Oct 21, 2025 by Viggle and AWA Studios
We are excited to share the story of our collaboration with AWA Studios on Expecting the Unexpected, a new graphic novel written by Ronda Rousey and illustrated by Mike Deodato Jr. Ronda Rousey is a global icon, Olympic medalist, UFC Hall of Famer, WWE Champion, actress, and best-selling author. After dominating in mixed martial arts and professional wrestling, Rousey brings her signature intensity, humor, and heart to the world of comics with her debut graphic novel. The book follows an assassin codenamed ‘MOM’, who hides weapons in a fake baby bump until her world is upended by an unexpected pregnancy and the bounty placed on her head.
Blending action, comedy, and moments of heart, the story draws on Ronda’s own journey into motherhood. To ground the action in authenticity, Ronda choreographed and filmed fight moves herself, providing references that Deodato transformed into dynamic illustrations.
AWA wanted the launch to go beyond a conventional release. The goal was to give fans a way to really step into MOM’s world. That’s where Viggle came in: we built a web-based interactive experience where fans could upload a photo, choose a fight scene template, and within minutes receive a personalized video of themselves facing off against MOM. In short, we turned the launch into something participatory — a chance for fans to engage with the story on their own terms.
How Viggle and AWA brought characters to life#
MOM is an energetic and intricately illustrated action character in AWA’s graphic novel, Expecting the Unexpected, drawn by the legendary comic book artist Deodato. For this project, AWA lent some outstanding character shots and settings from the book, and created customized fight scenes that would feel unique for every fan that chose to participate.
What makes Viggle unique is our ability to take motion source data — whether it’s professional choreography like Ronda Rousey’s — and transfer it with precision onto a character. Viggle doesn’t just animate characters, we use precise motion control to turn motion into storytelling, bringing them to life with both precision and personality. The result is movement that feels fluid and cinematic, carrying both the authenticity of real choreography and the expressiveness of a living character.
For Expecting the Unexpected, this meant MOM could fight with the same intensity as Ronda herself, while fans could step into the story through personalized videos built on the same technology. Every generated clip combined the fidelity of professional choreography with the intimacy of fan participation.
How Viggle and AWA turned MOM into an interactive fan experience#
Our team collaborated with AWA in both the technical and creative aspects of this project. It was a true partnership, carried out through a series of collaborative steps:
Research#
AWA took the best of Ronda’s choreography and paired it with backdrops from the story, all created by Deodato. AWA and Viggle researched movement in boxing and other types of fights to accurately bring fight scenes from the book to life.
Template Creation & Refinement#
Through a combination of Ronda’s choreography, sourced footage, and original filmed motion, we created the initial fight sequence templates To polish the outputs, we applied adjustments — refining shadows, trimming frames, tweaking frame speed, and color-correcting — so the footage felt smooth and cinematic. These steps shaped a set of compelling video templates that fans could instantly interact with on the minisite.
Minisite Customization#
We developed a dedicated minisite, viggle.ai/ronda, where fans could upload photos and see themselves take on Ronda’s character 'MOM'. The site was customized with design refinements, author credits (Ronda Rousey and Mike Deodato Jr.), and a pre-order link to the graphic novel — creating a seamless bridge between story world and purchase journey.
Launch & Promotion#
Viggle and AWA worked hand-in-hand for the official campaign launch, coordinating the rollout of the mini-site and a follow-up campaign video. To maximize reach, we each leveraged our social media channels, along with Ronda’s community of over 30m followers to amplify visibility and encourage fans to participate in the experience.
A Fan-Driven Success#
The response from fans was an overwhelming success. Within the first weeks of launch, we saw legions of videos from fans eager to step into Ronda’s story and face off against her character 'MOM'. Both videos launched from the campaign have gained close to half a million views. Hundreds of fans entered the first call to “fight Ronda” in a Viggle-created animation. Each video was more than just content — it was a little celebration, a fan seeing themselves come alive in a world they already cared about, and then sharing that joy with others. Since the launch, we’ve seen legions of fans creating and sharing their fights with Ronda.
For us, that’s the real success. What we’re really trying to do is make stories feel alive for the people who love them. And all we want to see is fans smiling when they find themselves inside the worlds of the characters they admire.
This is only the beginning. Viggle’s technology was built to serve creators and communities — to turn stories into shared experiences, and to make engagement more human, not less. We’re excited to keep pushing forward, and to show what’s possible when cutting-edge technology and imagination work together. We’ve seen how powerful this approach can be in past activations too — from our Modelo’s Social Activation Campaign to the Coke Studio live event experience. Each project reinforces the same belief: when fans are invited to be part of the experience, the connection becomes unforgettable.
ABOUT AWA#
Artists Writers and Artisans, Inc. (AWA) is an award-winning independent graphic fiction publisher and entertainment studio founded in 2018 by alumni of Marvel, DC, NBA, Fox, Hulu, and MTV, with former Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso serving as Chief Creative Officer. Armed with some of the freshest and most critically acclaimed graphic fiction in a generation, AWA has established itself as an industry leader regarding its relationship with artists and writers by providing creators the freedom, incentive structure, and editorial support to pursue their boldest, most original, and socially relevant work. AWA has assembled a lineup of the world’s most renowned comic book talent, and its titles have been recognized as Eisner, Ringo, and New York Press Club award winners. With AWA’s Film & TV Studio, the company is building a distinct array of cutting-edge film and TV projects anchored in its burgeoning library of groundbreaking stories. AWA Studios has more than 20 projects in active development with industry-leading studios, networks, and streamers including the feature film adaptation of the AWA graphic novel MARJORIE FINNEGAN: TEMPORAL CRIMINAL, currently in development with LuckyChap Entertainment and Camp Hobart and the television adaptation of DEVIL’s HIGHWAY with Fremantle. Investors include Lupa Systems, Lightspeed Venture Partners, SISTER, and Fremantle. AWA is repped by Untitled.
