Survival Street, the 2022 miniseries that turned the puppets of Sesame Street into freedom fighters, will reload another round this fall.
The original creative team of James Asmus, Jim Festante, Abylay Kussainov, Ellie Wright and Taylor Esposito reunites for Survival Street: The Radical Left, a four-issue miniseries coming from Dark Horse Comics. The satire will feature “battles against A.I., soulless kids’ entertainment, American colonialism and much more.”
“James and I have always been drawn to satire because you can take a really big, really complex issue and use humor to make it accessible,” Festante said. “When it’s not grounded in something you see every day (like anthropomorphic puppets), it’s easier to step back and say, ‘Wow, that’s pretty messed up – how can I address or fix that?’ We wanted people who don’t usually read comics to be excited for Survival Street. I imagine the sets of our little Venn diagram involve an awareness of politics, love of puppets and a desire for catharsis in a world where tech bros pump out AI-driven nonsense for kids whose only goal is to keep little eyes glued to a screen.”
The new series picks up after the events of the previous miniseries, as the former stars of a hit children’s show continue to rescue kids from forced labor in a company town — and take them to Portland, of course.
“The idea of these colorful children’s television characters as our gritted heroes was not about shock value or cheap laughs,” Asmus said. “Volume 2 shifts focus to the thorny struggles that can cause friction or fractures among allies. Really, so much of the magic and success of the series stems from the incredible team who put their passion and skill into the pages. Our editor Daniel Chabon and the team there have kept that legacy alive with incredibly original books by so many of the most exciting creators in comics, we wear the Dark Horse as a badge of honor. We couldn’t be happier that Survival Street is part of their incredible legacy of truly original creator-owned comics.”
The first issue features a variant cover by Benjamin Dewey:
Look for the first issue of four to arrive Sept. 25.