After hiding in the shadows for over a decade, the renowned Thief series of video games re-emerged last year with a new installment made for virtual reality, titled Thief VR: Legacy of Shadows. It marked the first adventure within the dark fantasy stealth franchise not to star master thief Garrett, or a reimagining of him, but instead introduced an orphan thief named Magpie who happened upon a locket possessed by Garrett’s spirit and began her own quest within the oppressive city. For those looking to see through the original antihero’s mechanical eye once more, however, there’s good news. Bit Bot Media is prepping a BackerKit campaign for an officially licensed graphic novel titled Thief: Pulse of Promise, offering a new, self-contained story set between the events of the groundbreaking title that started it all and its sequel, Thief II: The Metal Age, and Collider can exclusively share a look at the cover art for the Deluxe Hardcover Edition.
While the standard hardcover version of the graphic novel features a design by interior artist Emanuele Ercolani that plays to the steampunk-infused world of Thief, the deluxe iteration leans more on the fantastical side, showing Garrett in his trademark cloak with his bow drawn. It captures a similar moody air as felt in the original illustrations for Thief: The Dark Project and its ancestors, albeit with a touch that is uniquely Tyler Kirkham‘s. The artwork hails from the Marvel and DC fan-favorite, whose detailed hand has touched everything from The Amazing Spider-Man to Venom, Batman, Star Wars, and more, alongside his original Image Comics series, Final Boss. He’s not the only creative being brought in to give his spin on Thief, as Diabolik‘s Claudio Mastronardi is also providing a cover for the Limited Hardcover Edition.
Pulse of Promise is penned by Joshua Viola and Sean Eads, the former of whom has experience revisiting classic games in graphic novel form through Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise. Their story picks up with Garrett before the Age of Metal, as he takes up a heist that, on the surface, appears to be a run-of-the-mill job. Through his work, however, he soon uncovers forgotten secrets of the keepers, the powerful organization of elite minds that ran the old city years ago, as well as curious powers and a mysterious boy who may chart the city’s future. Viola, who’s also a co-owner of Bit Bot, assured in a statement that the team worked closely with Thief‘s original publisher, Eidos-Montréal, to create a graphic novel that honors the game’s legacy and story, complete with some familiar faces like Artemus and Father Karras.
“Thief remains one of the most influential and beloved stealth game franchises ever created. Every aspect of Pulse of Promise was developed in close collaboration with Eidos-Montréal to help ensure the story, characters, factions, and world align with what longtime fans would expect from this era of Garrett’s life. We wanted this to feel like a genuine standalone chapter between The Dark Project and The Metal Age.”
Collider Exclusive · Middle-earth Quiz Which Lord of the Rings Character Are You? One Quiz · Ten Questions · Your Fate Revealed
The road goes ever on. From the green hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Ten questions stand between you and the truth of who you are. Answer honestly — the One Ring has a way of revealing what we most want to hide.
💍Frodo
🌿Samwise
👑Aragorn
🔥Gandalf
🏹Legolas
⚒️Gimli
👁️Sauron
🪨Gollum
01
You are handed a responsibility that could destroy you. What do you do? The weight of the world falls on unlikely shoulders.
02
Your closest companion is heading into terrible danger. You: True loyalty is revealed not in comfort, but in crisis.
03
Enormous power is within your reach. Your instinct is: Power corrupts — but only those who reach for it.
04
What does “home” mean to you? Where we long to return reveals who we truly are.
05
When a battle is upon you, your approach is: War reveals what we are made of — whether we like it or not.
06
Someone comes to you for advice in their darkest hour. You: Wisdom is not knowing all the answers — it’s knowing which questions to ask.
07
How do you see yourself, honestly? Self-knowledge is the most dangerous kind.
08
Which of these best describes your relationship with the natural world? Middle-earth speaks to those who know how to listen.
09
You encounter a wretched, pitiable creature who has done terrible things. You: How we treat the fallen reveals the height of our character.
10
When the quest is over and the songs are sung, what do you hope they say about you? In the end, we are all just stories.
The Fellowship Has Spoken Your Place in Middle-earth
The scores below reveal your true character. Your highest number is your match. Even a tie tells a story — the Fellowship was never made of simple people.
💍 Frodo
🌿 Samwise
👑 Aragorn
🔥 Gandalf
🏹 Legolas
⚒️ Gimli
👁️ Sauron
🪨 Gollum
You carry something heavy — and you carry it alone, even when you don’t have to. You were not born for greatness, and that is precisely why greatness chose you. Your courage is not the roaring, sword-swinging kind; it is quiet, stubborn, and terrifying in its refusal to quit. The Ring weighs on you more than anyone can see, and still you walk toward the fire. That is not weakness. That is the rarest kind of strength there is.
