Last year saw the arrival of The Orville Season 1.5, a two-issue series of “episodes” from Dark Horse Comics. Now The Orville is coming back to the comic scene with The Orville Season 2.5: Launch Day, with the first issue available this Wednesday, September 2nd. Originally slated for release in June, publication was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent exclusive with SYFY WIRE shed some light on the series’ new story and why it’s important to the plot of the television series.

When Captain Mercer and the crew of the U.S.S. Orville move to intercept a fleet of Krill ships, they find the Krill en route to a former Union planet in the Alibar System. Orbiting the planet is a “moon-sized structure”, emitting quantum interference. Convinced it is a weapon, the Krill intend to destroy the object. But what if the structure is something else altogether?

The Orville Season 2.5: Launch Day was written by executive producer of The Orville David A. Goodman, with artwork from David Cabeza and coloring by Michael Atiyeh. The new comic serial is meant to bridge the gap between seasons 2 and 3 of The Orville. For fans of the series, this gets them back on the U.S.S. Orville well before season 3 arrives, as production has yet to resume on the series. Artist Cabeza is particularly excited to bring this story to life. "After more than a year of the Season 2 finale, it's great to let fans get aboard The Orville again," Cabeza told SYFY WIRE. "They'll read two new exciting stories that David Goodman and I created of our crew with all the flavour of the TV show. Ed and Kelly have exciting adventures on a new world in the first story, with the always threatening appearance of the Krill; then the second one, focused on Talla, is a very interesting story that will let fans know more about her character. I really liked drawing these issues and hope the readers and fans enjoy them!"

The first issue of The Orville Season 2.5: Launch Day will officially be released tomorrow, September 2nd, but is available for pre-order now on Amazon in e-book format. Print editions are available for pre-order from your local comic shop. If you don’t know where that is, head over to comicshoplocator.com to find a shop near you.