View source for MediEvil: The Game Prequel

{{about|the comic|the unrealised game concept that it is based on|MediEvil 3: Fate's Arrow}}
{{Infobox publication
|image = MediEvilTheGamePrequel-CoverArt.jpeg
|author= [[Chris Sorrell]]<br>[[Jason Wilson]]
|pages=48
|country=United Kingdom
|published=October 25, 2019 (Digital Deluxe)<br>December 3, 2019 (Titan Comics)<br>April 1, 2021 (Editoriale Cosmo)
|language=English (Digital Deluxe, Titan Comics)<br>Italian (Digital Deluxe, Editoriale Cosmo)<br>German (Digital Deluxe)<br>French (Digital Deluxe)
|tagline = Some things never die!
|publisher=Titan Comics (English)<br>Editoriale Cosmo (Italian)
|binding=Hardback
|isbn10=1787734196 (Titan Comics)<br>8869119475 (Editoriale Cosmo)
|isbn13=978-1787734197 (Titan Comics)<br>978-8869119477 (Editoriale Cosmo)
|serials = CUSA-16012 (America)<br>CUSA-16078 (Europe)
}}
'''''MediEvil: The Game Prequel''''', also known as '''''MediEvil: The Comic Prequel'''''<ref name="Amazon">{{Cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/MediEvil-Chris-Sorrell/dp/1787734196/|site=Amazon|title=MediEvil|published=December 3, 2019}}</ref>, '''''MediEvil: Fate's Arrow'''''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/gunncomics/status/1162379594101641216|title=‘MediEvil: Fate’s Arrow.’|author=Jason Wilson|published=16 August 2019|site=Twitter}}</ref>, as well as '''''MediEvil: The Battle of Gallowmere''''' in Italy,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.editorialecosmo.it/product/product-9976/|title=MEDIEVIL – LA BATTAGLIA DI GALLOWMERE|site=Editoriale Cosmo}}</ref> is a one-shot comic that serves both as a direct sequel to ''[[MediEvil 2]]'' and a prequel to ''[[MediEvil]]''. A digital animated version of the comic was released on October 25, 2019 as part of the ''Digital Deluxe'' edition of the ''[[MediEvil (2019)|MediEvil]]''[[MediEvil (2019)| remake]]. A physical hardback edition was released on December 3, 2019 by Titan Comics, with some retailers stocking it early.
==Official description==
''MediEvil: The Comic Prequel'' tells the story of [[Sir Daniel Fortesque]] after the ending of ''MediEvil 2''. Travelling back in time Sir Dan encounters his original, living self and (re)experiences the events leading up to the legendary battle in which he first lost his life. He must work with some old friends and battle some old foes if he is to save his kingdom and seal his status as the Hero of [[Gallowmere]].<ref name="Amazon"/>

==Characters==
*[[Professor Darrow]] - A Cambridge Professor of Archaeology who dedicated her life to studying the life of Sir Daniel Fortesque.
*[[Sir Daniel Fortesque]] - After ''MediEvil 2'', Dan is thrown back into his own past by the time machine where he must ensure that the flow of history is preserved.
*[[Captain Fortesque]] - The still living Dan. Cowardly and mean-spirited.
*[[Lupo]] - Dan's canine companion from when he was still alive.
*[[King Peregrin]] - The reigning King of Gallowmere. He is under Zarok's spell.
*[[Zarok]] - The King's Court Magician. He plans an invasion on the kingdom.
*[[Canny Tim]] - Living Dan's second-in-command, who aids the undead Dan.
*[[Griff]] and [[Noreen]] - Fairly siblings that aid Dan on his quest.
*[[Weapon Requisitions counterperson]] - A man who works at the Weapon Requisitions in Castle Peregrin.
*[[Jabberwocky]] - A chicken-dragon monstrosity.
*[[Boris]] and [[Merek]] - Zarok's dumb henchmen.
*[[Wartilda]] - A kind witch who helps Sir Dan and the party brew a special potion.

==Plot==
A mysterious man meets with [[Professor Darrow]] in [[Cambridge]]. He begins recounting the story of what happened to Sir Daniel Fortesque after [[the Autumn of Death]] in 1886. He explains that Sir Dan and [[Princess Kiya]] used [[Professor Hamilton Kift]]'s [[Chrono-chair|time machine]] to travel through time. However, the machine malfunctioned and separated them.

===Fate's Arrow===
Sir Dan ends up in Gallowmere in 1286, just a day before the [[Battle of Gallowmere]]. He sees his living self give abuse to his hound, Lupo. He follows the living Dan into Castle Peregrin where he is summoned by the king.

The king explains that the army of the undead is marching towards the castle and that they will attack within a day. The undead Dan secretly observes the scene from a window, but Zarok closes it, making the undead Dan fall.

Panic ensues on the ground as people presume that the undead attack has begun. Dan dashes into an alley where he meets his living counterpart's second-in-command, Canny Tim. Tim takes Dan to meet with the fairy Griff who explains that a Jabberwocky will attack the castle later in the day. They formulate a plan to defeat it.

===The Jabberwocky===
Canny Tim heads to the castle's Weapon Requisitions to obtain a weapon that can kill the Jabberwocky. The Requisitioner is uncooperative however and Tim is forced to break and steal the [[Magic Sword]] of [[Dirk Steadfast]].

Meanwhile, Dan and Griff head to the living Dan's chambers where they knock him out and steal his [[Fancy Pants Armour|fancy armour]]. Dan jumps out the window of the castle to face the now attacking Jabberwocky. Tim tosses the Magic Sword to Dan using which he is able to cut off the Jabberwocky's head.

