“Stuart Couldn’t Save the Universe” is set in a comic book store, so it makes sense that HBO Max’s new series would feature its own actual comic book. As The Big Bang Theory spinoff heads to San Diego Comic-Con this week, the comic book, featuring cover art by DC Comics president, publisher and chief creative officer Jim Lee and Alex Sinclair, will be distributed in limited quantities to fans at the event.
The “Stuart Couldn’t Save the Universe” comic will be available starting July 23rd (which happens to be the same day it premiered on HBO Max) and will run until the end of Comic-Con on July 26th. The comic is based on the premiere episode of “Stuart Couldn’t Save the Universe,” Ivan Cohen’s adaptation of the TV drama by series creators Chuck Lorre, Zac Penn, and Bill Prady. The comic’s credits also include interior art by Tom Derenick and color by Hi-Hi.
You can see the full cover and credits below.
The comic will be distributed on the HBO Max “Stuart Can’t Save the Universe” Fan Experience from July 23rd to July 25th from 11am to 7pm and July 26th from 11am to 3pm. Copies will also be distributed at the DC booth (#4544) on the convention floor from July 23rd to July 26th, and will be available online through the DC website starting July 29th.
The creators of the series have this to say about the “Stuart Failure” comic: “The Hardy Boys became Superman, they became Batman, they became Spider-Man, they became Bradbury, they became Asimov, they became Heinlein, they became the world,” Lorre said. Penn added, “I owe my career to comics. Comic books are central to stories set in comic shops, and we use them as metaphors and MacGuffins.”
“Comic books were my gateway drug to reading. Once a week, I would take my pocket money and walk across the street to Lincoln Drugs to buy adventure drugs. I still haven’t gotten over my mom giving away my collection when I was in high school,” Prady agreed.
Meanwhile, also at Comic-Con, Los Angeles company Acronym is building an experiential pop-up based on Stuart’s Comic Book Store at Sparks Gallery (in the former Sterling Hardware building in San Diego’s Gaslamp District).
Inside Stuart’s Interdimensional Comic Center, six worlds from Season 1 are recreated, which Acronym says attendees can find “hidden among scenic touchpoints, waiting to be unlocked with a store membership card.” “Walk through the LED tunnel and watch the hallways of a comic shop transform into an adventure across time and space. Every choice you make along the way builds up to one question: What hero are you really? Walk out with the answers and unlock your own secrets.”
This experience starts on July 23rd and runs through July 26th. Hours are 11am to 7pm daily (July 23rd to 25th) and 11am to 3pm (July 26th).
The 10-episode first season of “Stuart Couldn’t Save the Universe” will premiere on July 23 on HBO Max, with new episodes available weekly. Starring Kevin Sussman, Lauren Lapkus, Brian Posen, and John Ross Bowie.
