On the surface, Clash of Clans is a mobile game where players lead their troops to build an indestructible village, attacking other players in the process. But with the franchise's upcoming and first-ever graphic novel, Books of Clash, Supercell hopes to add a whole new layer to its universe and overall fan experience.
Books of Clash has been in the making for about 10 years. It wasn't until 2020 that development talks were finally in the works, which was the same year that Clash of Clanswas named in the top 50 grossing apps in the Google Play Store and iOS App Store, marking more than eight years following its initial release. Books of Clash graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang recently told Game ZXC that he leaned into his own personal experiences to write the eight-volume series during a recent interview.
The Story Of Hog Rider Terry
In Clash of Clans, the Hog Riders are known to be a fast ground troop who is able to jump over any level walls. When used strategically, Hog Riders can be best at luring out Clan Castle troops while another group like the Archers or Wizards kill the remaining defendants. The Hog Riders' abilities come to life in Books of Clash Volume 1, which starts readers with an attack on the village of Triumphica, the home of a mix of troops like Archers, Barbarians, and Giants. The "All-Star" Hog Riders are victorious, and then readers are introduced to Hog Rider member Terry, or Terrodicus, and his trusty hog, Pim Pim.
Desperate to be acknowledged by his brother and clan, Terry challenges the village of Jazzypickleton, but is defeated in the end. Rokkus, Terry's older brother and clan leader, is baffled by the loss, which forces Terry to flee. Terry eventually finds himself back in Jazzypickleton, but instead of starting a battle, he pretends to be a new "recruit" of the town--but is really a spy--and immediately faces culture shock. In Chapter 2 he says, "Every kind of troop is here. All mingling with each other like it's normal." Yang told Game ZXC that he faced a similar realization when he went to the University of California in Berkeley.
I grew up in a small suburb of San Jose, and I went to UC Berkeley. Berkeley as a city is much more diverse than my town was. In a lot of ways, when you come from a small suburb, you have just one way of doing things. It’s hard for you to imagine another way of living, but then I remember going to UC Berkeley, and meeting all these different people who pursue life in all of these different ways.
And it really challenged the one way that I had in my head. I wanted Terry to go through something similar. He's coming from this environment where the only people he hangs out with are other Hog Riders. Then he goes into Jazzypickleton, which is a much more diverse village. For him, the Jazzypickleton is sort of like what UC Berkeley was for me. Then his one way of doing things gets challenged and he grows as a character because of that. So in the same way, I felt like being in Berkeley, I probably learned more from interacting with people who aren't like me than I did from the classes that I was taking.
When Terry returns to the Hog Riders, he tells Rokkus what he's learned about Jazzypickleton, including all the troops that he met there. Rokkus responds with, "Troops all mixed together... I can't imagine living in a cesspool like that!" Uncomfortable, Terry replies with, "Y-Yeah. Uh... Yuck." The young Hog Rider no longer wants to do things the "Hog Rider Way" by destroying Jazzypickleton, which was a development that Yang based off of another personal experience.
My parents are immigrants, and like most immigrants, they had very specific ideas of what they wanted me to do for a living. They wanted me to be a doctor, a lawyer, or an engineer. A comic book creator, a graphic novelist was never on that list. When I got into the comics industry, in a lot of ways I was kind of turning away from the way that my parents wanted me to do things.
Books Of Clash's Overall Message
In Clash of Clans, players can merge together and create groups of up to 50 people--with a minimum of 30--who can fight in Clan Wars together, donate and receive troops, and, ultimately, chat with each other. Yang said that he's not good at Clash of Clans or Clash Royale, which is one of four spin-off games, but noted that one of the most fun aspects of the mobile game is seeing opponents with their names in different languages. This aspect makes an appearance towards the end of Chapter 2 in Books of Clash Volume 1 when the Goblins are shown and their text bubbles are in a different language.
Sometimes you'll have opponents and their names are in Korean or their names are in Russian.
The game itself builds these bridges across cultural divides or any kind of divide you can think of, this game builds. I hope that comes across in the book as well. Like what Terry does, his entire character arc is he gets over the stereotypes that he has in his head about people who are not Hog Riders. I think the game can do that when you're playing with somebody and you're using emotes to communicate. In a small way, you're getting to know somebody from another culture. I hope that happened [and] comes through in the book as well.
Books of Clash can help Clash of Clans and Clash Royale fans build an emotional connection to the video game characters that they've been playing with for over 10 years. Yang said that Volume 2 will focus on a differing, yet adjacent, experience in Terry's Archer friend, Jane. If Supercell is able to keep the quirky characteristics of the franchise and mesh in more serious undertones in the graphic novels, it could mean even more longevity for the Clash universe.
Book of Clash's first volume releases on May 30.