9 ‘Spartacus’ Tie-Ins to Check Out Before the Sequel Series
A decade after Spartacus spilled its last blood, Starz is returning to the arena with a sequel series for the sword-and-sandal show.
Set in the aftermath of the defeat of Spartacus and his rebel army, the forthcoming series “will depict a new tale of treachery, deceit, and blood unfolding beneath the foreboding shadow of Rome,” according to Starz.
Of course, you don’t need to wait for that sequel series to debut on Starz to get more gladiatorial combat. The original series — which aired between 2010 and 2013 — inspired two novels, four comic books, a motion comic, a video game, and even a board game. Here are details on each…
The novels
In 2012, Titan Books released two Spartacus novels. In the first, J.M. Clements’ Spartacus: Swords & Ashes, the title character “fights at the graveside of a rich man who was brutally murdered by his own slaves [while] the ambitious lanista Quintus Batiatus plots to seize the dead man’s estate,” according to the synopsis.
And in the second, Mark Morris’ Spartacus: Morituri, the powerful Marcus Licinius Crassus — later played on the show by Simon Merrells — sets up his own gladiatorial school. “In the arena, the Batiati are ground down by injury and death, while Crassus’s numbers never seem to shrink,” Titan Books teases. “Can the ludus survive against such odds?”
The comic books
Before Spartacus even premiered, Devil’s Due Publishing had already started publishing its four-part Spartacus: Blood and Sand comic book series, featuring characters from the series. The first issue — written by Spartacus creator Steven S. DeKnight himself — follows Arkadios, the former Greek warrior who goes on a bloody rampage of revenge after becoming a Roman slave (and later makes a brief appearance in the TV show’s first episode).
“We have an expansive vision for the retelling of the classic Spartacus story, filled with astounding visuals and larger than life characters,” DeKnight said in a statement when the project was announced. “A comic book is the natural extension to the world we’re constructing.”
The motion comic
Can’t find those comic books? No problem! Starz produced a four-part motion comic based on the print series, which is still viewable on YouTube. Ray Park — best known as Darth Maul from the Star Wars films — voiced Arkadios. And Jaime King of Hart of Dixie played Elissa, mother of Spartacus character Barca (Antonio Te Maioha).
The video game
In 2013, Ubisoft released the Kung Fu Factory-developed video game Spartacus Legends for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. “Spartacus Legends invites you to experience raw, visceral combat using multiple fighting styles and thousands of different weapon combinations,” its overview reads.
The game got middling reviews from critics — with Game Revolution’s Nick Tan calling it a “satisfactory free-to-play fighter” — and Ubisoft shut it down in 2015. Fans have petitioned for a Spartacus Legends 2 game, but in the meantime, you can watch walkthroughs on YouTube to get a taste of the action.
The board game
If you prefer cardboard gaming to console gaming, check out the Spiel der Spiele-winning board game Spartacus: A Game of Blood and Treachery, which has a respectable 7.5/10 rating on Board Game Geek. Designed by Aaron Dill, John Kovaleski, and Sean Sweigart, the game will have you facing off against other players as you “barter, buy, bid, deceive, and fight your way to become the dominant dominus in Rome,” according to its description.
