In the first Kill All Immortals miniseries from Dark Horse Comics, readers met the Asvalds, a powerful billionaire Viking family, whose less-than-morality compelled daughter Frey to lead a rebellion with her brothers against her father’s empire. While ending up on top, Frey must now contend with the consequences of her actions. In Kill All Immortals II, debuting next week from the returning creative team of writer Zack Kaplan, artist Fico Ossio, colorist Thiago Rocha, letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, and cover artist Oliver Barrett, Frey finds that even principled stands have consequences, consequences that might spell trouble for her family and their empire.

I spoke with Zack Kaplan recently about the idea behind Kill All Immortals, where we find the cast in the follow-up miniseries, what we can expect in this new story, and defying trope expectations.

We’re sold the idea that hard work breeds success, but that often feels to be a lie we’re saddled with to keep us from moving forward to attaining that goal. While diligent determination is admirable, it’s often those in power and secret circles that throw up road blocks in front of the normal citizenry from moving up the ladder to fame and glory.

Next week, writer Zack Kaplan, artist Stephen Thompson, colorist Thiago Rocha, and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou throw the spotlight on these types of circles in their new series Masterminds from Dark Horse Comics. In Masterminds, Edward Hale is a game programmer who’s looking to make a name for himself and attain elusive success, but must contend with the labyrinthine rules and obstacles of The Powers That Be, as well as the allure of bending the rules in the process.

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics, we can exclusively reveal Masterminds, a satirical new series by writer Zack Kaplan (Kill All Immortals), artist Stephen Thompson (Star Trek: Year Five), colorist Thiago Rocha (Sister Imperator), and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly). Debuting this August, the five-issue comic revolves around a secret society in Silicon Valley, and the desperate lengths some will go to to join their numbers.

Dark Horse Comics came out swinging with bloody efficiency in Kill All Immortals, and now we can exclusively reveal that Dark Horse is back with even more epic action in Kill All Immortals II. The team of writer Zack Kaplan (Dark Empty Void, Mindset, Port of Earth), artist Fico Ossio (Black Lightning, No One Left to Fight), colorist Thiago Rocha (Sister Imperator, The Midnight: Shadows), and letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (The Witcher: The Bear and the Butterfly, Drive Like Hell) aren’t resting on their laurels either, and are set to take the violence and mayhem to a new level level, and you can check out your first look at the new series below.