Polygon has the scoop on a new title coming from Jonathan Hickman, his first to write and draw, I believe, since 2008’s “Pax Romana.” Andy Kuhn will assist with layouts.
Described as “like ‘Star Trek,’ but super depressing,” the comic will detail how Earth joined a peaceful galactic community — then got kicked out for being too violent. Eventually that galactic government finds itself at war, and agrees to let Earth back in if they’ll serve as cannon fodder during the war. So Earth sends their prisoners, who had been kept on the moon, to battle.
“I just wanted the story to reflect kind of how I feel about society right now,” Hickman told Polygon. “Like, why would we assume expansion is going to work out? I mean, I have hope, but that’s it, any expectation I had as a kid when I first started reading this stuff — that the future, or exploration, or colonization is guaranteed — is nonexistent … I have hope, but the idea that some species would take a long, hard look at humanity and think, ‘Yeah, those guys look awesome, got to have them in our utopian society, immediately’ seems like wishful thinking.”
While it has been some time since Hickman provided interior artwork for a series, it’s actually how he got his start, with the Image Comics miniseries “The Nightly News” in 2007, which he both wrote and drew. Even when he doesn’t draw a book, you can see his graphic design skills at work on covers and backmatter in “Manhattan Projects” and “Secret Warriors,” among many other titles.
“Frontier” kicks off in November.