Assassin's Creed 4 Gets a Jump Manga in September

Japanese publisher Sheisha has announced that Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is getting a manga series in the pages of its Jump magazines. Not Weekly Shonen Jump, which plays host to the biggest and best manga, including One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach; the AC IV manga will be published in the monthly Jump X (Jump Kai), one of the many offshoots of Shonen Jump. The manga will be drawn by Goth and Welcome to NHK artist Kenji Oiwa, with writing by Japanese historical novelist Yano Takashi.

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag will begin in the September issue of Jump X. It's not the first video game to get a manga adaptation, with Persona 3, Disgaea, Kingdom Hearts, Ace Attorney, Castlevania, and The Legend of Zelda having all had series in the past. Nintendo's Pokemon has Pokemon Adventures, a series that's been running since 1997, starring new characters related to the game's ongoing generations. God of War even had a mini-manga adaptation that came with every Japanese pre-order of God of War: Ghost of Sparta for PSP.

The manga will star Assassin's Creed IV protagonist Edward Kenway, a pirate with ties to both Assassin and Templar organizations. Determining Kenway's ultimate loyalty will drive the game's conflict. Ubisoft is hoping players and readers find the roguish Kenway more dynamic than his Native-American grandson, AC III's Connor.

“Edward is almost a counterpoint to Connor in some ways,” said AC4 lead writer Darby McDevitt in a recent Ubisoft feature. “He kind of bounces between the Assassins and Templars for a time, trying to find something that makes his life more meaningful. If nothing is true and everything is permitted, then Edward can do whatever he wants. At first he has all these selfish goals but his experiences focus him on what is and isn’t important in life.”

“Because he’s a good man at heart and the Assassins can see that, they pop into the story and try to steer him right, but he just refuses to listen after a time. He’ll come into contact with Templars at the same time and they’ll be interested in him too.”

Japan gets AC IV on November 28, 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U, nearly a month after the late October/early November releases for North America, Australia, and Europe.