Jeff Lemire and Dustin Nguyen’s “Descender,” the interstellar tale of the robotic boy messiah TIM-21, concludes later this month, but Image Comics have announced a sequel, “Ascender,” due out next year. The story will take place a decade later, and follow a young girl searching for TIM-21. Here’s the press release:

WITH DESCENDER’S CONCLUSION…

SO BEGINS AN ALL-NEW FANTASY SERIES — ASCENDER

PORTLAND, OR, 07/06/2018 — From the powerhouse creative team behind the bestselling, award-winning DESCENDER—Jeff Lemire (GIDEON FALLS, ROYAL CITY) and Dustin Nguyen (Batman: Little Gotham)—launches an all new series set in the same universe, ASCENDER. The DESCENDER story’s not over and this new ongoing series is set to recapture fans’ hearts and imaginations in 2019.

“Dustin and I love the world of Descender and we’re re-energized by this new direction, which has opened all sorts of new storytelling possibilities for us,” said Lemire. “Ascender will feel like a continuation of the Descender saga and like a brand new book all in one.”

Nguyen added: “Plus, it’ll be fantastic to switch from drawing machines and metal all day, to all flesh and fantasy for a while!”

Set ten years after the conclusion of DESCENDER, in ASCENDER the machines have gone away, and in their absence magic has reclaimed the universe. Now one girl must embark on an epic quest to find robotkind and its fabled boy messiah, TIM-21, before it’s too late…