Mad Cave Studios Opens the Cosmic Door With SUNDER #1, Magic, Monsters, and Big Galaxy-Sized Adventure

A goat-looking orphan, a forbidden monastery, a magical book, and a universe full of trouble? Yeah, SUNDER came to play.

Mad Cave Studios is inviting readers to step into the wild, weird, monster-packed world of SUNDER, one issue at a time, and trust me, mi gente, this one sounds like it rolled out of a fantasy dream, crashed into a sci-fi galaxy, and said, “Nah, we’re not doing boring today.”

Originally released as a graphic novel, Sunder Vol. 1: Small Beginnings is making its way to comic shops this fall as an individual issue series from creator Pierre-Alexandre Comtois, with colors by Mark Englert and letters by Buddy Beaudoin. That means new readers can jump in fresh, while returning fans get to experience the adventure in that classic monthly comic rhythm. You know the vibe: one issue, one cliffhanger, one reason to keep stalking the comic shop shelves like a hungry goblin with store credit.

At the center of SUNDER is Zeek, a goat-looking orphan living inside a monastery on the far edges of the galaxy. And right away, you already know something ain’t right. Zeek has been told he can never leave the monastery grounds, but nobody seems eager to explain why. That’s always suspicious. That’s not “for your own good.” That’s “somebody is hiding a whole intergalactic mess in the basement.”

So Zeek spends his days caring for the library, reading and transcribing books filled with heroes, quests, legends, monsters, and impossible adventures. The painful twist? He’s surrounded by stories but denied the chance to live one. Oof. That hits. That’s like being locked inside a pizza shop and only allowed to smell the pepperoni. Criminal behavior.

Then one day, everything changes when a magical book appears in the library and attaches itself to him. Not “falls near him.” Not “gets checked out under his name.” Nah, fam. It attaches itself to him. That’s when the universe kicks the door open and says, “Zeek, pack your emotional baggage, we got monsters to meet.”

Magic. Sci-fi. Adventure. Monsters. Cosmic mystery. That’s the world of SUNDER.

And the creative DNA here is loud in the best way. Comtois describes the series as a massive blend of everything he loves across movies, animation, comics, and video games. Think The Lord of the Rings, The Dark Crystal, and Dark Souls walking into a room with Pitt, Berserk, Bone, Pumpkinhead, and Krull, then somebody flips the lights off and yells, “Make it epic.” That’s not a pitch, that’s a buffet for fantasy heads with strong ankles and emotional damage.

SUNDER #1 also arrives with variant covers by Daniele Serra and Christian Ward, along with a foil variant and blank sketch cover for the collectors, the cover hunters, and the folks who say, “I’m only buying one copy,” then leave the shop with four. We see you. We are you.

Whether you’re discovering SUNDER for the first time or coming back to experience it in single-issue form, this series looks ready to deliver that big adventure energy: strange creatures, dangerous discoveries, mystery, heart, and a whole lot of cosmic wonder.

So yeah, Crusaders, keep your eyes on this one. SUNDER is bringing magic to the stars, monsters to the mission, and Zeek might just be the next unlikely hero you didn’t know you needed.

Because sometimes the smallest beginnings lead to the biggest adventures. And sometimes the goat kid with the haunted library book is the one who saves the whole damn galaxy.

Sunder #1 goes on sale September 30, 2026, with Final Order Cut-off September 7, and is now available for preorder through your local comic shop and on the Mad Cave Studios website.

Stay up to date with Mad Cave Studios—and its imprints Papercutz, Maverick, and Nakama Press on social media, or visit www.madcavestudios.com to explore new releases, licensed series, and creator-owned titles.