Walter Simonson Returns to RAGNARÖK with World-Shattering New Storyline

SAN DIEGO, CA (April 1, 2019) – IDW Publishing is proud to announce the third chapter in Walter Simonson’s sweeping Ragnarök epic: The Breaking of Helheim! A six-issue odyssey into the deepest corners of the Nine Worlds, The Breaking of Helheim is written and illustrated by the comic book luminary whose name has become synonymous with the Norse pantheon and modern myth-making!

“After so many years, I finally have a chance to draw the last battle of the Norse Gods and their great enemies,” says Simonson. “I couldn’t be more thrilled. And I have entered Helheim, the realm of the dead, on a journey from which few return. But I have done so and lived to tell the tale — this tale — the breaking of Helheim.”

In the Ragnarök series, the gods gathered together and met their foes on the Battle Plain of Vigrid. The gods and their great enemies slaughtered each other, the stars fell from the sky, Midgard itself sank into the all-encompassing ocean, and the Nine Worlds were destroyed. When we begin Ragnarök: The Breaking of Helheim, Thor will hear a voice from out of the past and learn that not all the old stories are true…

“Walter’s work on Ragnarök is phenomenally good — exciting, captivating, and entertaining,” says Scott Dunbier, IDW’s Director of Special Projects. “It’s everything comic book storytelling should be. I count myself extremely fortunate to work with him.”

In addition to the Regular and Variant Edition covers by Walter Simonson, a rare Ragnarök: The Breaking of Helheim #1 Variant Edition – featuring a jam collaboration between Simonson and fellow epic storyteller Stan Sakai – will connect to a Variant Edition of Usagi Yojimbo #1! That’s right – the two creative legends will trade characters (Sakai illustrating Ragnarök’s Thor, and Simonson illustrating Usagi) in a sensational dual composition that comic aficionados and collectors will adore.

For information on how to secure copies of Ragnarök: The Breaking of Helheim, please contact your local comic shop or visit www.comicshoplocator.com to find a store near you.


Creator Bio

Over the course of his career, Walter Simonson has written and drawn nearly every major character from both Marvel and DC Comics, with his run on Marvel's Thor from 1983 to 1987—in which he created the character Beta Ray Bill—being a particular standout.  His other notable works include an adaptation of Alien, with his Manhunter collaborator and close friend, Archie Goodwin; Star Wars; The Fantastic Four; and Orion and Elric. In the 1980s and 1990s Simonson resurrected the concepts from his college thesis, creating the Star Slammers original graphic novel and miniseries. In 2014, Simonson launched Ragnarök with IDW Publishing, a creator-owned series that once again brings him back to his beloved Norse mythology.



For Further Reading

Ragnarök HC Volume 1: Last God Standing • FC • $24.99 • ISBN: 978-1-63140-068-1
Ragnarök TP Volume 1: Last God Standing • FC • $19.99 • ISBN: 978-1-63140-963-9
Ragnarök HC Volume 2: Lord of the Dead • FC • $24.99 • ISBN: 978-1-63140-883-0