Bendy novel series

"We've not seen one like this before."
The article's subject originates from the Bendy novel series' continuity, which is not deemed as canonically part of the main series' lore. See Bendy Wiki:Canon for more information.

This is the article for the novel continuity. For the main series' article, see Bendy (main canonical series).

The Bendy novel series is a collection of all the non-canon literature written and published for the Bendy franchise. The young adult horror novels, which were all written by Adrienne Kress, are used to tell the backstory of the game series while expending on the world and the characters. The series started after the publish of Bendy: Dreams Come to Life in the September 3rd of 2019.

The franchise also released two guidebooks after the completion of Bendy and the Ink Machine and its sequel, Bendy and the Dark Revival. Even though mostly being used as guides for the games, the employee handbooks also gives a behind the scenes of how the studio operated and what was going on in it, while clarifying the timeline a bit and also expanding on established lore. The first book's author is Cala Spinner and the second one was written by Scholastic Inc.

There was also a comic collection book, which was written by Vannotes, and illustrated by Mady Giuliani and Ciro Cangialosi. It expanded on the in-universe cartoon characters' personality and the relationships between them. It also had some connections to Bendy and the Dark Revival's overarching plot of Nathan's acquirement of the in-universe Bendy franchise. It is currently the only one of its kind.

All of the books were published by Scholastic Inc. However, despite all the of expansions the media made, the novel series isn't canon to the main series.

Series

Novels

Bendy: Dreams Come to Life - It was published on September 3, 2019. It takes place in Summer 1946 centering around a Jewish teenager Buddy Lewek as he joins Joey Drew Studios and starts working there as both a gofer and an artist. The novel explains the fate of Sammy Lawrence, Norman Polk, Boris the Wolf; while also covering how the ink and the Ink Machine worked and expanded on the studio.

• Bendy: Dreams Come to Life (graphic novel) - The graphic adaptation of Dreams Come to Life, it was published on August 6, 2024. It still continues the same storyline while having numerous minor differences. It would also gave a physical appearance to most of the original novel's characters.

Bendy: The Illusion of Living - It was published on February 2, 2021. It was the in-universe memoir of Joey Drew, and jumps through different times and places while exploring Joey's backstory and life philosophy. It expands on the backstory of Henry Stein, Abby Lambert and Nathan Arch while adding completely new characters. It also explains Bendy's creation and covers Sammy's and Jack Fain's hiring.

Bendy: The Lost Ones - It was published on September 3, 2021. It takes place in Atlantic City in the fall of 1946 and follows the perspective of Bill Chambers, Constance Gray and Brant Morris as it switches between them. It's plot revolves around the Ink Machine being broken and its effects on the ones around it. It explains Gent a little and gives a perspective on Thomas Connor's actions, while also going a bit into how the Lost Ones felt. It also expanded on the ink's properties and the effects it had on other organisms, and an antidote to it was also introduced.

Bendy: Fade to Black - It was published on October 3, 2023. It takes place in early 1953 and follows Rose Sorenson as she joins Kismet Production Studios and tests one of Joey's new technology. It most notably explains the Cycle's creation, it expands on the experiments Gent performed on their test subject and its results. It also introduces a Bendy TV show called "The Joey Drew Show" that took place between Joey Drew Studios' closure and Arch Gate Pictures' acquirement of the Bendy IP. It expands on Archie Carter's time in the Gent Workshop, and also introduces a new 3D glasses that seemingly indirectly caused the Cycle's creation.

Guidebooks

Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook - It was released on July 30, 2019. It was a guidebook that explained strategies and showed how to get various secrets. It also explains how the studio works, expands on various events that occured, clarifies numerous events' dates and expands on some characters.

• Joey Drew Studios Updated Employee Handbook - It was released on February 6, 2024. It was a updated version of Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook and included guides for Bendy and the Dark Revival.

Other books

Bendy: Crack-up Comics Collection - It was published on September 1, 2020. It was a compilation of various in-universe Bendy comics that released between 1931 to 1946. It expanded on the personality of and the relationships between the cartoon characters. It also goes a bit into Nathan's acquirement of the Bendy franchise.

Development

The first book was released in July 30, 2019. But the first novel released in the September 3rd of the same year. According to the author, Adrienne Kress, the novel(s) was canon to the games.[1][2] Thanks to this, moving forward, all of the Bendy fans considered every information that came from the novels as canon.

However, four years later, theMeatly stated that he viewed the books as extra information and that the games were what decided the "canon." Putting the novels in a questionable status in terms of their canonicity. Mike later clarified that the content from the books were indeed "not canon" unless they appeared in the games.