Creature Corps Is the Twisted Pokémon Parody You’ve Been Waiting For

As the writer behind hit series like Youth and Lost Fantasy, Curt Pires is definitely one of the major up-and-coming talents in the comic book industry these days. Pires’ latest project has an especially attractive elevator pitch, as it offers a dark, subversive spin on monster-battling video games like Pokémon. Prepare yourself for Creature Corps.

IGN can exclusively debut the first preview of Creature Corps #1. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

Creature Corps reunites Pires with 51 artist Jok. The creative team also includes letterer Micah Myers and designer Kassandra Starkell. The series is published through Image Comics. Here’s the official description of the series:

Creature Corps revolves around a reality where survivalist, fantastical creatures from a broken future slip into the present, pitted against each other for vicious sport. The series will launch with a 60-page issue priced at $4.99.

The mysterious animals soon fuel an unethical creature battling league that generates unprecedented profit, often using teenage “trainers” to manage the time-displaced fighters. One of those trainers was Dusty Gotem, who ascended to World Champion when he was 14. A devastating event forced Gotem to leave the trade in disgust, leaving him to seek solace in the wilderness. Years later, Gotem’s former colleagues seek him out with news of a much more devastating battle: Gotem’s mother lies in critical condition drowning in medical bills, forcing him to rejoin the trade—and the chronological refugees—he hasn’t faced for decades.

“I’m excited to be reunited with my dear collaborator Jok and my friends at Image Comics on my biggest launch yet,” said Pires in a statement. “Creature Corps is equal parts 16-bit gaming nostalgia, the dark deconstructionism of The Boys, and the time travel insanity of Back To The Future in equal measure. It’s a chaotic menagerie of comic book magic that feels uniquely its own. Did I mention we’re doing a trading card game too? This is gonna be fun.”

Creature Corps #1 will be released on December 2, with a final order cutoff of November 9. You can preorder a copy at your local comic shop.

For more, check out 6 comics to read to prepare for Marvel‘s Wolverine and learn more about the new Marvel horror series Midnight Spider-Man.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket byfollowing @jschedeen on BlueSky.