Interactive Post-Apocalyptic Comic ‘Pandemic Punk’ Is Now Live On Kickstarter
by Brendan M. Allen
Pandemic Punk #1, an interactive post-apocalyptic comic book, is now live on Kickstarter from writers TJ Walker and Will Strode with art by Ari Syahrazad, Remus Brezeanu, and Armin Ozdic, colors by Dimitris Martin and Łukasz Juśkewicz, letters by Micah Myers, and covers by Leo Colapietro.
‘The world is sick. There is danger waiting at every turn. People who would do anything to get their hands on Phoenix… people who would pay any price, do any deed, and surpass any limits.
In the not-so-distant eco/solar punk future, vaccines are currency. Man is alive. And there are decisions to be made. A new world order has come about. The dividing lines have shifted, no longer focusing on borders and boundaries. Instead, the concern for many is the deadly XE virus that is gripping the globe. No one has escaped the wrath of this vicious disease. For many, this was a death sentence.
‘Around the clock work managed to produce a vaccine. One that must be taken daily. If even a single dose is missed, then you run the risk of turning into one of them. It’s almost funny that people are just now finding out that there are worse fates than simply dying. This, of course, has created a divide. Enter Man – a smuggler that is well known for being able to get you anything that you could ever want, need, or dream about having. A smuggler who has just found the global cure for the pandemic, Phoenix, in the palm of his hand.’
Pandemic Punk contains interactive elements which allows readers/viewers to choose their own path. To participate in the interactive aspect of Pandemic Punk, readers will need to use the Phoenix Run app to bridge the story on each platform.
“For 10 years now I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with artists, filmmakers, musicians, and other creatives to build the world of Phoenix Run,” said Walker. “It’s not only been a success but the ride of my life, and now I’m launching the first extension of the Phoenix Run world, Pandemic Punk. Now that phone and app technology is advanced far beyond when I first thought of the story, we are now able to tell these stories as they were intended, in a trans-media interactive format over multiple platforms.”
“It has always been a story about a world custom-built for inequality,” added Strode. “Most importantly, what does that do to people? It’s a story where people from all walks of life struggle against the same inevitable fate – take your dose or turn into a monster. Its world is one where the people on the bottom struggle to maintain their humanity while the people up top worry about acquiring more happiness and power, quite literally. It’s also about how all of those constructs eventually fall apart, because they are just that—constructs. At its heart, it’s about broken people finding a way to heal themselves. Through connection, through conquest, through acceptance, it’s a story about people from all walks of life realizing they are on the same level playing ground and dealing with it in whatever way they see fit.”
Backer rewards for Pandemic Punk start at the $5 level, for a digital copy of the first issue. Physical copies kick in at athe $10 level, and then there are a whole lot of backer bundles with various combinations of digital and physical copies up to the highest rewards tier at $299. Check out the campaign here.
