Ahead of the March release of Pacific Rim: Uprising, audiences will get a chance to meet Jake Pentecost, John Boyega's character from the movie, a little early.

The six-part comic book prologue Pacific Rim: Aftermath is set nine years after the original 2013 Pacific Rim film — and one year before Uprising. The Aftermath series follows Jake as he searches for the truth behind the death of his father, Stacker Pentecost (Idris Elba in the original movie), and introduces Griffin, a former Jaeger pilot who now works as an enforcer for a corrupt mob boss, as well as a mysterious criminal figure called the Mech Czar, who rules the underworld with a steel fist (literally).

Published by Legendary Comics and written by Cavan Scott, with art by Richard Elson, Pacific Rim: Aftermath will launch Jan. 17 in comic stores and digitally.