Just ahead of New York Comic Con, Dark Horse has announced Mandala, an upcoming sci-fi graphic novel by Stuart Moore and Bruce Zick. The first chapter is available beginning today on Dark Horse Digital for $2.99.

In Mandala, humanity is secretly enslaved by a mind-control cage galled the GRID, and it's up to Mike Morningstar and his spiritual special-ops unit The Thirteen to alter time and take down the GRID before it's too late.

“Mandala is probably the biggest-scale epic I've ever worked on: a saga of original sin and possible redemption that spans millennia and crosses the timelines” Moore said in a statement. “At its core, it's the story of Michael Morningstar, a guy who — like many of us — has to find his way in a world he doesn't quite understand. The characters' alliances shift constantly, along with the timelines.”

The creators will be signing throughout New York Comic Con at the Dark Horse booth (#1175).