s Prophecy, Nightmares Unhinged, Shadow Atlas
• Brent Friedman • Call of Duty, Halo 4, League of Legends, Star Trek: Enterprise, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Walking Dead
• Maxwell I. Gold • Rhysling Award nominee
  • Bleeding Rainbows and Other Broken Spectrums, Oblivion in Flux, Shadow Atlas
• Warren Hammond • Colorado Book Award winner
  • Denver Moon, It Came from the Multiplex, KOP, Nightmares Unhinged, Shadow Atlas, Tides of Maritinia
• Angie Hodapp • Colorado Book Award finalist
  • Cyber World, False Faces, It Came from the Multiplex, Shadow Atlas, Tooth & Claw
• Jamal Hodge • Vanguard Award winner
  • Chiral Mad 5, Penumbric Magazine, Space and Time Magazine
• Akua Lezli Hope • Elgin Award winner, Writer’s Digest Award winner
  • NOMBONO, Otherwheres, Them Gone
• Gabino Iglesias • Bram Stoker Award nominee, Locus Award nominee, Wonderland Book Award winner
  • Zero Saints, Coyote Songs
• Stephen Graham Jones • New York Times bestseller, Bram Stoker Award winner, Ray Bradbury Prize
  • Earthdivers, My Heart is a Chainsaw, The Only Good Indians
• Matthew Kressel • Nebula Award finalist, World Fantasy Award finalist
  • King of Shards, Queen of Static
• Lee Murray • Bram Stoker Award winner
  • Grotesque: Monster Stories, The Path of Ra, The Taine McKenna Adventures
• Wyeth Ridgway • Game Developer
  • Lord of the Rings, Pirates of the Caribbean, South Park, Terminator
• Jeanne C. Stein • bestselling author of the Anna Strong Vampire Chronicles
• Joshua Viola • Denver Post bestseller, Colorado Book Award winner, Splatterpunk Award nominee
  • The Bane of Yoto, Blackstar, Classic Monsters Unleashed, Cyber World, Denver Moon, It Came from the Multiplex, Nightmares Unhinged, Pirates of the Caribbean, Shadow Atlas, Target: Terror
• Tim Waggoner • Bram Stoker Award winner, Shirley Jackson Award finalist
  • Alien, Halloween Kills, Resident Evil, Supernatural
• Dayton Ward • New York Times bestseller
  • 24, Mars Attacks, Planet of the Apes, Star Trek
• Carter Wilson • USA Today bestseller, Colorado Book Award winner
  • The Comfort of Black, The Dead Girl in 2A, The Dead Husband, Mister Tender’s Girl
• Jezzy Wolfe
  • Insidious Assassins, Monstrum Poetica, Shallow Waters, Zippered Flesh
• Jane Yolen • Nebula Award winner, World Fantasy Award winner
  • The Devil’s Arithmetic, Lost Girls, Owl Moon, Sister Emily’s Lightship
• Alvaro Zinos-Amaro • Hugo Award finalist, Locus Award finalist
  • Equimedian, Traveler of Worlds: Conversations with Robert Silverberg, When the Blue Shift Comes