Last week, Dark Horse announced that they’re working on another Call of Duty Zombies comic series, which will serve as a prequel to the Zombies Mode set to be included in this Fall’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

The new Call of Duty Zombies comic will once again be written by Justin Jordan, with interior artwork by Andres Ponce and Mauro Vargas, cover artwork by E.M. Gist, and colors by Dan Jackson. According to the Dark Horse Newsfeed, we know that Issue #1 will be available in stores on September 5 (with a collected edition sure to follow sometime in the future):

In Call of Duty Zombies, pieces are set in motion that shadowy forces have long been putting into place. They believe what comes next cannot be stopped. Little do they know an unlikely group from around the globe is about to be assembled.

Dark Horse Comics and Activision invite fans to meet the brand-new cast of characters from this year’s game!

Gist will sit down for a signing session at Dark Horse’s Comic-Con booth tomorrow, July 19, at 3:00 PM (Pacific Time). He’ll be joined by Treyarch’s Jason Blundell and Craig Houston.

Nintendo is teaming up with Random House to release a series of Activity Books featuring characters from the consolemaker’s massive stable of franchises.

The first books in the series, Super Mario Official Sticker Book and The Legend of Zelda Official Sticker Book, were published in January. More books (including Mario Time!, Link’s Book of Adventure, and Splatoon Official Sticker Book) are scheduled to be released this Summer:

Random House Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books (U.S.), and Penguin Random House U.K. have partnered with Nintendo to publish a dynamic range of coloring and activity books for children. The books, the first two of which entered the marketplace in early January, are based on Nintendo characters and worlds, including Super Mario, the Legend of Zelda, Splatoon, and Animal Crossing.

Future books will be announced at a later date.

Viz Media has announced plans to bring Square Enix’s novel adaptations of Nier: Automata to North America for the first time.

Both novels were written by Jun Eishima, and were based on Game Director Yoko Taro’s original story for the game. Nier: Automata: Long Story Short (Volume 1) will be published this Fall and Nier: Automata: Short Story Long (Volume 2) will be available in Spring 2019:

When alien forces invade with an army of Machines, the remnants of humanity must depend on Androids of their own design – the placid 2B and the excitable 9S – to survive.

The publisher will reveal more details about both novels at a later date.

I think it’s safe to say that the Dragon Quest franchise wouldn’t be quite as popular as it is without Akira Toriyama’s colorful character designs. Going all the way back to the franchise’s debut in 1986, the Dragon Ball creator’s unique style has helped the series stand out in the crowded RPG genre.

Late last week, Viz Media announced an English release of Dragon Quest Illustrations: 30th Anniversary Edition, an artbook that compiles a large number of Toriyama’s sketches and drawings for the series. Writing on Twitter, the publisher said that it’ll be available this December for a retail price of $34.99.

True to its title, Dragon Quest Illustrations will include an archive of Akira Toriyama’s “iconic illustrations and designs” from Dragon Quest titles released from 1986 through 2016.

Mojang teamed up with Max Brooks (the author of World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide) to create the first official tie-in novel based on Minecraft. Titled Minecraft: The Island, the book is targeted at a younger audience and it’s available on store shelves today.

When writing Minecraft: The Island, Brooks found inspiration in classics like Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe to tell his own tale of survival and mystery:

Washed up on a beach, the lone castaway looks around the shore. Where am I? Who am I? And why is everything made of blocks? But there isn’t much time to soak up the sun. It’s getting dark, and there’s a strange new world to explore!

The top priority is finding food. The next is not becoming food. Because there are others out there on the island… like the horde of zombies that appear after night falls. Crafting a way out of this mess is a challenge like no other. Who could build a home while running from exploding creepers, armed skeletons, and an unstoppable tide of hot lava? Especially with no help except for a few makeshift tools and sage advice from an unlikely friend: a cow.

In this world, the rules don’t always make sense, but courage and creativity go a long way. There are forests to explore, hidden underground tunnels to loot, and undead mobs to defeat. Only then will the secrets of the island be revealed.

You can read the first chapter right now at Random House Books.

CoroCoro Comics published a manga series based on Nintendo’s Splatoon in Japan after the game’s launch in 2015. Serialized in CoroCoro magazine, the series, which was written and illustrated by Sankichi Hinodeya, was eventually compiled in two volumes.

This weekend, Viz Media announced (via Twitter) that they’re translating it into English for a North American release this Fall.

Fans will also get the chance to dive back into the world of Splatoon this July when Splatoon 2 launches for the Nintendo Switch.