Dawn of the Black Axe Announced!

 Last week we announced a new Mouse Guard series called 'Dawn of the Black Axe' where the origins of the legendary Black Axe are revealed in this prequel story set in the earliest point in the Mouse Guard history with the ancient weapon’s first mouse wielder and champion, Bardrick.

I am writing and coloring this book and I handpicked the amazing Gabriel Rodriguez to drawn it. He's been an amazing collaborator and have been very kind as I attempted to write a script for someone other than myself. The series will be three issues and start in March of 2025.

This series will have 3 main covers per issue, Gabe's cover, My cover, and a Guest Variant.
Like the interiors, I also colored Gabe's covers. And here are the covers and order codes for mine and Gabe's (I'll do future blogposts as we get closer to release with process breakdowns for these)

Gabriel Rodriguez cover
Diamond Order Code: JAN250016

David Petersen cover
Diamond Order Code: JAN250017

The variant for this issue will be by Goni Montes and has not yet been revealed (though the order code for Diamond is JAN250018

Gabe and I were asked for some quotes, and I'll pepper those between the inked preview pages below that were shared around on various other comic sites--I can't show more of the finished work now, but I can tell you that I've sweated every moment as I colored these. 

David: Getting to write this Mouse Guard lore of the forging of the Black Axe and it being handed to Bardrick (first of eleven wielders) while getting to do so with the brilliant Gabriel Rodríguez drawing Dawn of the Black Axe has been a thrill,

David: “He’s going above and beyond with his inked pages and storytelling...while I’m just trying to keep up coloring them and still do them justice.

David: Gabe was top of my list when we started pitching names for this spin off project, and I postponed it for a long time until his schedule opened up––I didn’t want to do this first one with anyone else. 

David: I’ll continue to work on the next volume in the main Mouse Guard series: The Weasel War of 1149, but I also hope this is first of many more Mouse Guard books like this one, where I get to explore the other past wielders of the Black Axe with exciting and extremely talented collaborators like Gabe.”

Gabe: I’ve been a fan of David Petersen’s work since the first time I saw a volume of his astonishing Mouse Guard books. We became friends as soon as we met,

Gabe: Almost a decade ago we started daydreaming about working together on the story of the first wielder of the mythical Black Axe. That dream finally came true, and I’m humbled, grateful and excited to share it with the faithful legion of Mouse Guard readers.

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MOUSE GUARD: DAWN OF THE BLACK AXE #1 will be available in comic shops March 19, 2025. It is available for pre-order at your local comic shop. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play.