Mad Cave studios unearths the ‘Underworld’

Modern comics is practically lousy with shared universes. But that hasn’t stopped Mad Cave Studios from trying their collective hand with the forthcoming Underworld project.

Before we delve into the universe proper, there’s one blaring question: what makes Underworld so different and a proper contender amid not only DC and Marvel’s shared offerings, but entries like Radiant Black, Astro City, Valiant Comics, The Resistance, etc.? As is the case across Mad Cave’s entire lifespan, it’s about a certain classical approach to storytelling.

“When we started Mad Cave, I think that I wanted to really dig deep into the explosive action adventure stories and also the weird, creepy, supernatural stories that had very specific elements to it,” said CEO/CCO Mark London during a recent Zoom chat. “And also crime noir and science fiction stories. So the protector type of story, where we’re really seeing good versus evil. I think that that’s my childhood in a nutshell.”

London added, “When we decided to assemble this project, it was like, ‘OK, how can I go back to those early meetings that we had with Mad Cave of trying to come up with these type of stories — that dealt with explosive action, weird, creepy supernatural elements, and also with crime noir, science fiction elements. It’s reliving all those things, all that fire that I had back in the day when we decided to start this publisher”

As such, London said that Underworld harkens back to an OG in the Mad Cave lineup.

“I think Battlecats was a really, really good starting point for the company and for me to try to really tackle these type of big, fun projects,” said London. “Battlecats was a great school for me and for the team because you really want to throw everything at it. Even the freaking kitchen sink. But you also really wanted to elevate those themes of good versus bad. You have your good characters, but also you have your bad characters, which are like a mirror of each other. And at the end of the day, I’m not going to tell you who’s right or who’s wrong. And it’s going to put you in a situation like, ‘OK, who am I rooting for? Who’s really in the right? Who’s really in the wrong?'” London added that from a good versus evil standpoint, however, “Underworld…it’s a little bit more straightforward.”

Main cover by Rossi Gifford. Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

Part of that aforementioned passion, as London explained, is to appeal to true dweebs — folks who don’t just care about canon and whatnot, but the sheer magic of storytelling.

“It really scratches that itch that we’ll have as geeks, as nerds,” said London. “Because again, we grew up with these types of things. These really big stories that they played on big set pieces that you were like, ‘OK, where is this taking me?’ So I think that that was really the genesis of Mad Cave Studios with all the stories that we wanted to tell at first. So this is revisiting that notion that really needed to be scratched as a super nerd.”

Part of the aim to appease “true nerds” is that each of the Underworld offerings are rather unique. It begins this month with Revolution 9. Here, London is joined by artist Carlos Reno, colorist Jão Canola, and letterer Dave Sharpe.

“It leans into your spy thriller, very explosive action set pieces,” said London. “There’s this ancient, shady society called the Order of the Nine, which had basically been operating behind the shadows since the dawn of time, controlling the world and pulling the strings. And you have this assassin, Velveteen, and she’s the No. 9 assassin of the Order of the Nine. And she decides to deflect; she’s really had enough. She uncovers a brutal truth of something that happened to her. I cannot go into detail because I’ll be spoiling everything. And then, of course, the secret society wants her back and all hell is going to break loose.”

From there, we get the more spooky Hour of the Wolf, which drops in October, with London joined by artist Danilo Beyruth, colorist Fabi Marques, and letterer Dave Sharpe.

“This is your weird, creepy supernatural horror story,” said London. “Because there’s also a secret organization called Wolvenheart that actually jumps across time. The Hour of the Wolf is between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m., and it’s where all the monsters come out to play. So there’s this painting that actually comes alive and starts haunting a family. So it’s up to this operative, Owen Blackwood, and he only has one hour to save this family from all the crazy stuff that you’re going to be experiencing within that story.”

Variant cover by Raymund Bermudez and Sebastian Cheng. Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

And lastly there’s Exit City slated for November. The art team features artist Karl Mostert, colorist Dave Baron, and letterer Dave Sharpe.

“That one leans into the crime noir science-fiction elements,” said London. “It’s still very grounded, but it’s about this man-made island 200 miles away from the coast of California, where they’ve been policing by algorithm. Billionaires basically constructed this island and there’s all of this abuse of power and everything. And you have two sharpshooter detectives, McCormick and Miller, who are trying to solve a heinous crime. It’s something out of their league, something that they haven’t seen in Exit City. Miller has a shady past, and some secrets that are going to come out. He carries these three vials around, which he talks to when solving murders.”

It’s not just about genres, either. Each Underworld title was laid out visually to feel truly tailored.

