Courtesy of Vault Comics, AIPT can exclusively reveal a preview for a tantalizing new series written by Zack Kaplan. The art is truly unique, as it’s not just different artists on different issues, it’s all of the artists working together simultaneously, trading scenes back and forth, doing concept & environment designs for each other, weaving in and out of eachothers pages, collaboratively building the world and story together, from the ground up.
As Kaplan put it, “Beyond Real offered us a rare and exciting opportunity to work with many distinct and amazingly talented artists, each with unique and dynamic styles, and unify them together across one really, really ambitious series. The collaborative process, with each artist sharing design work, building on each other’s visions, while bringing their own distinct voices and craft to elevate the comics medium – we believe readers will be blown away by the moving art and the way it comes together.”
The book treads on the topic of simulation theory, that we’re all engaging in an idea of living in a computer simulation. Kaplan added, “But we often think of this concept in very digital, robotic terms. With Beyond Real, we turn simulation theory on its head, and imagine the layers of life’s simulation in the most artistic and astonishing of ways. It’s a dark Neil Gaiman-esque adventure series into the unknown, it’s a thoughtful and complex character drama about navigating creativity, at times inspiring and unsettling, and it’s a love letter to artists and creatives everywhere.”
Check out the preview below.
An artist’s discovery. When struggling artist June is injured in a severe car accident that leaves her boyfriend in a coma, she begins to experience strange visual phenomena. Soon, she’s able to see that we are all actually living in a computer simulation. June must set out on a journey of possibility and peril into the metaphysical layers of the simulation to reach the world’s creator and save her true love from death.
BEYOND REAL #1
Writer: Zack Kaplan
Artists: Fabiana Mascolo, Toni Fejzula, Vincenzo Riccardi, Dennis Menheere, Jorge Corona, & Liana Kangas
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
Letterer: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Covers: John J. Pearson
Design: Tim Daniel
On Sale: 12/13/2024
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