AfterShock Comics Announces New Sci-Fi Series ‘Where Starships Go To Die’

Where Starships Go to Die is a new science fiction based comic book series from writer Mark Sable, artist Alberto Locatelli, colourist: Juancho and letterer Rob Steen. A series that tells the story of a near-future world and a salvage mission to the find a spaceship on the ocean floor…

“Point Nemo – the farthest oceanic point on earth from any landmass. A spacecraft graveyard where rockets and satellites can be safely ditched on the ocean floor. In a near future ravaged by climate change, an African astronaut teams with an Indian shipping magnate to mount a dangerous salvage mission to recover the wreck of humanity’s first interstellar starship. But what they find is beyond their worst nightmares.   

Mark Sable (MISKATONIC, WAR ON TERROR: GODKILLERS) and Alberto Locatelli (The Believers, Cinque) bring you a sci-fi horror tale that will make you rethink the space race.”  

Coming out from AfterShock on Wednesday 8th June Mark Sable explains more about the central premise of the book:

“WHERE STARSHIPS GO TO DIE is a near-future, sci-fi/horror thriller about a crew trying to salvage the wreck The Daedalus, humanity’s first starship, from the bottom of the most remote spot-on earth – Point Nemo.  Point Nemo is a real-life spacecraft graveyard in the South Pacific. It’s where we ditch rockets, satellites and even space stations because it’s the farthest point on earth from any landmass.  

There they discover evidence of a secret history of failed space missions going back to the Civil War…and the mysterious entity that’s responsible for their doom.

The salvage crew is led by the world’s first African astronaut and an Indian shipping magnate who believes she’s the descendant of Captain Nemo.

I’ve been excited to tell a sci-fi horror story based on one of the most interesting places on earth and a really disturbing theory about why we haven’t found extraterrestrial life.  I love that it’s character-driven, with a diverse cast that artist Alberto Locatelli brings to life.”

And, as for the inspirations?

“Movies like James Cameron’s The Abyss, John Carpenter’s The Thing, Ridley Scott’s Alien and Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar were all influential in establishing the tone we’re going for.  But I was also inspired by the real-life Point Nemo, and the idea of “berserker probes” – theoretical, self-replicating spacecraft created by alien civilizations to find and wipe out any life they consider a threat.  They’ve been offered as a very scary answer to the Fermi Paradox, the question of why we haven’t encountered intelligent life – because berserker probes have killed them all…and we’re next.”

And finally, Sable gives us three reasons we may want to pick up this new series:

“You’re looking for claustrophobic horror of a small crew trying to survive being hunted by something alien in the hostile environment of the deep.

You love future sci-fi that asks existential questions and is grounded in real-life mysteries such as Point Nemo and the possible existence of civilization-killing berserker probes.  With a story that’s character-driven with a diverse, international cast.

Most of all, the thrill of discovering what the duo of artist Alberto Locatelli and colorist Juancho! can do in a creator-owned book.”