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While many eyes are on the early success of Parallel’s closed beta, we’re getting ready to sink our teeth into Issue 3 of the inaugural comic series, The Priming.
Luckily for all of the ravenous // lore addicts out there, the five-month wait since Issue 2’s release is almost over. The public sale begins on Friday at 5pm EST on the Parallel website.
Similar to previous issues, there are three versions available: First Edition (2,233), Collector’s Edition (1,000), and the Prime Edition (100). There are some changes to the sale itself, however, so be sure to read the full tweet below to get all of the details.
Parallel’s content pipeline is pumping out the goods every day, but this third issue is a particularly sweet milestone. It’s the halfway point of the franchise’s first-ever comic series, and it comes with coveted elements like new lore and characters, fresh artwork, and more in-game card backs.
But before you sit down to feast on everything Issue 3 has to offer, here’s a tasty little comic series reset.
For starters, I highly recommend checking out Parallel’s Behind the Scenes blog. It’s not only a fun read, but it acts as a perfect primer for newcomers and OGs alike. It dives into the comic’s overall design and writing process, how the team approaches world building inside their vast universe, and how all of these moving pieces fall into place to create a true work of art.
At the end, we get a tiny preview of the issue’s lore:
“Readers can now be prepared for a Marcolian-supremacy, action-filled plot, laying the foundation for conflict.” – Greg Lastra
In the battle for Earth, total supremacy means two things: dominance and destruction. If it’s conflict and some of the darker forces of Parallel you seek, there’s no better place to turn than the Marcolian fleet.
Next, check out Issue 3’s awesome collection of card backs. The list includes Sinister Machinations, Let’s Ride, Earth Bound Victory, Soleia’s Fury, We Come in Peace, and Colonel Renard.
On a personal note, huge shoutout to the artist of the Collector’s Edition cover (Colonel Renard card back). It is one of the sickest and creepiest pieces of Parallel art I’ve ever seen. If you find me on the battlefield with a Marco deck, rest assured Renard will be calling the shots.
The mighty Marcolian are front and center in Issue 3, so expect the Kaboom Meter to skyrocket. You can already see glimpses of the action in the teasers above and the three covers, which I believe are much more sinister and ferocious looking than the previous issues.
I think their animated trailer also shows how the comic team is hitting its stride at the midway point. There are so many tantalizing plot developments emerging in each issue, but the three factions (Earthen, Kathari, Marcolian) are still bridged together in a way that keeps the larger story arc in focus.
Visually speaking, I feel like the excitement around a more “action-packed” storyline will align perfectly with the recent reveal of the newest Planetfall cards. The art is electrifying the fan base, and each card is stoking the flames of a rapidly growing Parallel universe.
Overall, I feel like the stage is finally set for the beginning of a massive conflict. Multiple times we’ve been treated to scenes of cataclysmic moments and events happening just over the horizon, or somewhere in the observable distance. Now, you can almost feel the tension in the air. The final cosmic war awaits.
Issue 2 (released on April 1, 2023) features the Kathari faction. More specifically, we follow two main protagonists, the cheeky combo of Magna and Maritus. I don’t go into a full-blown recap here, but in essence, the comic highlights a collision course between the Kathari and our Earthen friends from Issue 1.
What I love about this issue is that it’s not solely dominated by Kathari interactions. Their sudden and unexpected crossing of the Earthen “Tree People” in the northern woodlands brings some terrific depth to the larger story arc and maintains continuity from Issue 1.
Another quality aspect of Issue 2 is the not-so subtle undertone of cunning and intelligence embedded deep in the Kathari’s modified DNA. They’re like the distant sons and daughters of Loki the Trickster god, just rife with plans to manipulate, deceive, and destroy. They’re also elite athletes, seen leaping over Primea’s towering walls with ease and dizzying their Earthen foes with rapid changes of direction.
A final highlight for me in Issue 2 was getting a glimpse of life on Sepulii. It looks like a cold, sterile, disembodied shell of a traditional home. To us simple earthlings, it seems more like a massive cryochamber for the creepy blue clone carcasses.
But it is still their home. And they know how to defend it.
The first issue of The Priming (released on October 29, 2022) features a collection of prominent Earthen characters, including two Paragons, Gaffar and Shoshanna.
Along the way, you also get to traverse the wooded plains with Soleia, Tanakh from the Shaymak tribe, and another main protagonist, Orban. They go on an awesome adventure in pursuit of more knowledge regarding something mystical and potent – a Prime shard!
If you want to read a full-length recap of Issue 1, here’s my piece on that.
There you have it! Three comics done, only three to go. Augencore and Shroud are still left to be explored. I can’t wait to see what the team has in store for the second half of the series. Until then, I look forward to reading Issue 3 with everyone this weekend and discussing more of Parallel’s emerging lore!
Thanks for reading, feel free to follow me on X at @Goldy_TGG, and see you on the battlefield!