“Hour of the Wolf leans a little bit into horror. So then you were looking for an artist that can really highlight those little set pieces,” said London. “With Exit City, because now you’re going into a manmade island, which is kind of technological, it’s going to lean into the sci-fi aspect of things. You wanted an artist that could actually tackle a lot of those things. So each book gets its flavor. I think that we pair them to the best of our abilities. And I’m so happy with the end result. I mean, all our artists, all the creative teams, all the art teams are spot on.”

And while each of the Underworld titles are described as being “like family,” you better believe London still has his favorite.

“When you have different kids, you secretly have a favorite,” said London. “I’ve fallen in love with all of these characters, but I think that Exit City has a little extra layer of complexity to it.”

Main cover by Andrei Bressan and Adriano Lucas. Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

It’s not just that Exit City may be better somehow, but something even more significant for the sake of Underworld.

“Then, next summer, you’re going to see these three stories with these characters clash in a big summer blockbuster event that we have planned called Endless Night,” said London. “That’s where you’re going to see how all three stories come together and hopefully it will be a great payoff. And, actually, Exit City is going to be the setting where all these things are going to clash. So, what happens when an assassin, a monster hunter, and a detective walk into a bar?”

It’s not just that Underworld will be more direct or have all these layered genres. It’s going back to, as London touched on earlier, this very simple, deeply-ingrained approach to storytelling.

“Most of my ideas, they really come from my childhood,” said London. “They say write what you know. I devoured this so much when I was growing up.”

And to achieve that, it then became a matter of asking the right kinds of creative questions.

“So in crafting a story, it’s like, ‘OK, how can I go into a familiar setting but really give it a little twist?’ I think that a lot of writers, they really try to break their heads and go, ‘How can I be different? How can I be weird? How can I try to do something that has never, never been done before?’ And that’s great,” said London. “But I think that there are some elements you need for every reader, some type of anchor. Like, ‘I know this is something familiar.’ So developing a story for me is, ‘How am I going to connect with a reader? Is this something that they are going to be impacted by? Are they going to be relatable?'”

As such, each of the Underworld titles tries to accomplish this process in its own way.

“For example, Velveteen in Revolution 9. When she finds out this truth, it’s heartbreaking,” said London. “And you’re like, ‘I can probably relate to that.’ If you’ve ever trusted someone, and then you realized that they were able to do this to you, what happens there? What direction in your life are you going to take? Are you going to stay loyal? Are you really going to rebel?”

Variant cover by Raymund Bermudez and Sebastian Cheng. Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

Meanwhile, for Hour of the Wolf, it’s even more personal.

“Hour of the Wolf — there’s a family in danger, and if you’re committed to them, how can you save them,” said London. “How can I turn all these wrongs into a right in this very, very creepy setting? That’s Owen’s motivation; it’s what drives him.”

And, finally, Exit City boils it all down even further.

“And for Exit City, it’s basically, ‘Don’t let your obsessions become your poison,'” said London. “But also, you want to do the right thing, but the house has all the cards. So how can you win in that regard?”

It’s very much about being open, London said, but also having rules and a framework to operate within.

“It’s all about trying to find that relatable thread that people can connect to your stories and then they say, ‘Oh, I’ve seen this. I understand it.’ Without steering too far away from your element,” said London. “I think that when you go that far, you really lose the reader. You can go as crazy as you want, but what is your anchor? Like, you’re able to tell one big lie. That’s it. The rest has to be something that you can understand. How can I relate to it? I think that everything starts there.”

And if anyone knows the kind of trial and error involved in this process, it’s London and the rest of the Mad Cave team.

“Many years ago, we just tried to put very cool characters on the page,” said London. “And then when you give it to your friends and family, it’s like, ‘OK, this character is super cool, but he sucks as a person. I can’t cheer for him. I can’t identify with him.’ You might say, ‘That’s the point; he’s an anti-hero.’ But he doesn’t have one single redeemable quality, man. What the hell are you doing?”

While the Underworld titles have their own aesthetic and thematic interests, it all still has to lead, in one way or another, to Endless Night in summer 2025. While London wouldn’t share many details for that giant crossover, he did mention that they’re still trying to subvert readers’ expectations.

Main cover by Karl Mostert and David Baron. Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

“You don’t need to read Revolution 9 or Hour of the Wolf or Exit City to understand the crossover,” said London. “It’s going to be, at the end of the day, your choice. But if you read all of them, you’re going to get a better experience. You’re really going to be like, ‘OK, I’m going to be spending more time with these characters. I’m going to understand these characters a little bit better.’ And I think that it has to be presented in a way that you can try to easily understand it. Kind of like with some of the [promotional materials] that we’ve made. Like, these are the titles, these are the release dates.”

