Paul Cornell announced in his newsletter that Cosmic Lighthouse, the comics company he co-founded, is adapting Martha Wells’ “Murderbot” into a graphic novel. The book is titled “Murderbot: All Systems Red,” adapted by Erica Schultz, with art by Gary Erskine, color by Yel Zamor, and letters by Simon Bowland. Jaime Jones, who already illustrates the prose novella covers, handles the main cover, with variants from John Picacio, Tommy Arnold, and Francesca Myman. Arnold also worked on design for the “Murderbot” television series.
“This is one of those big announcements!” Cornell wrote. “My comics company, Cosmic Lighthouse, today announced its second graphic novel: Murderbot: All Systems Red, an adaptation of the Martha Wells novella.”
The book includes a new “Murderbot” short story written by Wells and an introduction from David Dastmalchian, who plays Gurathin on the show. Cornell specified the comic adapts the source novella rather than the television adaptation: “We’re adapting the book, not the show, so expect a more androgynous Sec Unit and a different take on its favourite shows.”
Cosmic Lighthouse plans several physical editions alongside a digital release, with add-ons Cornell described as “luxurious extras,” including an option to have yourself drawn into the comic. A Kickstarter is coming, and the signup page already shows 1,733 followers ahead of launch.
A Track Record Before This Announcement
Cornell built his career across comics, television, and prose before starting Cosmic Lighthouse with Lee Harris and Anthony Cronin. He wrote Marvel’s “The Avengers” and created “Saucer Country” with artist Ryan Kelly. He has writing credits on “Doctor Who.” His novel work includes the “Lychford” series, now six books deep, and he co-hosts a podcast examining science fiction television going back to 1953.
Cosmic Lighthouse’s stated mission is publishing original graphic novels by established science fiction and fantasy prose writers, built around their existing series. The company’s first release under that model was “Salvation’s Child,” a prologue to Adrian Tchaikovsky’s “The Final Architecture” series, with Tchaikovsky adapting his own material rather than handing the job to a separate writer. That book went out through Comixology as a digital release on Amazon’s platform. Cornell confirmed the follow-up will differ in format: “There will be (several) physical editions at the same time as a digital one.”
Why Murderbot Is The Bigger Get
“Murderbot” carries an audience the Tchaikovsky book didn’t have built in at launch. Apple TV+’s adaptation, starring Alexander Skarsgård, holds a 97% critics score and an 80% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus reads: “Alexander Skarsgård’s superbly dry wit brings a lot of heart to Murderbot, making for a refreshingly jaunty sci-fi saga about finally coming out of one’s shell.”
Wells’ novella series has also sold well on its own before the show existed, and the television deal put the property in front of a much wider audience than a prose-only fanbase. A comics adaptation lands into that expanded audience rather than needing to build one from scratch, which is a different position than Cosmic Lighthouse’s debut title occupied.
The Move From Amazon To Kickstarter
The shift in format matters beyond the extras. Comixology releases put a book inside Amazon’s Kindle comics ecosystem, where digital comics sales have historically lagged behind other digital categories on the platform. Crowdfunding a physical release instead opens up tiered pricing, multiple format options, and add-ons like the in-comic self-insert Cornell mentioned, all of which give a publisher more revenue per backer than a flat digital purchase.
Going from an Amazon-exclusive digital debut to a Kickstarter-backed physical release with variant covers and creator involvement from Wells herself looks like a company adjusting its model title to title rather than repeating the same playbook. The 1,733 followers already signed up before launch suggest the swap is paying off before a single pledge comes in.
Cornell closed his newsletter post with: “Do take a look! This is enormous for us!”
Does the jump from a digital-only debut to a fully crowdfunded physical release with this kind of talent attached tell you Cosmic Lighthouse is scaling up faster than expected?
Sign up for the Ayla Rin: Gateway to Doom Crowdfund, coming soon for great cosmic comic books with a cover by legendary Green Lantern artist, Ethan Van Sciver:
This sounds like an exciting next step for Cosmic Lighthouse, especially with Martha Wells directly involved and a new story included. Do you think the graphic novel format will bring a new audience to Murderbot?