We take a look at this week’s cyberpunk and dystopian comic releases.
REBELLION
2000 AD #2502
From the publisher –
Prostrate yourselves before the Thrill-power — I am Tharg, cosmic channeller of zarjazness!
It’s that time of the week again, Terrans, when you can put aside everyday reality and immerse yourselves in the pulse-pounding contents of my illustrious organ. As the Galaxy’s Greatest surges towards the end of September, we’ve got more Dredd, Azimuth, Durham Red, Herne & Shuck and Ghosted, all guaranteed to energise your diodes!
But if you’ve ever thought, as you peruse the scrotnig stories, ‘This is all well and good, Mighty One, but what would make the 2000 AD experience truly ghafflebette would be to meet some of your talented droids and let them know how much I enjoy their endeavours’, then you’e in luck, humes, for Saturday 3 October has been declared Day of Dredd, and I’ve released a legion of script- and art-meks for signings all over the country.
You’ll find John Wagner, Chris Weston, Liam Sharp and more at Forbidden Planet London, Mick McMahon at FP Southampton, Ian Edginton, D’Israeli and more at FP Birmingham, and lots more. Check out the full list at 2000AD.com!
2000 AD Prog 2502 is out now from all good newsagents and comic book stores, plus digitally from our webshop and apps!
2000 AD is a British science fiction comic book, which has been publishing for nearly 50 years 1977, famed for its dark British humour, and satirical and subversive stories. The jewel in the crown is Judge Dredd, a dystopian cyberpunk icon, whilst The Fall of Deadworld is a kind of an alternative history prequel series about Judge Dredd enemy Judge Death. Meanwhile Mega-City 2099 stories serve as a more traditional prequel.
DARK HORSE COMICS
THE SMART DIVISION #2
From the publisher –
As they clash over AI’s role in society, newly-made partners Stevie Larque and William Bailey set out to find a missing developer. The trail leads through a seedy world of cybersecurity conspiracy theorists, underground app development, and billion-dollar AI startups.
Hit creator Zack Kaplan (Kill All Immortals, Masterminds, Port of Earth) and Eisner-winning artist John Pearson (In Bloom, The Infernals, The Department of Truth) reunite for the first time since their fan-favorite sci-fi horror series, Mindset!
The Smart Division is a near-future detective series. Following a pair of investigators, a chaotic Gen-Z savant and a veteran FBI agent, they are tasked with starting an AI crimes division by the FBI when a ‘perfect’ murder is instigated by an artificial intelligence.
MAD CAVE STUDIOS
DENVER #2
From the publisher –
Following the kidnapping of his wife who is now being held hostage, Max Flynn is forced to break the laws of the city of Denver, the very same laws he’s spent his career trying to protect and enforce, if he ever wants to see her alive again. Growing increasingly desperate with each new dangerous request from the kidnappers, Max knows he’s close to the point of no return and must decide whether to take matters into his own hands before it’s too late… for both him and his wife.
The Denver comic series is set in a future Earth where the rising sea level has created a dystopia, ad resources are scarce, and the populace is tightly-controlled in designated safe zones. The protagonist, Max Flynn, is a border control officer who is forced to go rogue when his wife is kidnapped, and the perpetrator uses this leverage to control Flynn’s actions.
INDEPENDENT
BREEZE #2
From the publisher –
Welcome to Babylon, where megacorporations own your soul and tyrannical super-soldiers keep you in line. Fortunately, firepower is affordable.
In Breeze Issue #2, hacker Galli and cybernetic gunslinger Synth are on the run after pulling off the score of a lifetime. Unfortunately, escaping with their lives proves considerably harder than stealing whatever it was they stole.
With corporate troopers closing in and a particularly persistent bounty hunter on their trail, Galli and Synth have to figure out what they actually stole; and why everyone suddenly wants them dead.
Oh, and somewhere along the way, there’s a cybernetic cat.
Breeze #2 is a full colour, 35 page comic set in Babylon, a sprawling corporate megacity in the Dawnward Universe, amid a neon-drenched future dominated by megacorporations. In issue #1, hacker Galli joined up with a group of freelancers, who then embarked on the heist of a lifetime—robbing a megacorp. But when you rip off a corporation who have their own squad of super soldiers, getting away with it is not going to be easy. Especially when you also have a bounty hunter on your tails. Breeze is currently funding on Kickstarter, and you can check out all the details, and pledge to the campaign, on the Kickstarter page here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/breezecomic/breeze-a-cyberpunk-inspired-comic-issue-2
CRITICAL OPS TASK FORCE #1
From the publisher –
War has evolved.
In a brutal near-future, elite mercenaries take on impossible missions for the highest bidder, where survival is never guaranteed and the truth is always buried.
This 130-page, full-color graphic novel delivers three explosive stories set in a violent, high-tech world where power always comes at a cost.
In a fractured future, the Critical Ops Task Force is deployed into conflicts no one else can survive. They are the solution to impossible problems. But every mission leaves scars. As the line between right and wrong disappears, the team begins to question everything, their orders, their purpose, and the system they serve.
Are they saving the world… or helping destroy it?
Written by Nigel Lynch, Critical Ops Task Force: Volume 1 offers three stories, including The Prodigal Son, about a daring rescue mission, Stolen Salvation, about a rogue scientist, and Ruby Pixel: Ctrl Alt Delete, a cyberpunk thriller about fractured identity and digital ghosts. Critical Ops Task Force is currently funding on Kickstarter, and can check out the Kickstarter page for full details of the tiers available, and to pledge to the campaign – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/akoma/critical-ops-task-force-volume-1?ref=discovery&term=bcr&total_hits=319&category_id=250
SCUM #1
From the publisher –
The Spire is a city of rigid ranks and locked doors, and Sam has managed to slip right through its cracks. The entire city is controlled by an AI god, Panopticia. She and her various underlying programs control every aspect of citizens’ day-to-day life.
Sam is unregistered, which means she can’t interact with any of those systems. On the one hand, that makes life pretty hard. Can’t open a door. Can’t buy a sandwich. Can’t get a job. On the other hand, she can steal anything she wants and the security systems won’t even know she was there. For the AI systems of The Spire, she does not exist.
And so, Sam and her unregistered friends exist on the edges of society, invisible to the eyes of God and just about everything else in The Spire, surviving the only way they can.
After a heist goes wrong, Sam is rescued by Augustus, a mysterious benefactor that needs her help. Unregistered, Sam can move through The Spire undetected. On her own, she has only used this for petty crime. Augustus has a bigger plan and a much more ambitious goal. With Sam’s help, Augustus will kill The Spire’s AI god.
This 48-page cyberpunk comic by Reed Hinckley-Barnes, Halil Mete, and Maja Opacic is currently funding on Kickstarter. You can see the reward tiers on the Kickstarter page, and pledge to the new campaign, here – https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/reedhb/scum-a-cyberpunk-thriller?ref=profile_created&category_id=250
Cyberstopia now has a Discord server! Please join us and build a community for cyberpunk and dystopia discussion. We have sections for all the latest news, channels for discussion of The Ghost in the Shell series, as well as upcoming shows like Edgrerunners 2, Blade Runner 2099, and Neuromancer, as well as an author section with a number of cyberpunk authors talking about their work, giving updates on your current projects, etc… It’s a great place to hang out. https://discord.gg/qgMBwC5X8
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