Snake Plissken is back for another fight in comics at Mad Cave Studios. In Escape from New York: Escape from Chicago, the soldier turned criminal sets out to protect a woman who is being hunted by a warlord that runs Chicago. The comic based on John Carpenter’s cult classic 1981 sci-fi film is written by Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black) with art by Val Rodrigues (The Pale Knight). The first issue is set to arrive in September 2026.

“Plissken now survives as a coyote, smuggling people and contraband across the dangerous dead zones between prison territories like Chicago. It’s a hard and bitter job. But when he’s hired to extract a woman wanted by the city’s warlord, Snake sees one more chance at redemption — or one more chance for the universe to kick his ass,” per the synopsis.

Escape from Chicago #1 comes with eight covers by Stephen Mooney, Danica Brine, Dan Panosian, Christian Ward, and Nick Bradshaw and Jim Charalampidis. In addition to the regular covers, there will be incentive covers, a foil variant, and a black sketch.

Escape from New York was set in then-future 1997 when Manhattan has been turned into a maximum security prison. Kurt Russell starred as Snake Plissken, a former Special Forces soldier who has become a criminal in the dystopian landscape. When the president is kidnapped and taken to Manhattan, Snake is coerced into saving him from the bloodthirsty criminals. The movie was a hit when it entered theaters, earning positive reviews, and becoming a favorite among Carpenter and action movie fans. The director and star returned for the sequel, Escape from L.A., in 1997.

“Escape From New York is one of the films that taught me what genre storytelling could be – lean, mean, and built on a world you can’t stop thinking about,” Higgins said. “Getting to write in Carpenter’s Manhattan is the kind of thing my younger self wouldn’t have believed. I can’t wait for everyone to see Snake’s next adventure.”

“When I received the invitation to draw this project, I grabbed it with enthusiasm,” Rodrigues said. “Having the chance to draw such an iconic character from the movies by such a legendary movie director as John Carpenter is a fun and challenging task. Readers can expect the excitement of a Carpenter-style movie, with a distinctively absurd ’80s action skillfully adapted to the comics medium by Kyle’s writing, and that I’m doing my best to do justice with my linework.”

Snake Plissken is no stranger to comics. His debut in the medium came in Marvel’s humor/satire book, Crazy Magazine #85 (April 1982). Marvel published the Adventures of Snake Plissken one-shot in ’97 and Crossgen released the John Carpenter’s Snake Plissken Chronicles four-issue series in 2002. BOOM! Studios published his latest appearances, starting with the 16-issue Escape from New York in 2014, followed by the Big Trouble in Little China/Escape from New York six-issue crossover between two iconic Carpenter/Russell films.

Escape from Chicago #1 will be in comic shops on September 23.