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Murder, monsters, and magic align in AfterShock Comics' Sympathy For No Devils
Injected with a menagerie of mutants, monsters, ghouls, and gargantuan creatures, Sympathy For No Devils is an upcoming fantasy horror series arriving on May 20 from AfterShock Comics that finds one of mankind's last remaining humans attempting to solve a murder involving a dead Colossal — and SYFY WIRE is unleashing an exclusive preview of the premiere issue.
Written by Brandon Thomas (Horizon, Excellence) and fortified with alluring art by Lee Ferguson (Flash Gordon, Supergirl), this book boasts the same creative team that delivered Boom! Studios' The Many Adventures of Miranda Mercury, this time joined by colorist Jose Villarrubia, with letters by Simon Bowland.
The storyline introduces Winston Wallis, one of the last remnants of human society, who harbors a monumental secret. Surrounded on all sides by demons, beasts, and aberrations of nature too numerous to imagine, these new denizens of the planet have filled the empty void and carried on mankind's legacy of lying, stealing, cheating, and killing.
Once upon a time it was Winston’s job to investigate such illegal worldly vices, but now his ex-partner Raleigh needs help solving the unexpected murder of the world’s largest Colossal and calls upon his friend in a dire time of need. Held hidden is the magical curse that allows Winston the skills to survive a realm where the inhabitants are larger, faster, and angrier. Exactly how long can Winston's good fortune last, and will this new homicide case eventually be the death of him?
Thomas defines this electrifying new series as five different genres beautifully smashed together to create a wild world that never plays it safe, constantly keeping characters off guard, with no clue what might happen next, or which classic trope could be totally upended.
"It's an exciting world to tell stories in, and a big part of that is because of the people making it, with a mix of old friends (Lee Ferguson, Mike Marts, Simon Bowland) and new ones (Jose Villarrubia, Christina Harrington)," Thomas explained in an AfterShock statement. "When the first pages came back, it was like being hit with little bolts of lightning---everything just looked and felt right, and you always have that feeling, but until it transforms from words on a page into an actual, living thing, you never know."
“The things on my mood board for this were Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Devil in a Blue Dress, Cool World, and Bad Boys," he adds. "I'm always interested in injecting new black and brown characters into genres where they typically haven't appeared, and I'd never seen a book with this particular mix of characters, environments, and storytelling styles. Think people will LOVE the subversion of tropes, and the refusal of the book to be pinned down. Right when you get too comfortable, the gears get switched again and we find a new avenue to take Winston and this story down.”
Venture into the vividly realized world of AfterShock Comics' Sympathy For No Devils #1 in the full gallery below, and be on the lookout for its stylish fusion when it drops into comic shops May 20.
