Dark Horse Comics and Absurd Ventures have officially launched American Caper — the highly anticipated new crime fiction comic series from Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games and the creative mind behind Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. Issue #1 hits comic shops today, November 12, 2025, alongside an exclusive series launch trailer steeped in pulpy, neo-noir grit and dark comedy.
A New Take on the American Dream Gone Wrong
American Caper marks Houser’s first major comics project and the flagship title of Absurd Ventures’ original storytelling universe. The 12-issue series is set in Verona, Wyoming, and follows two families teetering on the edge — a Mormon hitman and a gambling-addict lawyer entangled in a real estate deal gone spectacularly wrong. Their imploding lives intersect with a beauty queen on the run, two escaped convicts in love, a billionaire-turned-cowboy, and a revenge-fueled maniac, forming a sprawling, twisted reflection of small-town America’s cracked pursuit of the dream.
Speaking on stage at Los Angeles Comic-Con, Houser described the series as a departure from his video game past:
“I love doing crime comedy and having done lots of stories about carjackers or people who had to be tough, wanted to tell a story about some degenerate criminals from a completely different perspective and a completely different part of the world. American Caper is about small town, suburban, ‘successful’ people. One is a happily-married-ish lawyer, the other is happily married, in his mind, property developer. Both have made terrible mistakes and their lives go very awry…”
A Dream Team of Crime Fiction Creators
The creative lineup behind American Caper reads like a crime fiction all-star list. Houser is joined by longtime Rockstar collaborator Lazlow, who produces and contributes additional writing. Art comes from Eisner Award-winner David Lapham (Stray Bullets), with finishes by Chris Anderson (Creepshow), colors by Lee Loughridge (Nemesis: Rogue’s Gallery), and letters by Nate Piekos (The Umbrella Academy: Plan B). Editing duties are handled by Shelly Bond (former Vertigo/DC Executive Editor) and Daniel Chabon of Dark Horse.
Lazlow describes the series as a “collision of bad choices and broken people,” adding:
“We wanted to make something that gazes into the cracked mirror of the American Dream. Working in comics lets us tell a crime drama that is a gritty, satirical dark comedy without restraint,” said Lazlow. “American Caper is a collision of bad choices, broken people, monetized misery, synthetic sugar, dogs fed donuts, maniacs, shady land developers and grown men aging badly by pretending to be cowboys.”
Variant Covers and Availability
Issue #1 features a main cover by Tyler Boss and variants from Simon Bisley (who also created original concept and character art), Martin Simmonds, Joe Quinones, and Marguerite Sauvage.
Preorders have already sold out via the Absurd Ventures online store, but physical copies remain available at comic shops across North America and Europe. A directory of participating retailers is available at absurdventures.com/feed.
Digital editions are now live on GlobalComix and Amazon Kindle.
Watch the Trailer
You can watch the official American Caper launch trailer now — a pulpy, neo-noir introduction to Houser’s darkly comic world of crime, corruption, and misplaced ambition.
🎥 Watch it here:
You must be logged in to post a comment.