Pokémon Gets A Dystopian Twist In Bold New Sci-Fi Series That Already Looks Huge

30 years ago, Pokémon launched with the Game Boy games Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (originally Green in Japan). The anime series adaptation and trading card game followed shortly thereafter, and three decades later, it remains one of the most popular media franchises of all time. So it’s no wonder why there have been various other stories inspired by Pokémon after all this time.

The latest example of this is a new Image Comics series that will begin at the end of the year. However, in this case, this sci-fi title is putting a dystopian twist on the Pokémon concept with its own visually-distinctive monsters. Judging from the story details that have been revealed and the accompanying artwork, the series already looks like it will be a big deal.

Image Comics Kicks Off Creature Corps At The End Of 2026

Creature Corps , Written By Curt Pires, Cover Art By Jok, Jae Lee, And Flops

This December, Image Comics will begin publishing Creature Corps, which is described as a “new time-rending monster-battling remix comic series.” This title hails from writer Curt Pires (Lost Fantasy, Fireborn) and artist Jok (The Body Trade), with the two talents having previously worked together on 51. Creature Corps will be 60 pages and cost $4.99.

Creature Corps follows a spaceship packed with “survivalist, fantastical creatures” from a “broken future” ending up in the present. These creatures are subsequently captured and pitted against each other and are used for a profitable “unethical creature battling league” where teenage “trainers” are used to manage these “time-displaced fighters.” That includes main protagonist Dusty Rockem, who became the World Champion of this league when he was 14.

A “devastating event” forced Dusty to leave his trainer life behind and live out in the wilderness. Creature Corps picks back up with him decades later, when some of his former colleagues track him down and inform him that his mother is “in critical condition and drowning in medical bills.” Left with no other choice, Dusty rejoins the creature battle league so he can ensure his mother’s care.

In addition to sharing four of the 12 covers that will be available for Creature Corps , Image Comics also released four of the issue’s pages. They depict Dusty’s aforementioned colleagues, Rock and Court, who are recognized by the ship captain who’s transporting them to the remote island where Dusty is living. There’s also a quick flashback to Dusty’s glory days as a trainer, followed by a peek at him at the top of a waterfall silencing the world around him.

In Image Comics’ official Creature Corps announcement, Pires calls the series “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.” He also mentions there will be a Creature Corps trading card game, giving it even more in common with the Pokémon franchise. Jok called the comic book series “a continent-spanning, era-hopping sci-fi fantasy” with “so many wildly creative monsters locked in battle.”

Creature Corps will be released Wednesday, December 2 by Image Comics.