Ahoy Comics’s Penultiman has endured title changes, controversial contest endings and delays due to worldwide pandemics, but now “The Next-To-Last Stage in Human Evolution” looks like he might finally have a release date. Ahoy has announced the first issue by Tom Peyer and Alan Robinson will finally arrive in October.
“We’ve seen characters who represent the ultimate stage of human potential—Captain Comet and Warlock come to mind—but I don’t think we’ve met any who are just a little worse than the best,” Peyer told Alex Dueben in March. “Imagine being so advanced only to be outclassed. I guess a lot of science fiction that dealt with humans encountering extraterrestrials would have played on that anxiety, but I haven’t seen it played as comedy in a superhero comic.”
Penultiman first debuted in the short story “True Identity” within the pages of Steel Cage, a comic that pitted three different comics against each other, fight club style. Fans could vote for their favorite, and the winner was supposed to get their own series. But in the end Ahoy announced all of them would receive their own title.
Here’s the solicitation information:
- PENULTIMAN #1
- Ship date: 7 October 2020
- Author(s): Tom Peyer
- Artist(s): Alan Robinson
- Cover Artist(s): Alan Robinson, Jamal Igle
Back from the future—again! Penultiman, The Next-To-Last-Stage In Human Evolution, is the greatest, best-looking, and most admired super-hero in the world! So how can he stop hating himself? His android understudy, Antepenultiman, thinks he knows the answer! Created by Tom Peyer (THE WRONG EARTH) and Alan Robinson (PLANET OF THE NERDS). Featuring a variant cover by Jamal Igle (THE WRONG EARTH, Black). Resolicited from the Plague Times – all previous orders have been cancelled.
And here’s Igle’s cover:
You can read the short comic from Steel Cage for free on ComiXology right now, and look for the first issue, finally in October.