While Underworld is designed for readers to “digest and devour at your own pace,” London adds that there’s an important caveat within Endless Night.

“You’re going to see something that actually summarizes a little bit right at the end of Exit City,” said London. “It’s a prologue to some of the things that we’re going to be doing, that we did, and that we’re going to be doing.”

On the one hand, Underworld is very much a response to the work of other publishers in this multi-title events/arcs.

“In the past with other publishers, and I’m not going to say who, they have these massive crossovers,” said London. “But you have to read so many different one-shots, so many different spin-offs, and so many different things. ‘Oh, you need to read everything to really understand what is going on at the main event.’ This is an experiment from an indie publisher that has grown up with those types of stories that really wants to try to make a difference in the space with the different readers out there.”

London added, “I think that the beauty of an indie publisher is that you’re not so tied down to rules. And I think that you can have a little bit more room to wiggle or pivot if push comes to shove. We’re masters at pivoting.”

At the same time, though, it’s very much a reaction to the whims of both the modern consumer as well as the comics industry at-large.

“It’s a matter of commitment. People just aren’t committing to long-term series,” said London. “Availability and time is always difficult. The state of the market is also hard, especially for us in comics. Yes, I can craft an outline for 72 issues. But then if you run out of juice after issue #12, then what happens with the rest? So that’s why you try to establish everything as a bite-size piece. So you can digest it and be like, ‘Now you can give me more.'”

Variant cover by Shane Connery Volk. Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

Similarly, it’s a novel turn for Mad Cave, as the publisher is very much going against their own efforts in some significant ways.

“You’ve seen the number of issues that a run has: four, five, or six issues,” said London. “We don’t have any ongoing series. So, for us, it’s a way to be like, ‘We’re going to give you more.’ Right now, we have smaller arcs that run out of gas very, very quickly. So by doing something like this was like, ‘OK, we’re going to try to expand this in a way that you’re able to experience three different stories.’ But then you’re going to see that there’s something else. We are going to bring more to the table.”

And more is exactly what Mad Cave hopes to do with Underworld. While they’re taking it slowly and deliberately with this universe, there’s a long-term future already baked into Underworld.

“It all might look like a big design, but it has a small scale,” said London, adding that “the idea is to bring two other books, that we’ll do next year, that are going to compliment this universe. And with those other two books, you’re going to start seeing these characters pop up in the other books as well. And then, depending on how we do with that, we might come up with another crossover and then you can bring all the different characters together.”

London further added, “From that, you can really take it anywhere you want. For example, Revolution 9 is just four issues to start. Then you can continue and do the second arc of another four issues. And then you do the same for Hour of the Wolf and the same for Exit City. And then you do another crossover or you just continue the series doing their own thing and then they might be able to pop up in another book.”

The end goal, it seems, is to engage readers in increasingly vital ways.

“It’s giving the reader the option at the end of the day to vote with their wallets,” said London. He said that such engagement means that Mad Cave “might [become] a little bit influenced — like, ‘Oh, they really like this character. So we’re going to give this character a little bit more screen time.'”

Courtesy of Mad Cave Studios.

As confident as they are in Underworld, London and Mad Cave do recognize that they’re still out on a limb here.

“As a writer and creator, you always have your fears,” said London. “Is this really going to work? Is this really going to resonate with people out there?”

But as he’s done with other aspects of Underworld, London is leaning into his past experience to try and excel.

“That was supposed to be 20-something issues,” said London regarding Battlecats‘ early days. “We didn’t care and nobody knew who we were. Still nobody knew who we were when we were publishing volume three. But again, I really wanted to complete the work. And I really wanted people to have it out there because I really believed in their work. Everything is just a stepping stone.”

Plus, at this point in the roadmap, there’s no going back (especially ’cause there’s kind of a Plan B involved).

“All of these books are well underway. The crossover is well underway,” said London. “So whatever happens, we’re still going to publish this. And then we’re going to probably repackage it in a beautiful, big trade paperback that you’re going to showcase everything.”

At the end of the day, London believes that readers are going to be “very, very surprised with how we’re wrapping everything up with a crossover. So it’s going to be worthwhile.” But there’s no denying that Underworld is still entering a rather packed “market” of shared universes. All they can do is try their best, hope readers remain open, and pray that they’ve told a meaningful enough story. The real victory, though, could be just coming out the other side of this rocket-ship ride.

“It’s a gamble. It’s an experiment,” said London. “Ask me again next year if it worked.”

Revolution 9 #1 is due out September 25.

Hour of the Wolf #1 is due out October 23.

Exit City #1 is due out November 6.