The creative team behind the Eisner Award-winning miniseries Little Bird is reuniting this fall for a brand-new dark fantasy project. Darcy Van Poelgeest and Ian Bertram are bringing an epic, experimental new story to Image Comics with their four-issue miniseries, The Karman Blade, set to launch this September.
Set on the outskirts of a dying, desert world, The Karman Blade follows a young man chosen by a star-forged blade to slay the despotic deity, Kalu, who hoards the world’s water. The protagonist faces a daunting trial, caught between his journey and the existential question posed by the blade itself: “Are thou he, who taketh me in hand? Are thou he, who shall slay a God?”
The creators describe the series as a bold departure from traditional fantasy. “We are committed to the idea of making something that requires collaboration from the readers as much as from ourselves,” said Van Poelgeest. “The Karman Blade is for everyone who loves the questions as much as the answers; the weirdos, and the poets—for those brave enough to embark on a quest of their own!“
Bertram added that the work is a product of deep creative passion, calling it a “feral work” made in a “swamp of beautiful and festering creativity.”
The Karman Blade #1 will arrive in comic book shops on Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
