Dune is a very popular sci-fi film, and BOOM! Studios recently announced that they were lucky enough to acquire the comic book and graphic novel licenses for the prequel novel Dune: House Atreides. The novel is written by Kevin J. Anderson and Brian Herbert and is designed to tell the story that leads to Frank Herbert’s series. The comic book series will run 12 issues and is being adapted and scripted by the writing duo with help from Frank’s notes.

Set in the years leading up to the explosive events of Dune, DUNE: HOUSE ATREIDES transports readers to the far future on the desert planet Arrakis where Pardot Kynes seeks its secrets. Meanwhile, a violent coup is planned by the son of Emperor Elrood; an eight-year-old slave Duncan Idaho seeks to escape his cruel masters; and a young man named Leto Atreides begins a fateful journey. These unlikely souls will come together as renegades and soon discover that fate has decreed they will change the very shape of history.

House of Atreides is set to release the first issue this fall alongside the first of three graphic novels based on the original novel which is being handled by Abrams ComicArts. Brian released the following statement:

Dune: House Atreides holds a special place in my heart. It was the first novel Kevin and I wrote in my father's fantastic Dune universe, and it is our first collaborative novel to be adapted for comics. In 1999, our novel was a surprise New York Times bestseller, and we have equally high expectations for this special BOOM! Studios adaptation.

Anderson added:

It’s been more than twenty years since Brian and I published House Atreides, the first of our new novels set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe. We loved exploring all the possibilities Frank created for us, and those books introduced a whole new audience to Dune. Now, in adapting House Atreides into a vibrant graphic format, it’s like rediscovering the story and the world all over again. So much of the novel is visually driven, the union of comics and House Atreides is a natural.