The Best Ongoing Science Fiction Franchise Is A Secret To 99% Of Fans

Published Nov 10, 2026, 6:00 PM EST

Hannah is a senior writer and self-publisher at ScreenRant. There, she focuses on writing news, features, and list-style articles about all things comics, books, anime, and manga. She works as a freelance writer in the entertainment industry, focusing on video games, anime, and literature.

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Science fiction comics have no shortage of sprawling universes, but one of the most ambitious currently being built has taken an unusual route to reach readers. Three Worlds / Three Moons, or 3W/3M, is a shared science-fiction setting created by Jonathan Hickman, Mike del Mundo, Mike Huddleston, and Nick Spencer. It began online in 2021, inviting readers to follow the worldbuilding process as it happened rather than simply receiving a finished comic.

That approach has helped 3W/3M grow into something bigger than a conventional comic-book series. Its creators have developed thousands of pages of stories and lore, experimented with digital reading platforms, and built a community around the universe. Dark Horse's 2026 publishing partnership is bringing the project to a much wider comic-shop and bookstore audience, but the printed books are only one part of its appeal.

Three Worlds / Three Moons Is A Science-Fantasy Universe Built To Keep Expanding

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Hickman introduced the project on August 9, 2021, describing it as a "concept universe" rather than a single storyline. Individual characters, locations, histories, and comics would contribute to a larger whole. Its foundational conflict moves through recurring eras in which science and magic rise and fall, giving the setting room to support stories across vastly different periods.

The premise is deliberately wider than a single space-faring adventure. The worldbuilding ranges across Akva, Therra, and Heir, alongside three moons, with societies, belief systems, economies, and political structures that give each corner of the universe its own identity. The creators wanted those details established before individual plots needed them, so the world could feel as if it existed beyond any protagonist.

The original creative group brought together Hickman with artists del Mundo and Huddleston, whose visual and design work helped shape the setting from the ground up. Nick Spencer later joined the core team, while other writers and artists contributed individual systems and stories. The project was conceived as a place where different creative voices could build connected material, not simply as one writer's long-running serial.

That approach also explains why the series can feel different from a traditional monthly comic. Hickman wanted stories of varying lengths and formats, with releases appearing when the work was ready rather than being forced into a standard issue count. He was also interested in restoring surprise to comics publishing, letting readers encounter new stories and artwork without every release being mapped out through conventional previews.

Recommended 3W/3M Reading Order

#	Title	What to Read
1	3W/3M [ONE] – FOUNDATIONS	FABLE, RUIN, and BREATHE
2	3W/3M [ONE] – SHIFT	Jonathan Hickman and Mike del Mundo's 64-page graphic novel
3	3W/3M [ONE] – ARRIVALS	Three-issue introductory storyline
4	ACADEMY	All 48 chapters
5	THE VALLARS – Volume One	Prequel following a younger Tajo Vallar
6	[SYSTEMS]	200-page graphic novel sourcebook
7	[LEGENDS] Volume One	Six standalone stories
8	[LEGENDS] Volume Two	Five standalone stories

Additional Worldbuilding Material

Title	What It Covers
WHERE WE START	Jonathan Hickman's introduction to the universe
WHERE WE'RE GOING	Further exploration of the setting's lore
[MAPS]	Geography and locations across the three worlds and three moons
[HISTORIES]	Historical events, stories, and additional lore

Its Biggest Innovation Is Letting Readers Watch The Universe Take Shape

The audience was part of the plan from the beginning. In his launch essay, Hickman said the team wanted readers to have a front-row seat during the creation process, with meaningful input at certain stages. That did not mean turning every plot point into a vote or handing over authorship. Instead, the creators made the development of characters, environments, lore, and creative decisions unusually visible.

That transparency became a key part of 3W/3M's identity. Through online posts, the team shared comics alongside process material and conversations about how the universe was designed. Readers could see how visual ideas connected to cultural details, why a place appeared where it did, or how a society's rules influenced the stories set inside it. Worldbuilding became part of the entertainment, not disposable bonus material.

The community grew quickly enough to demonstrate that this more open model had an audience. In May 2022, the project reported just under 10,000 total subscribers, including approximately 2,300 paid supporters. By its third anniversary in August 2024, the team said its community had passed 30,000 people. The project's Substack profile now lists more than 39,000 subscribers, showing how far it has grown beyond its original experiment.

The creators also expanded the experience beyond a newsletter. Paid subscribers received exclusive comics and specially produced physical rewards, while the team developed Mythic, a dedicated digital reading service with a customizable library. In July 2026, Mythic entered open beta, giving readers another way to subscribe and access the material. A 3W/3M mobile app also joined the expanding digital ecosystem.

Dark Horse's New Books Could Finally Make 3W/3M A Mainstream Comics Name

The move into wider print distribution began with Dark Horse's announcement in February 2026. The publisher brought the universe to the direct market with Foundations, a 32-page, magazine-sized one-shot released on July 8 for $6.99. Written by Hickman and Spencer, with art by del Mundo and Huddleston, it follows astronaut and explorer Tajo Vallar on a doomed expedition to a dormant moon, where he uncovers mysteries that reignite an ancient conflict. Foundations builds on earlier digital material, including Fable and Ruin, which introduced Tajo, but gives new readers a clear entry point that does not require navigating years of online posts.

Dark Horse followed that launch with three oversized hardcover sourcebooks announced on July 17, 2026: [SYSTEMS], [MAPS], and [HISTORIES]. Each is planned as a 200-page, 8.5-by-11-inch volume combining comics with reference material and lore. The first, [SYSTEMS], is scheduled for February 2, 2027, at $39.99. Its twelve stories and data pages examine Therran birth assessments, royal duels on Heir, pirate searches for the treasure Khor, and the lore surrounding the gods.

[MAPS], due April 6, 2027, functions as an atlas, charting locations from Akva's Khor-rich waters to Therra's labyrinths and Heir's rougher districts. It also includes twelve stories, with contributors such as James Stokoe and Juni Ba. [HISTORIES] follows on June 1, 2027, collecting six comics with lore and data that establish the worlds' timeline. Together, the three books offer newcomers a structured introduction to the setting while giving longtime readers more context for its cultures, geography, and past.

The publication plan makes the timing especially interesting. Physical books and printed rewards were already part of the project's subscriber offerings, but Dark Horse is opening the universe to people who shop at comic stores and bookstores rather than following its digital channels. The creators have described the partnership as additive, with work continuing to originate through the project's own ecosystem. That blend of scale, creative range, and community involvement makes Three Worlds / Three Moons one of science fiction comics' most unusual ongoing projects and arguably the best ongoing sci-fi franchise.