Dustin Gebel
Image Comics revealed that Radiant Black is getting an audiobook adaptation during its panel at C2E2. While in the midst of an audience driven mega-event, The Catalyst War, Radiant Black has looked to grow past the page. Featuring a full cast lead by Rider Strong and Will Friedle playing leads Nathan Burnett and Marshall Ward, respectively, adapts the first arc of the series. Radiant Black co-creator and Massive-Verse runner Kyle Higgins writes, directs, and narrates the audiobook.
In the press release, Higgins spoke about adapting the story for a new audience, stating:
“We love finding new ways to connect with readers and audiences, especially in mediums that can help us bring a new level of immersion to Radiant Black and The Massive-Verse. As a director, a former sound editor and an all-around huge audio nerd, the idea of building Radiant Black with a full voice cast and taking advantage of all the possibilities that an audio book affords has made this one of the most exciting projects that I’ve ever been a part of. And just wait until you see the rest of this cast!”
This is not the first multimedia adaptation of a Massive-Verse title, as fellow Massive-Verse series, NO/ONE, releases with an accompanying podcast each issue. Additionally, Radiant Black appeared in a secret animated film linked to in with a QR code in issue #15. In that short film, Friedle played Marshall while connecting to an older short that inspired the concept of Radiant Black.
Friedle discussed working with Higgins on the Massive-Verse adaptations, stating:
“One of the things I love about Radiant Black is the way it constantly looks to push the boundaries on what a comic book—much less a superhero comic book—can be. Whether it’s huge twists or blacklight issues or secret animated films or dual timelines under variant covers, Kyle and the team put everything they have into this universe and I could not be more thrilled to come back and voice the obviously-much-better Radiant Black, Marshall Ward. Sorry, Rider!”
The Radiant Black audiobook does not currently have a release date but there is a landing page that allows for a sign-up to learn more information, which can be found here.
