World War II inspired story penned by legendary comic icon Garth Ennis advances to retailers

EMERYVILLE, Calif., (August 26, 2016) – Wargaming and Dark Horse Comics announced today that the highly anticipated first issue of the World of Tanks: Roll Out comic series will hit comic book stores and digital distribution on August 31st. The first ever comic book based on the “Wargaming Battle Universe” brings all of the thrills, tension and armored conflict World of Tanks players demand.  Inspired by Wargaming’s massively multiplayer online game World of Tanks, the hard-hitting story written by Garth Ennis (Preacher, War Stories, The Punisher), is a historically based war tale, skillfully illustrated by the renowned Carlos Ezquerra (Judge Dredd, Strontium Dog, War Stories Vol. 2). Each issue is wrapped in the epic cover art of Isaac Hannaford (HALO: Reach, The Punisher) and bursts with the explosive action found in the panels of World of Tanks: Roll Out.

The premier issue of armored combat debuts alongside the first in a series of in-game Premium Tank bundles based on the iconic, “hero” tanks of the comic book’s storyline. Now tankers can read the adventures of the valiant tanks in the comic book and continue the adventure by playing the ‘hero’ tanks in the Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 4 versions of World of Tanks.

Set during the epic tank battles of 1944, which proved to be pivotal on the outcome of the war, World of Tanks: Roll Out follows a crew of young British tankers as they push deeper into post D-Day Normandy toward a battalion of seasoned German armored units. Flanked and tracked by the Germans at almost every turn, the inexperienced British tankers traverse a battle scarred France while the danger around them escalates and the outcome of the war hangs in the balance.

“As we explored the idea of a World of Tanks comic book, the first priority was ensuring that we told an authentic and historically based tale of combat that was in line with Warming’s commitment to military authenticity,” stated Erik Whiteford, Wargaming’s Director of Marketing. “Having the leading writer in the war comic genre, Garth Ennis, and legendary illustrator, Carlos Ezquerra, as the creative team behind World of Tanks: Roll Out guaranteed the execution of a story in true Wargaming fashion; gritty and packed with realistic and pulse-pounding tank combat.”

As a part of the release of World of Tanks: Roll Out the World of Tanks premium shop for console will be offering limited time bundles featuring the British tanker’s Cromwell, known as “Snakebite.” Pulled directly from the pages of the comic, the signature Tier VI British Cromwell light tank offers tankers the Snakebite Crew Skill, which improves overall accuracy. Nimble and highly maneuverable, this tank darts across the map trading armor for speed while still packing a powerful punch. Three individual Snakebite themed bundles will be available on August 31.

World of Tanks: Roll Out comic issue #1 will be available digitally at Dark Horse Digital and in comic book stores in North America, Australia, Western and Eastern Europe on August 31 followed by the release for four more issues of intense tank combat.

About Wargaming
Wargaming is an award-winning online game developer and publisher and one of the leaders in the free-to-play MMO market. Founded as a privately held company in 1998, Wargaming has shipped more than 15 titles. Currently, Wargaming is focused on its team-based MMO war series dedicated to the mid-20th century warfare that will include the armored World of Tanks, the flight combat World of Warplanes, and the naval World of Warships. The three intertwined titles will form a common gaming universe integrated within the portal www.wargaming.net.

As part of its multiplatform line-up, the company has introduced World of Tanks on Xbox and World of Tanks Blitz on mobiles, tablets and Windows 10 PCs. Launched in 2014 and 2015, World of Tanks on Xbox introduced epic tank-on-tank battles to console gamers and offers the first cross-platform gaming experience between Xbox 360 and Xbox One. In 2016, Wargaming released World of Tanks for Sony’s PlayStation®4, continuing its console campaign.

About Dark Horse Comics
For thirty years, Dark Horse Comics has proven to be a solid example of how integrity and innovation can help broaden a unique storytelling medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. Founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson, the company is known for the progressive and creator-friendly atmosphere it provides for writers and artists. In addition to publishing comics from top talent, such as Eric Powell, Mike Mignola, Geof Darrow, Brian Wood, Gail Simone, Stan Sakai, and Guillermo del Toro, and comics legends, such as Will Eisner, Milo Manara, Kazuo Koike, Neil Gaiman, and Frank Miller, Dark Horse has developed its own successful properties, such as The Mask, Ghost, X, and Barb Wire. Its successful line of comics, manga, and products based on popular properties includes Dragon Age, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, Tomb Raider, Halo, The Witcher, Serenity, Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Today Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent comic book publisher in the US and is recognized as one of the world’s leading entertainment publishers.