Dark Horse has announced the print return of Tom Siddell’s popular, award-winning, science-fantasy webcomic Gunnerkrigg Court with a series of new omnibus editions beginning Fall 2024.
Taking over from its previous print publisher – BOOM! Studios’ Archaia imprint – the first 586-page Dark Horse omnibus edition will compile the earliest two books of the series, Orientation and Research, with a planned release date of November 5 for book stores and November 6 for comic shops.
The new Gunnerkrigg Court omnibus will come in two versions – a standard (6.625” x 10.1875”) trade paperback and a limited edition hardcover. They will retail for $29.99 and $79.99 respectively, with the hardcover receiving a print run of 1000 copies — so fans should be on their toes.
In a press release, Dark Horse said:
“Dark Horse Books presents Gunnerkrigg Court Volume 1. The NCS/Reuben award-winning webcomic by Tom Siddell will now be collected in an omnibus paperback volume containing the first two books of the original series, Orientation and Research. The series is written, illustrated and colored by Siddell and features new cover art as well as updated interior art. Dark Horse will also present a stunning hardcover limited-edition of 1000 copies, which features a signed and numbered tip-in page.”
The series author, Tom Siddell, said about the move:
“Anyone with a taste for mystery, an eye for the fantastic and strange, The Court welcomes you. I’m really excited for readers, new and old, to get their hands on the best version of Gunnerkrigg, from a publisher whose work I’ve been enjoying for decades!”
Gunnerkrigg Court has been published as an ongoing webcomic by Tom Siddell since 2005. Currently available for free via Siddell’s self-hosted website, the series is up to its 94th chapter. Archaia Studios Press picked up the series for print in 2008 (prior to the company’s 2013 shift to becoming a BOOM! Studios imprint), with eight trade collections of the series seeing release between 2008 and 2021 – compiling the first 77 chapters of the ongoing series. In November 2021, Siddell announced the split from BOOM!/Archaia and was seeking a new publisher. The series has received or been nominated for numerous awards including Web Cartoonists’ Choice Awards and Harveys. It received the NCS/Reuben Division Award in 2020 for best Online Comic (Longform).
The Dark Horse synopsis for the new omnibus – which collects the first 22 chapters of the Gunnerkrigg Court webcomic:
“After the death of her mother and the disappearance of her father, a young girl arrives at a mysterious boarding school. While the curriculum seems to be focused on advancing science and technology, Antimony “Annie” Carver quickly discovers that the grounds are home to plenty of things that science can’t explain: ghosts, supernatural phenomena, and even the gods of the neighboring forest. Along with her friend Kat, Annie begins to unravel the mysteries of her new home, Gunnerkrigg Court, which may not actually be a school after all.”