===The Battle of Gallowmere===
Late at night, Dan is leaving the castle wondering if he'll ever see Princess Kiya again. He is jumped by Zarok and his henchmen, Boris and Merek. Zarok orders them to take Dan far away from the castle to a place called [[the Mystic Maidens]].

At the Mystic Maidens, Boris and Merek get ready to kill Sir Dan. However, before they can do anything, they are killed by Lupo, now transformed into a werewolf. Griff explains that Lupo is a [[were-dog]] and that he used fairy magic to make Lupo recognise the undead Dan as his master.

Griff introduces Dan to his sister Noreen who has a plan to ensure the Battle of Gallowmere happens as it should. She proposes that Dan needs to trade places with his living self by drinking a [[Body Swap Potion]] that her friend Wartilda can make for them.

Using her fairy magic, Noreen teleports Dan to Kiya's tomb where he obtains one of the ingredients for the Body Swap potion and says his goodbyes to Kiya. After his return, the party is attacked by [[Zarok]]. Once Zarok's attack is repelled, Dan proceeds to swap bodies with his living self.

The next morning, Dan and Canny Tim head into the castle to prepare. When they arrive on the battlefield, Dan explains Zarok's duplicity to the king and gives a speech that boosts the morale of the troops. Finally, Dan dies as he knows he should and his story ends.

Professor Darrow is amazed by the mysterious man's story and asks him how he knows about it. He reveals himself as a version of Sir Daniel Fortesque, now sporting an [[The Eye of Amon Ra|Egyptian eye prosthetic]], Kiya's parting gift.

==Behind the scenes==
===Development===
{{See also|MediEvil 3: Fate's Arrow}}
Development began some time in 2018<ref>{{Cite web|title=Jason Wilson|site=Twitter|url=https://twitter.com/GunnComics/status/1135631988482875396|published=Jun 3, 2019}}</ref> after [[Jason Wilson]], who served as Lead Artist and Game Designer on the original ''MediEvil'', was approached by [[George Weising]], Senior Managing Producer on the ''MediEvil'' remake, about working on an animated prequel comic that would accompany the remade game. Wilson then asked [[Chris Sorrell]], the Producer on the original ''MediEvil'', to work with him on the comic.<ref name="PREVIEWSWorld">{{cite web|site=PREVIEWSworld|title=Dead Man Dan Returns In MediEvil Graphic Novel|published=September 17, 2019|url=https://www.previewsworld.com/Article/234752-Dead-Man-Dan-Returns-In-MediEvil-Graphic-Novel}}
</ref>

The story for ''MediEvil: The Game Prequel'' was originally conceptualised by Chris Sorrell back in 2003 as a sequel to ''[[MediEvil 2]]''.<ref name="PREVIEWSWorld"/><ref>{{Cite web|title = MediEvil 3: Fate’s Arrow|site = Unseen64|url=https://www.unseen64.net/2016/04/19/medievil-3-fate-arrow-ps2-cancelled/}}</ref> However, the comic version does feature significant changes from the original 2003 outline. The story takes place over the course of two days instead of three weeks, Kiya is not revealed to be the evil sorceress [[Kiyante]] and many characters and locations do not appear in the comic, likely to keep the story more focused and concise.

Wilson left Sorrell to write the initial script for the story on his own but asked him for an outline upfront so that he could make notes and suggestions. Sorrell provided Wilson with a draft of the story in comic form which they transformed into a rough panel form version, leaving Wilson with the task of finalising the artwork.<ref name="PREVIEWSWorld"/> The animated version of the comic was then brought to life with help from Mayene de La Cruz, Art Lead at SIE Worldwide Studios.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://twitter.com/mayenedesign/status/1188561537448853504|site=Twitter|title=Mayene de La Cruz|published=October 27, 2019|quote=It was an honor to work on the digital comic with you to animate it!}}</ref>

It was important for both Sorrell and Wilson to release the comic in a physical format.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://twitter.com/gunncomics/status/1162387939332112384|site=Twitter|title=Jason Wilson|published=August 16, 2019|quote=The book and the animated version will have their own individual charm. It was important to us to have a physical book too.}}</ref> Due to his past experience of working with Titan Comics, Wilson was able to secure them as the publisher for the hardback version of the comic. Wilson officially unveiled this edition on his Twitter account on August 16, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://twitter.com/gunncomics/status/1162379594101641216|site=Twitter|title=Jason Wilson|published=August 16, 2019|quote=@Trepan (Chris Sorrell) and I are delighted to announce that our prequel/sequel story to the original MediEvil will be released as a hardback book by @ComicsTitan with @playstation this Halloween!}}</ref>

===Transcript===
{{Main|MediEvil: The Game Prequel/Transcript}}

==Release==
===Reception===
{{Empty section}}
===Sales===
Sales data for the digital and physical versions of the comic is largely unavailable. However, according to Comichron, an estimated 269 units of the comic were sold to North American comics shops by Diamond Comic Distributors in December 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comichron.com/monthlycomicssales/2019/2019-12.html|title=December 2019 Comic Book Sales to Comics Shops|site=Comichron|published=December 2019|retrieved=May 25, 2021}}</ref>

==Gallery==
===Lobby Cards===
{{Empty section|Gallery}}
===Miscellaneous===
{{Empty section|Gallery}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://titan-comics.com/c/1512-medievil/ ''MediEvil''] on the Titan Comics website.
==Navigation==
{{MediEvil series}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''MediEvil: The Game Prequel''}}
[[Category:Publications]]
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