Actor and author David Duchovny will work with co-writer and artist Phillip Sevy on a new science fiction graphic novel, coming from Dark Horse later this year.
Kepler is not only the title but also the world where the story takes place. It’s a world where homo sapiens went extinct and other hominid species thrived, and focuses on a Neanderthal girl, West, and the Benadem, a group of “benevolent space gods.”
“What if we, humans got another chance with a fresh new world we hadn’t depleted and polluted?” Duchovny told Forbes. “What if we entered into a new phase of colonization, space colonization — would we have learned from our genocidal colonial past? And what if, instead of indigenous peoples we were displacing and decimating, we came upon other types of hominids from our distant earth past? Neanderthals, Denisovans and other intelligent evolving primates native to Kepler. Would we treat them as the evolutionary brothers and sisters they are? Or would we play God and try to remake them and this planet in our own image? I guess this graphic novel is my working out the answer to those questions.”
Here’s the description: When the Benadem, benevolent space gods, return to KEPLER, a planet where homosapiens went extinct and other hominid species thrived, their arrival threatens to plunge the world into chaos. West, a 16-year-old Neanderthal girl, is thrust into the conflict and is the only hope to prevent extinction. Her efforts, unique because of her mixed hominid heritage, not only change her life, but also reveal the merciless ambition and identity of the gods themselves.
Best known as Mulder on the long-running science fiction/conspiracy show The X-Files, Duchovny has pursued a career as a novelist in recent years. His most recent book, The Reservoir, was released today. Sevy, who will not only draw but also will color and letter Kepler, has worked on the comics Tomb Raider, The House and Triage.
The graphic novel is scheduled to come out Nov. 29