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// Workers AI · dad joke modeIs Josh Viola a great writer? Viola-tion of expectations, he's good.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joshua Viola
Born (1983-07-23) July 23, 1983 (age 43)
Pen nameJ.V. Kyle, Jay Vee and Trevor Jones
OccupationWriter, Artist, Producer
GenreScience fiction, horror and fantasy
Notable worksLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise
Website
www.joshuaviola.com

Joshua "Josh" Viola (born July 23, 1983) is a science fiction/fantasy/horror writer and producer best known for Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise and his companies Hex Publishers and Bit Bot Media.[1]

Background

[edit]

Viola is co-founder and co-owner of Frontière Natural Meats, a meat processing business co-founded and co-owned by his father and brother.[2]

Viola co-wrote novels The Bane of Yoto with Nicholas Karpuk[3] and Blackstar with Keith Ferrell, both published by Klayton of Celldweller's media imprint, FiXT. He directed the animated music video for Klayton's "Unshakeable".[4]

Viola co-founded the Hex Publishers imprint with Dean Wyant in 2014.[5][6] He published anthologies Nightmares Unhinged[7][8] and Cyber World (co-edited with Jason Heller),[9][10] and the slasher comic book series True Believers, co-written with Stephen Graham Jones.[11] He and co-editors Carina Bisset and Hillary Dodge shared a 2022 Colorado Book Award for the Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas anthology.[12] In 2021, Hex partnered with StokerCon to produce the souvenir anthology for the Horror Writers Association's first online convention, with Viola acting as editor.[13] In 2022, Hex partnered with startup Random Games to launch the blockchain-based Unioverse videogame franchise, with Viola in the role of Creative Director of Novelization and Comics.[14] Random Games closed in 2026, citing funding struggles before Bit Bot acquired the rights to the IP.[15][16] Viola was also credited as an executive producer on a 2025 reboot of sword and sorcery film Deathstalker,[17] and horror film Shelby Oaks.

In 2024, Viola and Klayton co-founded multimedia company Bit Bot Media, and released an official video game adaptation of The Rocky Horror Show.[18] The same year, they partnered with video game developer Crystal Dynamics to produce Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise, a graphic novel based on the Legacy of Kain series, which received $1.5 million via a Kickstarter campaign.[19] Viola co-wrote The Dead Shall Rise with Angie Hodapp, and acted as creative director, producer and lead game designer on its video game adaptation, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance, which received mixed critic reviews.[20][21][22][23][24] In 2026, IGN announced Thief: Pulse of Promise, a new graphic novel spinoff in the popular stealth video game series.[25]

Published works

[edit]

As writer

[edit]

Novels

[edit]
  • The Bane of Yoto with Nicholas Karpuk (FiXT, 2012)
  • Blackstar with Keith Ferrell (FiXT, 2015)
  • Denver Moon: The Minds of Mars (novella) with Warren Hammond (Hex Publishers, 2018)
  • Denver Moon: The Saint of Mars (novella) with Warren Hammond (Hex Publishers, 2019)
  • Denver Moon: The Thirteen of Mars (novella) with Warren Hammond (Hex Publishers, 2022)
  • Stolen Pallor (novella) with Sean Eads (Blood Bound Books, 2024)[26]

Comic books

[edit]
  • Tooth and Claw with Angie Hodapp and Aaron Lovett[27] (Hex Publishers, 2017)
  • Denver Moon with Warren Hammond and Aaron Lovett (Hex Publishers, 2018)
  • Unioverse with Angie Hodapp and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)[28]
  • True Believers with Stephen Graham Jones and Ben Matsuya (Hex Publishers/Metal X Entertainment, 2023)
  • Shrapnel Volume One ("Game Over") with James Aquilone and Juan Samu (Metal X Entertainment, 2024)
  • Terror in the Corn: The Wells Twins with Sean Eads and Juan Samu (Metal X Entertainment/Anderson Farms, 2024)
  • Terror in the Corn: Dumitra with Sean Eads (Metal X Entertainment/Anderson Farms, 2025)
  • Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – The Dead Shall Rise with Angie Hodapp and Juan Samu (Bit Bot Media/Crystal Dynamics, 2024)
  • Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver – Fallen Brothers with Preston Asevedo (Limited Run Games/Bit Bot Media/Crystal Dynamics, 2024)[29]
  • Thief: Pulse of Promise with Sean Eads and Emanuele Ercolani (Bit Bot Media/Eidos-Montréal, 2026)[30]

