Per the news first dropped by comicsbeat: Aethon Books is proud to announce that we have joined forces with rising webcomic studio Laurel Pursuit to create a slate of new webcomics. To accelerate Laurel Pursuit’s growth and kickstart these initial projects, Aethon has invested more than a million dollars into the partnership, with plans to pioneer the webcomic space for years to come.
Aethon continues to be proactive in this rapidly growing industry, signing production deals with best-selling authors and licensing deals with the likes of Webtoon, Tapas, and VoyceMe over the last year. In teaming up with Laurel Pursuit, we hope to provide more ways for fans to experience their favorite properties.
“It’s rare to find a partner who shares so much of the same vision,” says Aethon Books CEO Rhett C. Bruno.“From producing quality content to treating creators fairly every step of the way, Laurel Pursuit simply gets it. This is the start of something big.”
Laurel Pursuit is a best-in-class art studio dedicated to bringing the latest innovation and highest quality art to the webcomics space. Building off incredible momentum with major clients (such as Overtime Sports and FaZe Clan) and webcomic distributors, Laurel Pursuit is excited to deliver standout projects with meaningful storylines and memorable characters.
“This is just the beginning,” adds Taro Nakagawa, Laurel Pursuit’s CEO. “Our vision together is to establish the first end-to-end webcomic adaptation pipeline in the West, creating hit projects that are fully equipped to scale to their full potential. We are proud to announce the following titles as our first joint projects:”
Defiance of the Fall, by TheFirstDefier / JF Brink.
A bestselling apocalypse story that merges LitRPG elements with eastern cultivation. Class systems, skill systems, endless choices for progression, it has everything fans of the genre love.
Explore a vast universe full of mystery, adventure, danger and even aliens; where even a random passer-by might hold the power of a god. Follow Zac as he struggles to stake out a unique path to power as a mortal in a world full of cultivators.
System Universe, by SunriseCV
A world-hopping LitRPG series starting on Earth a few years post System-Integration. But the adventure doesn’t stop there.
Its overpowered protagonist will quickly find himself on a new world, with a new System, providing a unique combination of the Isekai, LitRPG Apocalypse, and Slice of Life genres. He may even make a few friends along the way.
Reborn as a Demonic Tree, by Xkarnation
A smash-hit webserial coming soon to Kindle and Audible, about a man named Ashlock who wakes in the courtyard of a demonic sect… as a tree. A tree that eats people.
Ashlock’s only option is to grow faster and stronger than any tree has ever done in the history of the nine realms—all while trying to avoid being turned into firewood.
Bastion, by Phil Tucker
A bestselling progression fantasy series about Scorio’s quest to rise from the ashes to conquer the ten layers of hell.
Reborn without memories, Scorio learns that he is a Great Soul, a legendary defender of the ancient city of Bastion. That within the hallowed halls of the Academy and under the stern eyes of the underworld’s greatest instructors he will enjoy enormous privilege, rediscover unique and wondrous powers, and one day return to the millennium-old battle against their infernal foes.
Super Powereds, by Drew Hayes
A Bestselling Superhero Fantasy series with tens of thousands of 5-star ratings on Audible & Amazon.
Lander is home to the Hero Certification Program, a curriculum designed to develop student with superhuman capabilities, commonly known as Supers, into official Heroes.
But five freshmen are extra special. They have a secret aside from their abilities, one that they must guard from even their classmates…
All the Skills, by Honour Rae
A game-breaking progression fantasy series with strong gamelit elements, featuring a unique card-based magic system.
The most Arthur could hope for was to someday earn a trash-tier spell card. When fate grants him a Master of Skills card, he’s thrust into a world of opportunity and danger.
To survive and grow strong, Arthur must learn skills. All the skills.
Oh Great, I was Reincarnated as a Farmer, by Benjamin Kerei
What do you have when you blend a pinch of LitRPG, a touch of farming simulator, a sprinkle of epic fantasy, a whole cup of Isekai, and a dash of Home Alone?
This Series. Follow Arnold on his hilarious journey as he stubbornly comes to grips with his new reality and tries to change his destiny from that of your typical farmer.
Mage Errant, by John Bierce
A hit magic academy fantasy series suitable for all ages.
When a very unusual mage chooses the talentless Hugh to be his apprentice, his life starts to take a sharp turn for the better. Now all he has to worry about is growing in power, charisma, and ability so he can work his way up the ranks at Skyhold Academy.
This is so exciting, holy cow!! Only series I’ve read are Defiance of the Fall and Bastion. SuperPowereds was on my radar, but I haven’t read it yet.
Moving all of these to the top of my reading list, exciting stuff.
I’ll buy a lot of these when they’re released
Fantastic news! I’ve been looking forward to more web comic adaptations in the fantasy space — way to go!