A Dark Winter’s Tale of Revolution, Empathy, and Hope. Where Snow, Smoke, and Steel Collide…
Mad Cave Studios is proud to announce, from the minds of debut writer Joni Hägg and Stipan Morian (20th Century Men), comes OUR SOOT STAINED HEART!
This original fantasy series, brought to life with colorist Ropemann and Eisner-winning letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, fuses steampunk, frostpunk, and mythic folklore into a singular vision of fire, rebellion, and resilience. The result: the most thrilling adventure of the winter.
OUR SOOT STAINED HEART
Writer: Joni Hägg & Stipan Morian– Artist: Stipan Morian
Colorist: Ropemann – Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Release Date: December 10th, 2025
Synopsis: The Coalition is a city of wonder in the deep north, but it is ruled by the cruel Governor Glass and his factory lords. Coal is the lifeline of the city, and for honest workers like young Peggy Stones, life can be hard because of the nefarious quota. To get extra coal at the end of the year, you must be bad, every day! Peggy’s life is thrown into chaos when she is imprisoned and sent into exile, which begins a harrowing journey to the ends of the world to find answers that could change the world!
Writer, Joni Hägg
“Our Soot Stained Heart is a curious story that mixes familiar wintertime stories and traditions with various myths in a unique fantasy setting. It’s not a retelling of any one story, nor do we use any Christmas characters ‘as-is.’ Instead, we’ve reimagined them into an entirely new world—one that draws on my Finnish cultural mindscape and Stipan’s Balkan heritage. At its core, this book speaks to the need for the working class to unite against oppression. For me, writing is always about big ideas, and this is a book of big ideas with simple delivery.”
Artist, Stipan Morian
“It’s been more than three years since Joni and I started this project. I was on fire with my first book, 20th Century Men, and I just knew we had to make this one sing. Peggy, for me, is the lamb who gets lost in the woods by her own design—because she wants change and wills it into existence. She’s the agency of youth, the moving force. Readers will find themselves not just in her journey, but in the mirrors of revolution, resilience, and choices that surround her.”
With sweeping illustrations and worldbuilding that echo Snowpiercer, Les Misérables, and Klaus—Our Soot Stained Heart delivers both the spectacle of an epic winter’s rebellion and the intimacy of a tale about empathy, community, and hope.
Our Soot Stained Heart #1 drops December 10, 2025. Preorder it from your local comic shop starting September 19th!.
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