You are, without question, the best of them. Not the most powerful, not the most celebrated — but the most essential. Your loyalty is not a trait; it is a force of nature. You would carry the person you love up the slopes of Mount Doom if it came to that, and we both know you’d do it without being asked. The world needs more people like you, and the world is lucky it has even one.
You were born to lead, and you have spent years running from it. The crown is yours by right, but you know better than anyone that right means nothing without the will and the worthiness to back it up. You are tempered by loss, shaped by long roads, and defined by a code of honour you hold to even when no one is watching. When you finally step forward, the world shifts. Because it was always waiting for you.
You have seen more than you let on, and you say less than you know — which is exactly as it should be. You are a catalyst: you do not fight the battles yourself, you ignite the people who can. Your wisdom comes not from books but from an age of watching what happens when it is ignored. You arrive precisely when you mean to, and your presence alone changes what is possible. A wizard is never late.
Graceful, perceptive, and almost preternaturally calm under pressure — you see things others miss and act before others react. You do not need to make a scene to be remarkable; your presence speaks for itself. You are loyal to those you choose to stand beside, and that choice is not made lightly. You have lived long enough to know that the most beautiful things in this world are also the most fragile, and that is why you fight to protect them.
You are loud, proud, and absolutely formidable — and beneath all of that is one of the most fiercely loyal hearts in Middle-earth. You don’t do anything by half measures. Your friendships are forged like iron, your grudges run as deep as mines, and your courage in battle is the kind that makes legends. You came into this fellowship suspicious of everyone and ended it willing to die for an elf. That is not a small thing. That is everything.
You think in centuries and act in absolutes. Order, dominion, control — not because you are cruel by nature, but because you have decided that the world left to itself always falls apart, and you are the only one with the vision and the will to hold it together. You were not always this. Something was lost, or taken, or betrayed, and the version of you that stands now is the answer to that wound. The tragedy is that you’re not entirely wrong — just entirely too far gone to course-correct.
You are a study in contradiction — pitiable and dangerous, cunning and broken, capable of both cruelty and something that once resembled love. You are defined by loss: of innocence, of self, of the one thing that gave your existence meaning. Two voices war inside you constantly, and the tragedy is that the better one sometimes wins, just not often enough, and never at the right moment. You are a warning, yes — but also a mirror. We are all a little Gollum, given the right ring and enough time.
The ‘Thief: Pulse of Promise’ Campaign Comes With a Treasure Trove of Collectibles
In addition to Ercolani, Gianluca Papi also helped handle the interior artwork for Pulse of Promise, with Jeremiah Lambert providing the lettering. Those who order the Deluxe Edition won’t just get the hardcover with Kirkham’s art, but also a collectible slipcase, concept artwork, and other behind-the-scenes goodies. That’s also just part of a massive slate of new items through the BackerKit campaign, like an all-new soundtrack composed by Celldweller as well as voiceover done by the original voice of Garrett himself, Stephen Russell, a statue of the thief, plush, art prints, T-shirts, and even a limited edition replica of Garrett’s mechanical eye in a premium collector’s set for diehard Thief fans. An exclusive black and gold coin featuring the graphic novel’s title will also be given to those who reserve through the pre-launch page.
It’s a huge celebration of all things Thief, and Frank O’Connor, Bit Bot’s Creative Director and former Franchise Creative Director for classic gaming giantsHalo and Perfect Dark, is excited to see it come to fruition. In a separate statement, he addressed the legacy of the Thief series and how the new graphic novel will carry on that spirit with Garrett’s familiar cynical approach.
“Thief isn’t just a masterclass in stealth gameplay, it’s one of the most innovative and influential modern dark fantasy stories, period. It’s an honor to witness the expansion of that storytelling and narrative evolution in graphic novel format, and I’m genuinely enthralled to see what the world thinks of Garrett’s next cynical outlook on what it means to thrive, survive, and purloin interesting swag in Thief: Pulse of Promise.”
A new graphic novel isn’t all that Thief fans have to be excited about. Last month, remaster specialists Nightdive Studios announced that their next project would be Looking Glass Studios’ original 1998 first-person stealth masterpiece, working with Eidos-Montréal and Atari to make it happen. Coming off successes like the System Shock 2 25th anniversary remaster, The Thing: Remastered, and a refresh of Star Wars: Dark Forces, they’re rebuilding Thief: The Dark Project in their KEX Engine with a graphical update, some modern amenities, and a few fixes to the levels themselves. It’s also slated to release across all modern platforms sometime this winter, including Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
Thief: Pulse of Promise will launch a campaign on BackerKit this summer. Get an exclusive look at the Deluxe Hardcover Edition art in the gallery above and visit the official BackerKit page to sign up for more news when the campaign officially launches.
