NATURE'S LABYRINTH

Get ready for the battle royale of a lifetime.

When eight former felons are left stranded on a deserted island with a murderous backpack strapped to them and nothing but a cartoon to help them through a deadly, constantly changing environment filled with danger around every corner, they have no choice to result to violence. Nature’s Labyrinth is filled with action and off-kilter humor.

In the middle of the ocean lies a remote island complex lined with traps and an ever-changing landscape. Created by a mysterious man known only as “Ahab”, the island was designed to test the wills of the world’s most notorious criminals. In a battle royale style game, eight violent felons will fight for survival and to the death over the course of three days of relentless action. The winner receives a wealth or riches and complete anonymity, but at the cost of keeping their silence about the island’s existence. What Ahab doesn’t know is that someone is on to him. Someone has infiltrated his island with the intention of revealing the truth about this twisted game.
Nature’s Labyrinth is an all-new six issue mini-series from writer Zac Thompson (Yondu, The Brother of All Men, Undone by Blood) and Bayleigh Underwood (It Took Luke, The Sixth Borough).

Get To Know

The Characters

J. Roe

A no-nonsense undercover CIA agent, J. Roe is fearless, determined, and always gets her target. Though her job is ethically complex, she has the best of intentions and tries not to think too much about what she does for a living. J. Roe’s prior training has given her formidable fighting capabilities, but she prefers a diplomatic approach whenever possible. Though it goes against her personal ethos, she does have an unfortunate talent for killing–a talent that proves itself to be an important asset during the game. J. Roe has a fairly guarded personality, preferring to keep her personal details as private as she possibly can during the events of Nature’s Labyrinth. She speaks about her personal details at a distance, not wanting to give too much of herself away to the other players in the game. Her personality is practical, and everything she says is very carefully measured. While she seems unusually composed during the events of the game, her true motivations remain yet unknown.

Nasir Sarafin

A programmer and video game developer from the Middle East, Nasir Sarafin was previously imprisoned on suspicion of dealing weapons. Thanks to a podcast dedicated to his case, doubt was cast on his relationship to the crime, and Nasir was released from a life sentence. Though he is often pressed about the issue, Nasir swears his innocence and tries not to speak too much on the matter. (After all, he’s said everything there is to say about it–just listen to his podcast.) While most of the other contestants in Nature’s Labyrinth come from more dangerous backgrounds, Nasir insists his area of expertise is game development, and as such, tries to avoid conflict whenever possible. He is a creature of comfort through and through, and is the first to make his complaints known–whether they’re about the tightness of his B-Con or about how terribly thirsty he is. Nasir makes for a brilliant, loyal ally, but he does carry a healthy dose of skepticism with him–one that only grows the further into the labyrinth he goes.

Ahab Hayter aka The Captain

Ahab Hayter, also known as The Captain, is the main figure responsible for the game Nature’s Labyrinth. Ruthless, terrifying, and cruel, Ahab has a storied history of providing intelligence, training, and security to world governments–as well as several multinational corporations. Considered a disgraced patriot, Ahab was imprisoned for war crimes during the war on terror–though was later freed and funded by billionaire benefactors to create Nature’s Labyrinth. Seeing himself as the only source of agency in the game, Ahab constantly bends the rules and moves the goalposts of the game to his personal whim, with the assistance of his wife, Dorothy. He is incredibly fast, incredibly strong, and incredibly skilled thanks to a specially-designed exoskeleton; a modified version of the body consoles attached to the contestants in the labyrinth. Despite his apparent sadistic streak, Ahab considers himself a family man and would do just about anything to ensure the happiness of his wife, Dorothy, and his son, Billy.

Alexi Babin

Though he may seem to be innocent, Alexi Babin is a ruthless pyromaniac with a cold, calculating personality. His obsession with fire is seemingly boundless, and he’s responsible for burning commercial buildings, homes, and schools. Before his time in Nature’s Labyrinth, Alexi was jailed for a spree of arson–though he was released after only a year due to a technicality in his arrest. Alexi is stubborn to a fault, determined to make it to the end of the labyrinth no matter who he has to burn to get there.

