Titan's Blade Runner: Black Lotus expands the franchise universe

Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1 main cover art by Junggeun Yoon (Image credit: Titan Comics)

Titan Comics has released a preview of June's Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1, which brings the Crunchyroll and Adult Swim animated series, Black Lotus, to comics. The Black Lotus anime series, which ran for 13 episodes between November 2021 and February 2022, takes place in Los Angeles in 2032 and features a female replicant protagonist named Elle.

Titan's Blade Runner: Black Lotus is set directly after the events of the Black Lotus anime, which takes place 10 years after Black Out 2022 and four years before 2036: Nexus Dawn, placing it somewhere in the middle of the established Blade Runner canon. The original film, released in 1982, takes place in a dystopian 2019, and the sequel, Blade Runner 2049, takes place 30 years later. At the end of the Black Lotus anime, Elle is seen leaving Los Angeles and driving into the desert on her late friend's motorbike.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1 cover art by Junggeun Yoon (Image credit: Titan Comics)

In the Blade Runner: Black Lotus comic, Elle attempts to leave behind her violent past and forge a new path forward. Unfortunately, in her world, replicants like her are not only feared but actively hunted, which will definitely make it hard for her to find peace. The first issue opens on a fight outside of Fracktown, which suggests Elle's mission isn't going well.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1 is written by Nancy Collins and illustrated by Enid Balaam. The main cover art is by Junggeun Yoon, and the issue also has three variants: one featuring anime concept art, one by Creees Li, and one by Mico Suayan. The issue hits stores on June 15 and is available now for pre-order.

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Blade Runner: Black Lotus #1 variant cover by Creees Li(Image credit: Titan Comics)

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Samantha Puc (she/they) is an editor at Newsarama and an avid comics fan. Their writing has been featured on Refinery29, Bitch Media, them., The Beat, The Mary Sue, and elsewhere. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative nonfiction at The New School.