Shared Universe Competing With Marvel and DC Launches Cosmic Series

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Summit Comics is starting a new comic book universe with a large, special issue called Summit: Pinnacle. This single issue will introduce the entire universe and features more than a dozen different stories!

As a huge fan of Summit Comics, I’m so excited about their new series, Wayfarer! It really opens up the universe and takes us on a massive cosmic adventure. And the Kickstarter… well, it’s a great way to get involved and help bring this story to life!

I was so excited to see Scott Snyder talking about this new series online! He mentioned something really cool – that Nate Schachter, who’s writing it and is an editor at Summit Comics, was actually one of his students. That’s a pretty awesome connection, and it makes me even more eager to check it out!

I’ve been revisiting some of DC’s oldest science fiction comics, and I’m really noticing how different they all are. It’s amazing how many ways you can tell a “space mystery” story. I’m curious – have you found a similar variety of experiences with Wayfarer?

Nate Schachter is a big fan of classic sci-fi comics like ‘Mystery in Space’ and ‘Strange Adventures.’ Growing up with shows like ‘Star Trek’ and ‘Doctor Who’ alongside superheroes, he was captivated by the sense of wonder, danger, and strangeness they offered. His comic series, ‘Wayfarer,’ is his way of bringing that same feeling to a new audience, while also exploring deeper emotional and thematic ideas. He wanted ‘Wayfarer’ to be as versatile as those older sci-fi anthologies, with each issue tackling a different type of story—from alien abduction horror and space westerns to classic cosmic adventures and multiversal weirdness. At its heart, though, the series is about a flawed character’s journey to becoming a hero as he faces a universe that’s both terrifying and beautiful. The incredible artwork by Stan Yak and Diego Souza really captures the scale and atmosphere of these stories. If you enjoy cosmic sci-fi, adventure, or the feel of those classic anthology space comics, this series is definitely for you!

The Summit Comics world includes many different alien characters. When developing your story, did you work with the creators of those characters to ensure everything fit together, or was the universe large enough that you didn’t need to consider them?

As a group editor at Summit, I get a good overview of our projects. While talking with our editor-in-chief, Devin Arscott, who also writes the character Trench, I noticed a significant gap in our initial lineup. We had alien characters, but no stories actually taking place off-Earth. We were building threats from space, but the universe felt empty beyond that. This inspired me to create the ‘Wayfarer’ series, which would establish a vast and terrifying universe full of wonder and scope. My goal was to create a foundation so that future stories, like an alien invasion, would fit naturally into this larger world—and you can already see hints of the universe in books like ‘Trench’ or ‘Bloodwake’. After the first four issues, our characters will connect more closely with the main Summit storyline, but I’m excited to have the opportunity to build this universe from the ground up.

Okay, so my comic is really going deep into the world-building for the whole Summit universe, and it’s kinda wild to think that some of the stuff I’m creating now, these big ideas and concepts, might become the foundation for other writers to build on later. It’s like, remember when Kirby and Lee first introduced the Skrulls and the Watcher in Fantastic Four? That’s the vibe. It feels awesome, honestly, to be one of the first people shaping this whole cosmic side of things. It’s like I’m blazing a trail, and it’s pretty cool to think others will follow it!

I’m really enjoying the creative freedom this project allows. Right now, I’m concentrating on the first four issues and developing Rovek’s character, rather than worrying about making something immediately useful. However, I am building a foundation of ideas – a ‘toybox,’ if you will – that others can expand upon if they choose. I’m excited to see where these ideas lead, whether I continue developing them myself or if others contribute. I’m intentionally leaving a lot of concepts open for others to pick up and use as they see fit, and that’s the most enjoyable part of this project. It’s like throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what resonates. Even a small idea, like Rovek fighting twin villains in a space western, could become one of the most fun issues I’ve ever written, and then I can move on. I’m not claiming to be a legend like Kirby or Stan Lee, but I feel like a kid with endless possibilities.

Great science fiction often explores ideas that connect with everyone. What part of the story of Rovek have you found most easy to understand or connect with personally?

I’ve always felt that stories with aliens, superpowers, or even gods really let the best parts of being human come through. It’s almost easier to see what makes us special when you compare us to something not human, you know? That’s actually why I built the story around the classic tale of The Odyssey, but took it way out into space. You get all the excitement of a sci-fi adventure, but it’s also a really personal journey about how far someone will go when faced with impossible odds. For me, that’s what it means to be human – pushing through anything for the people you care about. Love is like this huge, powerful force, almost like gravity, and it’s what’s driving Rovek forward, no matter what gets in his way. Oh, and there’s plenty of action, cool aliens, and explosions too!

You learned from the incredibly talented Scott Snyder. What’s the most important thing he taught you that you’ve applied to Wayfarer?

I wanted to really challenge myself creatively with this project, to do the most ambitious and exciting work I could. That’s what ‘Wayfarer’ is all about—me giving it my all and showcasing my abilities. Scott was the one who encouraged me to start my first comic, and now we’re working to create a truly grand and impactful story, focused on strong characters and genuine emotion. I couldn’t have done it without his belief in me. He gave me fantastic feedback on my pitch and early pages, helping me understand how to achieve that epic scale within four issues. It’s amazing to have one of my heroes also be such a strong supporter, constantly pushing me to improve as a writer.

What drew you to Summit Comics?

I’ve been with Summit since the very beginning, as one of the company’s founders. I initially started working on a different project called Golden Sun – the first volume of which will be released this year alongside Erebra as part of a Summit double-feature. I truly enjoy creating stories with such a talented and passionate group. From the start, it’s felt like a fun, collaborative process – like kids playing with action figures, but with the structure of a business. Being able to tell the exact kind of story I’ve always wanted to tell in comics, Wayfarer, and doing it with Summit is incredibly rewarding. It’s a creative partnership where we all contribute to something bigger while still maintaining our individual styles. We often joke that it must feel like what the founders of Image Comics experienced.

What’s another Summit Comics character that you’re looking forward to?

I’m really excited about ‘Definitely Trench’! It’s a fantastic concept and design by Marcus Jimenez, brought to life by Devin Arscott’s story and the incredible artwork of Nicolò Arcuti. I suggested Nico for this project, and he’s exceeded all expectations – he’s truly one of the best artists in indie comics right now, and I wouldn’t have trusted just anyone with a Jack Kirby-inspired variant cover. It’s also been great to see this new part of the Summit universe being explored alongside ‘Wayfarer’. It feels like we’re both expanding different areas of the same larger world, and it’s been really fun to watch it all come together.

Wayfarer is .

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2026-05-13 00:12