Oni Press and Magnetic Press have teamed up to launch a Kickstarter campaign for Joël Dos Reis Viegas’s Urbance sci-fi comics series, which expands the world of the short film he created and developed at his Steamboat Studios nearly a decade ago. Today, The Beat can reveal an exclusive preview from the comics.
Here’s the synopsis:
Urbance welcomes readers to Neopolis, a futuristic neon‑drenched city where physical desire has become deadly. A mysterious virus has infected every human at birth, making intimate contact between the sexes instantly fatal. To survive, society enforces absolute abstinence and segregation: boys and girls are raised apart, conditioned to fear, even hate, one another. A colossal wall cuts the city in two, and entire youth cultures have evolved in isolation, fueled by tribal identity, coded fashion, and explosive street‑clan rivalries.
But a new underground drug, N‑Dorphin, which is rumored to bypass the virus’s lethal effects, begins circulating through the streets and destabilizes the fragile balance of power in Neopolis, igniting turf wars and paranoia as factions scramble for control. Kenzell and Lesya, two teens from opposite sides who defy the rules and risk everything to cross the divide, are caught in the crossfire. Together, they uncover a conspiracy far bigger than any clan feud, and their forbidden alliance becomes a spark in a city ready to explode.
Check out a preview below.
“Urbance is a bio-punk Romeo & Juliet in the neon-lit style of Aeon Flux in a Jet Set Radio future city,” says Magnetic Press Director of Publishing, Mike Kennedy. “A kinetic fusion of urban cyberpunk, gender‑charged tension, and high‑style action, it’s a story about rebellion, identity, and the dangerous power of connection in a world designed to keep the population divided.”
“While the animated pilot only scratches the surface of what rules Neopolis, the graphic novel series dives much deeper into the dark side of the society and human tensions,” said creator Joël Dos Reis Viegas. “Keeping the core elements—the virus, N-Dorphin, the protagonists, and Coevo—and reimagining a story about two youngsters, shaped by division, who are forced to come together against adversity. So I chose a more aggressive and dark visual treatment to better match the story’s more mature tone. Urbance is a reflection of my passions, my art style, and my fears.”
Urbance is now live on Kickstarter.
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