Sofia Ricci

The youngest in one of Italy’s most violent crime families, Sofia Ricci’s grandfather is the don of one of Italy’s most violent crime families. Sofia went to jail at 18 under mysterious circumstances; Most speculate it has something to do with her family’s enterprise. Though Sophia has tried to distance herself from the Ricci family name, crime has followed her, for her entire life. She isn’t very fond of violence, though she isn’t afraid to resort to it as a means of self-preservation.

Julia Petrakis

While Julia Petrakis may initially seem sweet, she was responsible for one of the biggest human trafficking rings in and out of Greece. Her appearances disguise a ruthless, vengeful personality, as Julia is willing to do just about anything to ensure her own survival.

Sunny Khan

Unpredictable and unhinged, Sunny Khan is a full-blown member of the Yakuza with a terrifying sense of humor. Known to be a bit of a wildcard, Sunny takes pleasure in causing as much chaos as he possibly can–even if it amounts to outright murder. His demeanor is mostly aloof, though he seems to light up when committing his most heinous acts.

Armando Martinez

The son of a notorious Mexican drug lord, Armando Martinez is ruthless and cunning, willing to make dodgy allegiances to get ahead. Armando has witnessed executions and murders of all sorts during his short life, and he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to get what he wants. He prefers to use flashier methods to get things done, though this sometimes results in him running straight into situations without fully considering the consequences.

Chet Fisher

Relatable and charismatic, Chet Fisher is known for his charming personality. He has fairly laid-back personality but refers to himself as someone who does “dodgy as fuck things” whenever asked about his professional affairs. When he isn’t busy shotgunning beers, he’s bragging about his beer-shotgunning skills to anyone willing to listen. Though Chet tends to be more on the fun-loving side, he’s extremely quick to anger and has a very low tolerance for the things that do annoy him.

Pancho

Pancho, The Instructions Cat, is the handy-dandy, personal guide to survival in Nature’s Labyrinth. Making his first appearance at the beginning of the game, Pancho updates players with helpful hints, checkpoint information, and a somewhat thorough explanation of the game’s rules. He will occasionally provide extra information, particularly about the other contestants’ histories, to shake things up when the games slow down. Pancho serves as a sort of mascot for the games, regularly communicating to the players through their personal communication devices.

Dorothy Hayter

The wife of Ahab Hayter, Dorothy is the producer of Nature’s Labyrinth and monitors the games from the safety of her security booth. Operating as Ahab’s eyes on the island, Dorothy has access to cameras throughout the labyrinth and feeds Ahab information about the players’ whereabouts. She is able to manipulate the game at will, with hundreds of switches at the ready to add new obstacles to the players’ paths.

Creative Team

Get to know the talented individuals behind our company.

Zac Thompson

Author

Zac Thompson is a writer from a tiny island in Canada. Zac often writes about nature, the horrors of the human condition, and everything in between, to be discovered in this upcoming series from Mad Cave Studios, Nature’s Labyrinth. You may know Zac from his other works like Ka-Zar Lord of the Savage Land at Marvel, I Breathed A Body and Lonely Receiver at Aftershock, or The Dregs at Black Mask Studios.

Warnia Sahadewa

Colorist

Warnia Sahadewa is a full time comic books colorist, working with Mad Cave Studios, Lion Forge, Titan Comic, Valiant, and Short Fuse Media.

Bayleigh Underwood

Illustrator

Bayleigh Underwood is a comic artist and illustrator based in North Carolina who specializes in monsters, inking, and action scenes. They are the co-creator of the graphic novel IT TOOK LUKE and have illustrated multiple short comics including REFLECTION, MARVEL ACTION: CHILLERS, and THE LAST CHAMPION. Outside of comics they do their best to take care of their three rowdy cats, listen to screamo music, and go on hikes with their partner.

Winner Takes It All!

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