Writer Jeff Lemire (Gideon Falls, Royal City) and artist Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Little Gotham) may be wrapping up their acclaimed Descender series, but they’ll stick with the universe they created with Ascender from Image Comics.

Set ten years after the events of Descender, Ascender presents a world in which the machines have gone away and magic has become a way of life.  A girl begins an epic quest to find robotkind and TIM-21, the artificial boy messiah who once traveled the galaxy to escape those who hunted him.  Ascender will hit stands in 2019.

Descender premiered in March 2015 and was already generating buzz before release.  Sony optioned the property before it hit stands (see “Lemire, Nguyen Comic Sold to Sony”).  The series ends with issue #32, which is on stands July 25.