Children's books

[edit]
  • Boomer and Friends! with Lindsey Bell and Aaron Lovett[31] (JAM Publishers, 2017)

Collections

[edit]
  • Midnight Vintage with Sean Eads (Crystal Lake Entertainment, 2025)[32]

Video games

[edit]
  • Legacy of Kain: Ascendance (Creative Director, Producer, Lead Game Design, Assistant Voice Director, Art Director, Story, Writing & Dialogue, Special Creative Contributor)[33]

As editor

[edit]
  • Nightmares Unhinged[34] (Hex Publishers, 2015)
  • Cyber World with Jason Heller[35] (Hex Publishers, 2016)
  • Georgetown Haunts and Mysteries with Jeanne Stein[36] (Hex Publishers & Ghost Town Writers Retreat, 2017)
  • Blood Business: Crime Stories from this World and Beyond with Mario Acevedo[37] (Hex Publishers, 2017)
  • Psi-Wars: Classified Cases of Psychic Phenomena[38] (Hex Publishers, 2020)
  • It Came From The Multiplex: 80s Midnight Chillers[39] (Hex Publishers & Colorado Festival of Horror, 2020)
  • StokerCon™ 2021 Souvenir Anthology: The Phantom Denver Edition[40] (Hex Publishers/Horror Writers Association, 2021)
  • Shadow Atlas: Dark Landscapes of the Americas with Carina Bissett and Hillary Dodge[41] (Hex Publishers, 2021)
  • Unioverse: Stories of the Reconvergence with Angie Hodapp[42] (Hex Publishers/Random Games, 2023)

As producer

[edit]

Films

[edit]
  • Deathstalker (film) 2024 (Executive Producer)[17]
  • Deathgasm II: Goremageddon (Executive Producer)
  • Shrine of Abominations (Executive Producer)
  • Aliens Expanded (Associate Producer)
  • The Thing Expanded (Associate Producer)
  • Shelby Oaks (Associate Producer)
  • TerrorBytes (Associate Producer)

