If you want an inside look at what makes Death such an angry fella, Random House and THQ have got you covered. The Darksiders: Abomination Vault takes you a few thousand years before the events of the first game. It tells an original story about Death and War while they fight to put a stop to the awakening of a weapon that could destroy the entire universe. Now why does that sound so familiar?

Random House will also be charged with publishing a Bible for the series, the contents of which haven't been disclosed at this time. It's easy to imagine that book will sort of be like Nintendo's Hyrule Historia or Square-Enix's Final Fantasy Ultimanias. Darksiders: Abomination Vault will release in May alongside Darksiders II. It'll be interesting to see if and how the two narratives intertwine.

After all, the events of Darksiders II chronicle Death's quest to reverse the effect of the chain of events that leads to the Apocalypse. If nothing else, maybe we'll get a shoulder-shrug and a "SSDD" from the guy.