The World Of John Le Carré Expands In The New Spy Fiction Comic Series John Le Carré: The Circus-Losing Control Coming From Dark Horse

Back To The Circus

Dark Horse Comics presents John le Carré: The Circus—Losing Control, a thrilling tale of espionage that expands the world created by John le Carré in The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Solider Spy, and many other novels, developed in association with The Ink Factory.. Set in the modern day, the three-issue series unites two masters of spy fiction: Harvey Award-winning and New York TimesBestselling author Matt Kindt (Mind MGMT, Spy Superb) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Ibrahim Moustafa (RetroActive, James Bond: Origin). Kindt will write the series with art by Moustafa, colors by Brad Simpson (Summer Shadows, Let This One Be A Devil), and letters by Simon Bowland (The Hunger and the Dusk, Parasomnia)…

About John Le Carré: The Circus—Losing Control:

Every day, behind closed doors, the men and women of The Circus are embroiled in high stakes, high-wire acts that the average citizen would never notice. These intelligence officers protect Britain’s most sensitive secrets. At the head of it all is Control: an all-powerful puppet master who decides who goes where, who does what, and sometimes, if necessary, who lives and who dies. But now, Control has vanished.

He doesn’t show up at the office. He misses his meetings. He won’t—or can’t—answer his phone. He is simply nowhere. Control’s assistant Maggie is the only one who knows he’s gone, and with a mole’s identity blown in Moscow, the clock is ticking. A member of “The Mothers” – the unsung fleet of assistants and secretaries who hold the show together behind the scenes of The Circus – Maggie knows every protocol, every password, and every operative—but she has no idea whether something has happened to Control or whether this is part of his plan. Either way, she can’t trust anyone. No-one can know Control is missing. And can she even trust Control?

Secrets within The Circus have a way of unravelling, and Maggie will have to act fast… or risk the walls tumbling down around her.

“Getting asked to contribute a piece to John le Carré’s world of Smiley has been one of the greatest honours and responsibilities of my life,” said Kindt. “I wasn’t looking for this job but I was called into service. And much like Smiley, my heart is in the right place and hopefully that will be enough.”

Nick Harkaway, speaking on behalf of the John le Carré Estate, said: “Look at this! Just look at it! You open the book and Ibrahim’s amazing visuals immediately wrap you in the world. Then you get Matt’s story of lies, damned lies and espionage in a gripping modern iteration of the le Carré mode. You’re in safe hands from page one, and it’s a pleasure to lay The Circus: Losing Control at the feet of readers and see what they make of it all. But speaking as the resident comics nerd in this generation of the Cornwell family: I’m in. Give me more!”

John Le Carré: The Circus—Losing Control #1 (of 3) will be available in comic shops on 19 November 2025 and is now available for pre-order from your local comic shop for $5.99.

Be sure to follow Dark Horse Comics on social media and check our website, www.darkhorse.com, for more news, announcements, and updates!

Praise for Matt Kindt and Moustafa Ibrahim:

“Kindt breaks all preconceived notions of what comic books are.”—IGN

“Kindt is a storyteller so fully in control of his gifts that his graphic novels read like quietly compelling arguments for the comics medium’s narrative potential.”—NPR

“RetroActive presents a fresh take on the time travel genre, with Ibrahim Moustafa delivering a story and artwork that’s laced with plenty of hard-hitting action and emotional weight.”—But Why Tho?

“Moustafa delivers some fun, impressive visuals throughout the issue. The art style is perfect for a classic style of comic storytelling and delivers on the tone and action beautifully.”—The Super Powered Fancast on Doctor Strange: Nexus of Nightmares

About Dark Horse Comics 

Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson with the goal of creating a welcoming environment for comics professionals. The company strives to be an example of how integrity and innovation can broaden a unique storytelling medium and transform a company with humble beginnings into an industry giant. Dark Horse has published modern masters such as Yoshitaka Amano, Margaret Atwood, Brian Michael Bendis, Paul Chadwick, Geof Darrow, Colleen Doran, Janet Evanovich, Dave Gibbons, Faith Erin Hicks, Kazuo Koike, Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, Kentaro Miura, Moebius, Chuck Palahniuk, Eric Powell, Stan Sakai, and Gerard Way, as well as Hall of Fame legends Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Richard Corben. The company also set the industry standard for quality licensed comics, graphic novels, collectibles, and art books, based on properties such as Star Wars, Stranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, Dragon Age, James Cameron’s Avatar, Game of Thrones, Mass Effect, The Witcher, and Halo. Dark Horse established an entertainment division in 1989, finding success with company-owned projects The Mask and TimeCop. Current hits from Dark Horse Entertainment include The Umbrella Academy on Netflix and Resident Alien on SyFy. Additionally, Dark Horse has a long tradition of establishing new creative talent throughout all of its divisions.

In 2022, Dark Horse Media, LLC was established as the parent company of all three divisions, and became part of Embracer Group AB, strengthening the company’s transmedia capabilities.