The Last Of Us

Sony is working with Dark Horse Comics on The Last of Us: American Dreams, a look at The Last of Us main character Ellie’s life before the events of the game.

The Last of Us: American Dreams will be a four-issue comic book series that “peels back the layers on the early days of Ellie as it dives into her backstory. It will expose her personality and the motivations that drive her as it explores the first steps of the journey that leads to becoming the character we ultimately meet in the game.”

The official PlayStation Blog notes that the comic comes as a collaboration between Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann, artist and writer Faith Erin Hicks, and colorist Christina Strain. The PS Blog spoke to Druckmann, who had this to say on what he wanted to see from the series:

“I wanted to see a story that can stand on its own, so if you’ve never played the game you’d still be able to read this comic and get an intriguing story with these characters but, at the same time, if you do read this comic book and you play the game, you should get greater depth, a greater understanding of these characters and the world and what’s going on with them.

“The other cool thing is that working on the comic book has helped me develop more of Ellie’s backstory. Because we haven’t finished the game yet, we’ve been able to weave some of those threads into the story of the game. So there are certain parts as you play the game, if you’ve read the comic book, you’ll understand what Ellie’s referring to, or have a deeper understanding of what made her make that decision.”

Below are a few pieces of concept art that Hicks came up with for the comic. The Last of Us: American Dreams will kick off in spring of 2013.