The Expanse expands to comic books with new in-continuity story building up to season five

(Image credit: W. Scott Forbes (Boom! Studios))

The Amazon Prime series The Expanse is expanding to comic books again, with a new limited series through Boom! Studios.

(Image credit: Tigh Walker (Boom! Studios))

Boom!'s The Expanse picks up right after the fourth season's finale, and will be an in-continuity story bridging to the upcoming fifth season.

"The longtime secretary-general of the United Nations Chrisjen Avasarala finds herself dealing with the outcome of the tumultuous elections for her position and far from Earth but not its politics," reads Boom!'s description. "When Bobbie Draper - a former Martian marine - brings Avasarala intel on an intergalactic black market weapons ring, Avasarala sees a chance to reclaim her political position through a clandestine operation. But as Draper digs deeper into this secret cabal, she soon realizes the threat they pose is far larger - and closer to home - than either of them ever imagined."

Boom!'s The Expanse limited series will be written by Corinna Bechko, co-writer of DC's graphic novel series Green Lantern: Earth One.

(Image credit: W. Scott Forbes (Boom! Studios))

"I couldn't be more excited to add a piece to the universe of The Expanse!" says Bechko in the announcement. "It's a show I both adore and admire, so the chance to craft a noir-tinged plot involving two of my absolute favorite characters from the series makes me feel like the luckiest writer around."

Bechko will be joined by artist Alejandro Aragon, co-creator of the recent series Resonant from Vault. 

“The Expanse is one of the best sci-fi television shows out there right now," Aragon says. "I am honored to be a part of this journey and very excited to draw this universe and the incredible characters in it."

This is the second time The Expanse has ventured into comics. In 2017, four one-shots focusing on the origins of the show's characters James Holden, Naomi Nagata, Alex Kamal, and Amos Burton, were released by comiXology - the digital comics subsidiary of Amazon - and sister company of Amazon Prime, which airs The Expanse TV series. Boom! later collected those four one-shots into the graphic novel The Expanse: Origins.

The Expanse #1 (of 4) goes on sale on December 2.

The Expanse will be available in print and digital, but if you're reading comics digitally there's a lot of choices. Check out our list of the best digital comics readers for iOS and Android devices to find the right fit for you.

Chris Arrant

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)