Ignition Press has announced a cosmic new limited series debuting this fall, and The Beat has all the details. Prima Apparata is written by Olivia Dufault, illustrated by Rebekah Isaacs, colored by Marissa Louise, and lettered by Becca Carey, and it introduces a new type of battle mech—ballerinas.
Intrigued? Here’s the full synopsis:
Welcome to the Conservatory.
After Earth was shattered into surviving pockets across the galaxy, humanity’s most talented young women train at this prestigious celestial boarding school to become the next generation of mech pilots.
But these students aren’t soldiers, they’re ballerinas; and the mechs aren’t built for warfare, but performance. All engineered in body and mind to entertain a ruling class of cosmic patrons in an annual life-or-death recital of mankind’s only unifying story: the saga of Appolyta the Huntress, a goddess whose pursuit of one last elusive prey ends in heartbreak.
This year’s top recruits, the quietly ambitious Mar and rebellious Rhea, endure a cutthroat curriculum to compete for the crowning title of Prima Apparata. As their bond deepens and Mar’s obsessive quest puts her under the wing of Appolyta herself, the line between art and indoctrination blurs—and the great personal cost of perfection will transform their lives.
Black Swan and Never Let Me Go meet Pacific Rim in this groundbreaking space opera from rising debut writer Olivia Dufault (Love Ignited, FX’s Legion) and fan-favorite veteran illustrator Rebekah Isaacs (BRZRKR: Fallen Empire, Money Shot)!
Prima Apparata #1 features main cover art by Isaacs. Check it out below, alongside unlettered interior pages.
Cover A by Rebekah Isaacs
“It’s hard to know where Prima Apparata originated,” said Dufault. “It came from a great many places—my time in college theater, my stray thoughts on the mech genre, and my childhood spent enviously watching my friend’s middle school ballet recitals (what if they were dancing in outer space?).
“Prima Apparata is filled with mythological mech goddesses, unknowable cosmic entities, and exploding ballerinas. For a tale about the struggles of making art in a perilous universe, working on Prima Apparata has been one of the greatest creative joys of my life,” Dufault continued. “Rebekah is a dream collaborator, equally skilled at capturing breathtaking mech battles, broken teenage hearts, and gorgeous dance sequences. Honestly, she’s the perfect artist for this book. I couldn’t be more proud of what we, colorist Marissa Louise, letterer Becca Carey, and the folks at Ignition are creating together.”
“I knew as soon as I read this pitch that I HAD to do this book,” said Isaacs. “I’ve been obsessed with ballet as a student and spectator since my teens, but it was a part of my life that felt completely separate from my life as a comics creator, sci-fi and fantasy fan, and general nerd. So to get this amazing script about ballet (in space! with giant mechs!!) with compelling and complicated leads and a vein of dark humor with a touch of nihilism—truly unlike anything I’ve ever read—feels like the most insane stroke of luck. Everyone on the team is firing on all cylinders and I’m beyond thrilled to be a part of it!”
“An editor is lucky to get a handful of books like this in a career,” said Ignition Press Senior editor Maggie Howell. “It’s rare for personal tastes to align perfectly with a no-notes knockout pitch. And then for its execution to exceed your already high hopes? Incredible. It’s a testament to the allure of Olivia’s idea that it’s united such a thoughtful and passionate creative team, obvious in Rebekah’s jaw-dropping visual world-building. Guiding this book has been a dream; the only thing more rewarding will be sharing it with readers in September.”
In addition to main cover art by Isaacs, Prima Apparata #1 will feature a second open-to-order cover by Mike Huddleston, a retailer incentive cover by Patrick Horvath, and an Ignition-exclusive variant by Isaacs.
Prima Apparata #1 will be available digitally and at your local comic shop on September 2. Pre-order cut-off is July 28.
