How good are you at hiding your emotions? In the world created by writer Peter Milligan, artist Sally Cantirino and colorist Dearbhla Kelly for Human Remains, you better be good at it or you’ll wind up dead. The aliens will find you if you feel too strongly.
Inspired by the isolation Milligan felt during quarantine from the COVID-19 pandemic, the series stars Dax and Bisa who must hide their love for each other if they want to live. Alien monsters roaming the earth hunt humans by sensing strong emotions.
“London England, last summer. It was during the first lockdown and my wife and I were walking in Kenwood Park, North London, enjoying the one period of outside exercise we were allowed per day,” said Milligan in a statement provided by publisher Vault Comics. “I watched the people around me, all keeping their distance from each other, all – at least all who had had any sense – somewhat wary.
“I was struck by how strange this all was. And I thought about all the things that had recently been so natural that we now could not do. All the touching, socializing, kissing, close-up talking. All that everyday human stuff. It seemed the virus was stripping us of some of the essential qualities of what it was to be human,” Milligan continues. “A thought struck me, how much can you strip away from what it is to be human…before you stop being human?”
“Human Remains is about love, really,” added Cantirino. “It’s about mistakes, bad decisions, and both intentional and unintended harm. It’s about the things we do because we love people—our lovers, our families, our communities—even people who don’t love us back.”
The creators are joined by designer Tim Daniel and Vault’s cover-artist-in-residence Joshua Hixson, who will provide variant covers.
The horror/sci-fi series will debut September 22nd from Vault Comics. Try to keep your excitement in check or the monsters will get you.