The Three Beasts Vol. 1 Unleashes Three Friends, Three Fathers, and One Three-Faced Nightmare

Sometimes the scariest beast ain’t the three-headed hydra standing in front of you. Sometimes it’s the shadow of your father standing behind you.

Maverick, the YA imprint of Mad Cave Studios, is bringing the heat with THE THREE BEASTS VOL. 1, a bold 256-page fantasy epic from debut creator Grovey Pascasio that swings big with dragons, legacy, rebellion, queer identity, and the messy pressure of becoming who you are when everyone else already decided who you’re supposed to be.

Set in an alternate late-19th-century Philippines, the story pulls inspiration from Kapampangan, Tagalog, Tausug, Meranaw, and other Philippine cultures, building a world that feels rich, personal, and ready to roar. Ten years after the legendary Great Tamers turned the giant hydra Matutum from monster into peacekeeper, their children — Dima, Espie, and Keris — are expected to prove they’re worthy successors.

Easy, right? Nah, fam. Not when pride, legacy, fear, and family expectations start swinging harder than the beast itself. With blades drawn and old legacies burning behind them, these three friends must decide whether they’re here to inherit the past… or destroy the parts of it that tried to cage them.

Packed with draconic action, expressive character design, woodcut-inspired visuals, intimate friendship, queer coming-of-age fire, and a lush Filipino fantasy setting, THE THREE BEASTS VOL. 1 looks ready to hit readers right in the heart and then stomp through the bookshelf like a hydra with something to prove.

For fans of Nimona, The Prince and the Dressmaker, Witchy, and The Well, this one ain’t just fantasy. It’s family pressure, friendship, identity, rebellion, and monster-sized emotion all in one beastly package.

The Three Beasts Vol. 1 goes on sale October 27, 2026, in paperback (ISBN: 9781545827635 | $14.99) and hardcover (ISBN: 9781545836026 | $21.99) formats, and is now available for preorder at your local bookstore and from Maverickgraphicnovels.com.

Maverick is the Mad Cave Studios YA imprint dedicated to authentic graphic novels about identity, independence, and the personal struggles that shape who we become.

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