Take the ultimate beat with the mind.
In the near future…
…science is able to distill human personalities into a drug-form. Called utopiates –a merging of the words utopia and opiate– these drugs allow users to swap personalities with the “mental imprints” of other people. Every user has their own reasons for seeking chemical escape, but all soon learn the cost of soul swapping is extremely high.
Follow the interconnected lives of four individuals addicted to injecting “souls” in the sci-fi series, UTOPIATES now available from 01Publishing. At its core, this book is an unflinching portrayal of human behavior at its most extreme.
ABOUT
Written and illustrated by Josh Finney with co-artist Kat Rocha, utopiates is a psychological journey sci-fi tale written in the spirit of Philip K. Dick’s A Scanner Darkly with heavy overtones of William Gibson’s Sprawl series. This is a dark, unwavering plunge into the human mind and what happens when we can change personalities with one simple prick of a needle.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
“Comics is a stormy, dangerous coastline, shallow and sharp, but UTOPIATES stands like a lighthouse guiding you to the safe harbor where smart, intense comics still exist…”
–Phil Hester (Wonder Woman, The Flash)
“…the overall presentation and artwork is first rate.”
– SF Crowsnest
“It’s great a when a new talent can emerge and breathe new life into a genre… Utopiates is part Strange Days, part A Scanner Darkly , with a touch of The Matrix‘s sensibilities thrown in for good measure. In Utopiates we are faced with the possibility of engineered pharmaceuticals, and the lengths to which people will go to acquire the feelings and experiences that life did not offer us. Noirish, gritty and tragic, Utopiates is like rediscovering something you never knew.”
– Previews Magazine, Staff Pick
“Admittedly inspired by the works of Gibson, Dick, and Welsh, Utopiates mixes the swirling abyss of addiction with the cyberpunk leanings of drug-obsessed futurist writers. The first-person narration is classic cybernoir, and the digital black and white art lends this dark story a unique flair. Creators Josh Finney and Kat Rocha are to be commended for diving into familiar waters and coming up with something new. It s well worth your time to check out.”
– Newsarama.com
“When you pick up Utopiates be prepared to face humanity’s darker side. – NeonDystopia