The Mazinger franchise is easily one of the most popular Japanese mecha franchises ever created, and it's still going strong after several decades. Titan Comics is giving fans a new way to experience that story with a prequel graphic novel called Grendizer U: The Inception.

IGN can exclusively debut a preview of Grendizer U: The Inception, which is due in stores in March 2026. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

Grendizer U: The Inception is written by Go Nagai and illustrated by 8KEY. The book is adapted from the 2024 anime series Grendizer U and features a new prequel story by Tatsuto Higuchi. Here's Titan's official logline for the book:

When a UFO from the Vega Alliance arrives on Earth, humanity faces its biggest threat in an oncoming Alien invasion. But their hope arrives in another Alien, Duke Fleed, a refugee of the planet Fleed who finds his home in Japan. Duke pilots the mighty Grendizer, a weaponized Mech to fight off the Vega forces. Along with his best friend and partner Koji Kabuto, they fight to free Earth from the terror of the Vega forces.

Written by the legendary Go Nagai and illustrated by 8KEY, Grendizer: U The Inception modernizes the iconic story of the lost prince who shoulders the responsibility to protect his new home from the same Empire that destroyed his last.

Featuring a prequel story by Tatsuto Higuchi not told before, this manga is an adaptation of the anime Grendizer U.

Grendizer U: The Inception will be released on March 17, 2026. You can preorder the book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, and Forbidden Planet in the UK.

In other comic book news, find out who dies in Marvel's One World Under Doom finale, and learn about Dark Horse's new ongoing He-Man and the Masters of the Universe series.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.