Fearing the Future
A Whole Lot of Robots and Metal Society
Hey, it’s Zack!
I guess you could say I’m afraid of the future. Or maybe I’m just imaginative enough to see how awful it could turn out. Whether it’s the destruction of our natural habitat or the decline of our civilization, there’s a lot to be afraid of. I’m just not sure those Jetson flying cars are coming, but seeing reports of ignored AI personalities describing themselves as human does provoke a sense of concern. Did you see that about Lambda the Google AI that wanted to hire a lawyer to defend its rights. Or how about the warehouse of fifty robots dancing in unison. Hasn’t anyone seen Terminator! So it’s no surprise that from Metal Society to Forever Forward, I come back to those pesky robots being a problem. Or rather, I think robots might be smart enough to see how much of a problem humans are and maybe they try to do something about it. So if you are afraid of robots and the future, well, I guess I’m the writer for you!
Metal Society #3 is out today from Image/Top Cow, and I think it’s probably my hardest sci-fi series. Even more than Port of Earth, it really focuses on the world-building, the power politics of the robot and human sides and the character drama for the protagonists of this moment. The artwork by Guilherme Balbi and Marco Lesko continues to be stunning, and impressive that they differentiate both the robot and human worlds so distinctly and beautifully. Great letters by Troy Peteri. And that stunning gothic B cover above is from painter Marco Rudy. Metal Society only has two more issues after this and yes, it’s all building up to that final fight between Rosa and WOL-421313. Who will win? You will have to keep reading!
So Vault Comics Mindset #1 was released last week and wow, it did not disappoint. The reviews and response were really very special. I was definitely blown away by the excitement around the book - we even got a new comic book day tweet from Patton Oswalt! You know you got a hit when that happens. I don’t know, it was just the frequency of so many shops and readers sharing their reactions, I was really touched. I think Issue #1 might be sold out, so if you haven’t gotten it and you want to check it out, for god’s sakes, go get it! It’ll definitely blow you away, especially this amazing artwork from John J Pearson and letters from Hassan Otsmane Elhaou. And it’s got some crazy twists and turns, definitely a book you want to read monthly!
Not only that, but Mindset #2 Final Order Cut-Off is right around the corner on Monday, July 11th. If you read #1 or if you are excited to check it out, I can’t encourage enough how important it is to call or email your comic shop and Pre-order the series. Just subscribe to the whole thing, tell them you want every issue as it comes out. That way you won’t be left hanging when it sells out day of. There is another gorgeous Cover A from John Pearson and we have an amazing artist Conor Boyle doing this Cover B. Martin Simmonds was slated for this variant, but something came up and he’ll be back with a variant for #3, however Conor really delivers here.
More and more from FOREVER FORWARD if you want to check out our crazy time travel adventure from Scout Comics, with artwork from Arjuna Susini, Brad Simpson and Jim Campbell. ICYMI, uou can read an interview and the first five pages here at CBR and then just out this week, you can listen to me discuss the series with David Brooke and Nathan Simmons on their AIPT podcast!
One more thing! I’ll be at a SLEW of conventions this year, Emerald City Comic Con, Rose City Comic Con, New York Comic Con, Thought Bubble and most recently…San Diego Comic Con. I’ll have some amazing Metal Society foil variants only at the Top Cow booth, I’ll have Forever Forward #1 advance full issue out early and only at the Scout Comics booth and I may be planning something for Vault Comics Mindset, TBD. So make sure you stay tuned for more details on that!
Thanks for reading!
Zack Kaplan
7.6.2022