Electronic Arts studio Visceral Games and Image Comics announced today the release of a brand new comic based on Visceral Games' upcoming prequel to its hit sci-fi horror first-person shooter, Dead Space, the Wii-exclusive Dead Space Extraction, which is slated for release this fall. The Dead Space Extraction comic will see the reunification of illustrator Ben Templesmith and writer Anthony Johnston, who created the comics which accompanied the original Dead Space. In fact, this comic owes its creation to the success of the original Dead Space comic mini-series.

The Dead Space Extraction comic will be hit the shelves of comic book shops this September for a suggested retail price of $3, but visitors to the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con will have the opportunity to pick up a special limited edition version of the comic at EA's booth (#5123) for only $2. Even better though, the limited edition version

2009 San Diego Comic-Con Exclusive Cover

available at Comic-Con will feature exclusive cover art, and Templesmith and Johnston will be on hand at the booth, signing the special issues, tomorrow, Thursday, July 23^rd, from 3pm to 4pm and on Friday through Sunday from 1pm to 2pm. EA is also getting the merchandise out in full force for Comic-Con, giving Dead Space fans the opportunity to purchase things like an Isaac Clarke Unitology figurine, branded iPhone skins, and Dead Space art books. Dead Space Extraction will also be one of the games featured at the playable kiosks at EA's booth.

The comic picks up the narrative of Dead Space Extraction somewhere around the midway point of the game, at “a critical juncture in the storyline”. That juncture gave Johnston the chance to take the comic in a bit of a different direction from the game, allowing him to present an alternate perspective on the game's storyline. In the comic, a group of colonists fight through hordes of horrific necromorphs while searching for a cure to stop a raging noxious infection in space. At the comic’s climax, the colonists encounter the desperate survivors from the videogame, only to realize that the only thing that can save them is right in front of them.

"There is so much more to the Dead Space universe than we could ever fit into one game and we’re excited to be working with Image Comics again to extend the story in Dead Space Extraction,” said Steve Papoutsis, Executive Producer of Dead Space Extraction. “Ben and Antony did such a tremendous job with the original comic, we can’t wait for fans to get their hands on this special issue.”

Want more? The Dead Space Extraction development team will be at Comic-Con this Friday, July 24^th, to participate in the “Art of Making a Horror Video Game” panel at 6pm in Room 2.

Again, the comic will be available at comic book retailers this September for a suggested price of $3. Dead Space Extraction is still in development at Visceral Games and is currently slated to ship to North American retailers on September 29^th and European retailers on October 2^nd. Dead Space Extraction is rated M for Mature or 18+.