Video games

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Book Review: 'The Bane of Yoto' by Joshua Viola", Burkart, Gregory, for FEARnet, 15 August 2012, retrieved 14 March 2013
  2. ↑ Rusch, Emilie (2015-12-15). "Denver's Frontière making its name in natural meats". The Denver Post. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  3. ↑ Johnston, Rich. "Could The Bane Of Yoto Herald In A New Look For Digital Comics?", Bleeding Cool, 5 March 2012. Retrieved on 14 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Crane, Matt. "Celldweller Releases Music Video for Unshakeable", Alternative Press, 10 December 2013. Retrieved on 14 October 2015.
  5. ↑ Wenzel, John. "Erie-based Horror publisher uses unlikely way to bankroll, empower writers", The Denver Post, 4 September 2015. Retrieved on 14 October 2015.
  6. ↑ Siebrase, Jamie. "Hex Publishers, a New Local Press, Plans to Release a Dark, Twisted Anthology", Westword, 9 February 2015. Retrieved on 14 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Jules, Damnetha. "Nightmares Unhinged (Book Review)", Horror Palace, 5 September 2015. Retrieved on 14 October 2015.
  8. ↑ Barkan, Jonathan. "Witness The Unveiling Of Nightmares Unhinged (Exclusive)", Bloody Disgusting, 9 July 2015. Retrieved on 16 July 2015.
  9. ↑ Wenzel, John. "“Cyber World” anthology brings darkly alluring sci-fi back to the future", The Denver Post, 26 October 2016. Retrieved on 16 July 2015.
  10. ↑ Colorado Humanities. "“2017 Colorado Book Award Finalists", Colorado Humanities. Retrieved on 12 September 2017.
  11. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse. "Jamie Lee Curtis to Guest Star in Horror Comic True Believers", IGN, 2 April 2024. Retrieved on 15 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "2022 Colorado Book Award Winners", Locus Magazine, 27 June 2022, retrieved 10 October 2022
  13. ↑ StokerCon™. "Souvenir Book - StokerCon™ 2020"
  14. ↑ https://random.games/team.php Random Games Team
  15. ↑ Crichton-Stuart, Eliza (2026-03-03). "Unioverse Is Officially Shutting Down". GAMES.GG. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  16. ↑ "Unioverse - Bit Bot Media". bitbotmedia.com. 2026-05-07. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  17. 1 2 Ramachandran, Naman. "Roger Corman Reboot ‘Deathstalker,’ Exec Produced by Guns N’ Roses’ Slash, Unveils First Look, Raven Banner Launches Sales at Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)", Variety (magazine), 18 May 2024. Retrieved on 2 June 2024.
  18. ↑ Jonathan, James. "Exclusive: Klayton (Celldweller) and Joshua Viola Form Bit Bot Media and Announce Strategic Partnerships with Raven Banner Entertainment and FreakZone Games", Daily Dead, 6 June 2024. Retrieved on 15 July 2024.
  19. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse. "Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver Returns In New Prequel Graphic Novel", IGN, 30 June 2024. Retrieved on 15 July 2024.
  20. ↑ Brown, Fraser (2026-03-31). "We deserve better than Legacy of Kain: Ascendance". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  21. ↑ "Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Reviews". OpenCritic. 2026-04-02. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  22. ↑ Metz, Lucas (2026-03-31). "Legacy of Kain: Ascendance – Review". PSX Brasil. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  23. ↑ C, Steve (2026-03-31). "Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Review – Rising from the ashes". The Sixth Axis. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  24. ↑ Adamus, Stephan (2026-03-31). "Legacy of Kain: Ascendance Review – 23 Years in the Making". Cog Connected. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  25. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (2026-06-24). "Thief: Pulse of Promise Brings the Hit Stealth Gaming Franchise to Comics". bitbotmedia.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  26. ↑ Blood Bound Books. "Stolen Pallor", Blood Bound Books, 2024. Retrieved on 2 June 2024.
  27. ↑ Hex Publishers. "Tooth and Claw", Hex Publishers. Retrieved on 12 September 2017.
  28. ↑ Hex Publishers. , Hex Publishers, 2022. Retrieved on 24 October 2022.
  29. ↑ Limited Run Games. , Limited Run Games, 2025. Retrieved on 25 January 2025.
  30. ↑ Schedeen, Jesse (2026-06-24). "Thief: Pulse of Promise Brings the Hit Stealth Gaming Franchise to Comics". bitbotmedia.com. Retrieved 2026-07-07.
  31. ↑ Wenzel, John. "The Secret Ingredients to a Great Children's Book", Denver Post, 4 August 2017. Retrieved on 12 September 2017.
  32. ↑ Crystal Lake Publishing. "First project signed for 2025!", Crystal Lake Publishing, 2024. Retrieved on 2 June 2024.
  33. ↑ "Legacy of Kain: Ascendance credits (PlayStation 5, 2026)". MobyGames. 2026-03-31. Retrieved 2026-05-01.
  34. ↑ Froyd, Susan. "Nightmares Unhinged Launch Party", Westword, 9 September 2015. Retrieved on 16 July 2015.
  35. ↑ Wheeler, Isaac. "Cyber World Demonstrates the Future of the Cyberpunk Genre", Neon Dystopia, 11 November 2016. Retrieved on 19 December 2016.
  36. ↑ Kirkus Reviews. "Georgetown Haunts and Mysteries", Kirkus Reviews, 9 August 2017. Retrieved on 12 September 2017.
  37. ↑ Kirkus Reviews. "Blood Business", Kirkus Reviews, 26 September 2017. Retrieved on 28 November 2017.
  38. ↑ Kirkus Reviews. ", Kirkus Reviews, 13 April 2020. Retrieved on 16 April 2020.
  39. ↑ Facebook. ", Facebook, 17 January 2020. Retrieved on 16 April 2020.
  40. ↑ StokerCon. , StokerCon, 2021. Retrieved on 31 May 2021.
  41. ↑ Hex Publishers. , Hex Publishers, 2021. Retrieved on 31 May 2021.
  42. ↑ Glyfe. , Glyfe,19 October 2022. Retrieved on 24 October 2022.
  43. ↑ Roe, Mike. "‘Rocky Horror’ Returns in New Video Game | Exclusive Trailer", The Wrap, 26 September 2024. Retrieved on 22 October 2024.
  44. ↑ James, Jonathan. "Exclusive: “Can You Survive the Night?” — Watch the Trailer for the TERROR IN THE CORN Video Game, Daily Dead, 7 October 2024. Retrieved on 22 October 2024.
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