After Years Out of Print, the LEGO Ninjago Dark Island Trilogy Returns This Spring
22SHARESHere’s some good news for LEGO Ninjago collectors: a graphic novel that’s been virtually impossible to track down is coming back to shelves this June.
Skybound and Image Comics are rereleasing the Dark Island Trilogy, a three-story collection that’s been out of circulation for years. The timing lines up nicely with Ninjago’s 15th birthday, and the new edition will feature updated cover art from Tri Vuong, who’s known for his work on Everyday Hero Machine Boy.
The original stories come from writer Greg Farshtey and artist Paul Lee, and they dive into some pretty significant Ninjago backstory. The plot follows Master Wu detecting a shift in the balance between light and darkness across their world. As threats both familiar and new emerge, the ninja team has to figure out whether their martial arts skills and elemental powers will be enough to prevent catastrophe.
What makes this rerelease interesting is that the Dark Island storyline has remained relevant to LEGO’s current Ninjago content, even though the books themselves haven’t been available. Fans who started following the series through the animated show or recent comics have had a frustrating gap in their understanding of the larger mythology.
This is actually part of a bigger collaboration between Skybound, Image, and children’s publisher AMEET to expand the Ninjago comic universe. They’ve been coordinating closely with LEGO’s internal storytelling team to make sure everything fits together across different formats – the graphic novels, the TV series, and even the physical toy sets all connect.
The partnership has already produced other titles. There’s a new series called Strike of the Serpentine coming in February from writers Cameron Chittock and Will Morris. And Tri Vuong has created two other volumes – Garmadon and Shatterspin – that are already on shelves.
Comic shops will have the Dark Island Trilogy starting June 3rd, with wider bookstore and digital distribution following on June 30th. The price point sits at $19.99 for the complete collection.
For anyone building a complete Ninjago library or trying to understand the full scope of the series mythology, this reprint solves a problem that’s existed for a while now.