Dragons, Drugs, & Hardcore Beats Await In ‘Code 45’ From Scout Comics

Indie publisher Scout Comics has announced the next in a series of intriguing genre titles to be released under its banner with Code 45, a five-issue series due out next year. Written by Benjamin Hunting, illustrated by Joe Ng, colored by Josh Perez, and lettered by Angela Hodge, Code 45 centers on Vanessa, a subway driver in Montreal who hears rumors of dragons in the tunnels.

Vanessa’s co-workers are scared of working nights because of the horrors they’ve seen, leading to many of them self-medicating to get through their shifts. This makes it difficult to separate fantasy from reality. When Vanessa is transferred to the night shift, she falls into this world and, thanks to her DJ roommate, the underground rave scene. The monsters may not be real, but the mysterious “Code 45” alert signaling another inexplicable encounter definitely is.
Writer Benjamin Hunting says:

Using fantasy as a bridge to discussing not just the questions of subjective reality and how we perceive the world around us, but also to broach the topics of depression and mental illness, and how that impacts both individuals and society, is something very personal to me.

Code 45 is due out in 2021.