The countdown is officially on for the next piece ofThe ExpanseTV series canon, with star Wes Chatham returning for a new adventure for Amos Burton inThe Expanse: A Little Death. And with the latest follow-up comic once againsmashing its Kickstarter goal in minutes, the co-writer is getting fans even more excited, promising to do justice to the show’s hero in a way viewers never got the chance to see.
Longtime DC/Vertigo writer Andy Diggle joinedThe Expanseco-creator Ty Franck on his and Chatham’sTy & That Guypodcast to discuss the project, with the franchise creator jokingly reassuring fans that"all the weaknesses in Wes’s writing will be paved over by Andy.“Withthe previousDragon Toothcomic seriesunder his belt, Diggle explained that whileChatham seems the most obvious person to guide Amos Burton through a new adventure, this gritty new thriller is as far fromExpansefan service as you may get:
“‘A Little Death’ is an Amos story. Rather than having everybody in everything all the time, what if we focus on Amos? The fact that Wes is behind the story and happens to play Amos, it’s entirely coincidental that he’s the main character in the story… I’ll happily take the credit for it when it comes out, unless the end product sucks [Laughs]. In which case it’s all your fault.”
The Expanse’s New Series is All About Amos Burton
The Expanse: A Little Deathby Andy Diggle, Wes Chatham, and Francesco Pisa
Diggle offered some of the most specific details about the coming story thus far in his appearance, sure to grab fan interest. The official synopsis alludes to a new web of secrecy which pulls Amos Burton into old drama, but Diggle points to a powerful film as reference for the kind of thriller that’s born from letting Amos"go full Amos”:
“‘Man on Fire’ is something you keep coming back to, I’ve noticed. In terms of the tone and the vibe.That’s what I’m really responding to: a sort of dark, noir, hardcore, crime thriller.
“One of the things I really like about The Expanse is you play with genres… the show is more tonally even, but in the novels there’s a bit of, ‘this is noir, and then that’s kind of a western on Ilus, and this is space horror.’ you may play around with the different subgenres, and I think there is room to do that in the comics, too. So it’s not exactly a revenge thriller, but it has that kind of vibe to it. A noir revenge thriller. And just letting Amos go ‘full Amos.’ I describe it as ‘Churn Mode.’ But it has to be about something.”
These insights promise big things for Amos fans, especially with “The Churn” referring toThe Expansenovella centered on Amos' origins on Earth. While the novella is set prior to his time aboard The Rocinante, the story was adapted through flashbacks in the episode “Churn” from Season 5 of the TV series.
What It Means To Bring ‘Man on Fire’ Drama To The Expanse
The Character’s History Primes Him For A ‘Take No Prisoners’ Thriller
There’s little question that fans of Tony Scott and Denzel Washington’s gritty thriller will be delighted to hear thatanything is taking inspiration fromMan on Fire(2004), since the brutal, pull-no-punches, man-on-a-mission tale has ‘vibes’ to spare. And while that might seem like a challenging match forThe ExpanseTV series upon which the new comics are based, that seems entirely the point. The nature ofThe Expansenovels makes it impossible to place the focus on one character, and denying fans of an unbroken,“full Amos"thriller would be downright cruel.
Diggle and Chatham both point to this fact as a strength of the novellas, andthis new synergy between theExpansebooks, TV series, and comics is brilliant to watch being formed. ThepreviousExpanse: Dragon Toothseriesalready helped to flesh out the time period missing between the novels, so it only seems right that the comics should next take inspiration from the novellas, giving Amos Burton a spotlight he is rarely ever afforded.
The Expanse: A Little Death#1will arrive in 2026 from BOOM! Studios
