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Dead OrbitMystery Panels

Dead Orbit · a Mystery Panels original

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A rain-soaked observatory. A vanished archive envelope. A death that refuses to fit the clock.

Enter a complete interactive detective comic: read 245 illustrated pages, follow the evidence and solve the case in your browser—no download or sign-up.

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Begin with chapter I

The Wrong Envelope
Case 017GreyhavenEvery scene matters. Not every statement does.
Free to playNo accountNo downloadRuns in your browser
7chapters
245illustrated pages
56case questions
EN · RUfull editions

The case

A space-noir mystery you can solve

Greyhaven Observatory guards thirty-eight thousand astronomical plates and one archive envelope valuable enough to kill for. During an eleven-minute alarm failure, that envelope disappears. Before the staff can agree on what happened, a white flash tears through the dome—and the official timeline begins to break apart.

Dead Orbit is a story-driven online detective game told entirely through an illustrated mystery comic. You investigate alongside Ward and Reed, but the story never labels a clue for you. Times, objects, witness accounts and small contradictions all matter. Every chapter ends with eight evidence questions that ask you to commit to the explanation best supported by what you have actually seen.

Explore the world of Dead Orbit

Case index

Seven chapters. One case.

Each chapter advances the investigation and ends with eight questions. Answers are scored only after you commit to your version.

New

The archive breach

The Wrong Envelope

An alarm fails for eleven minutes, yet only one envelope disappears from a room of thirty-eight thousand plates.
32 pages · 8 questions
New

The night of the blast

Fire Under the Dome

A white flash tears through Greyhaven. In the wreckage, one death refuses to fit the story everyone first believed.
50 pages · 8 questions
New

The interviews

Eight Accounts

Eight people describe the same rain-soaked evening. Their small disagreements may matter more than their confident answers.
57 pages · 8 questions
New

What survived

Two Weights

Ward and Reed return to the objects, records and measurements that survived the fire—and begin asking better questions.
24 pages · 8 questions
New

The mark in the archive

O and Omega

A tiny ambiguity in an archivist's notation opens a new route through the case—and through Greyhaven itself.
25 pages · 8 questions
New

Rebuilding the timeline

Seventeen Missing Minutes

The investigators lay every movement against the clock. What looked like one incident begins to separate into several.
29 pages · 8 questions
New

The final pursuit

Before the Furnace

With the pattern almost complete, Ward must act before the last physical answer vanishes for good.
28 pages · 8 questions

Explore the format

Mystery comics, clues and the world of Dead Orbit

New to interactive comics or fair-play mysteries? These spoiler-free guides explain how the experience works before you open the case.

01

What is an interactive mystery comic?

See how a webcomic becomes a detective game without giving up authored art, pacing or a real ending.

Explore interactive comics02

Inside a space-noir mystery

Discover the observatory setting, science-fiction stakes and noir investigation behind Dead Orbit.

Enter the space-noir case03

How to solve a mystery online

Use a practical, spoiler-free method for separating facts, assumptions, opportunity and motive.

Learn the detective method

Reader protocol

Look closely. Decide for yourself.

Dead Orbit is designed as a fair-play mystery: the information needed to solve it appears before the final test, but it may be hiding in ordinary conversation.
  1. 01

    Read

    Turn pages at your own pace. Names, roles and scene changes are introduced inside the story.

  2. 02

    Observe

    Notice timing, objects and contradictions. Important details are shown without a flashing clue marker.

  3. 03

    Commit

    Take the eight-question test after each chapter, then carry your theory into the next one.

Why it is different

A detective story that plays fair

This is a complete authored case, not an endless prompt or a random puzzle. The solution is fixed, the evidence appears before the reveal and your score reflects close reading rather than luck.

Clues before answers

Everything needed for each chapter review is present in the comic. No outside trivia and no later-case knowledge is required.

A real illustrated story

Seven connected chapters build one science-fiction noir investigation instead of a stack of unrelated riddles.

Private, local progress

Start immediately. Your current chapter and scores stay in this browser; no account or email address is needed.

Case briefing

Questions before you investigate

Is Dead Orbit free to play?

Yes. All seven chapters and every evidence review are available free in the browser.

Is this a game or a comic?

Both. You read a complete illustrated detective story, then answer case questions and carry your theory into the next chapter.

Do I need an account or a download?

No. The mystery runs in a modern web browser, and reading progress is stored only on your device.

How long is the mystery?

Dead Orbit contains seven chapters, 245 illustrated pages and 56 evidence questions. You can stop after any chapter and return later.

Can I read it in another language?

Yes. The complete comic and every chapter review are available in English and Russian.