BOOM! Studios has announced the body invasion sci-fi comic In Bloom by Tremor Dose writer Michael W. Conrad and The Infernals artist John J. Pearson.
The comic is not, as I first assumed, about Nirvana or their 1991 hit song. It’s actually based in the science that “43% of the cells within a healthy human body belong to something other than the human host,” which is bit frightening to think about.
“Years ago I came across an article about the human microbiome and it has haunted me ever since,” Conrad said. “Like most people, I want to understand who I am, and the knowledge that much of who we are is not native to our body has been a real mindbender for me. In Bloom is an exploration of that fear, and imagines a world wherein we can no longer ignore that we are a host to a variety of organisms. The things within us awakened, The Bloom is upon us.”
But do those organisms like all our pretty songs? Do they like to sign along? In In Bloom, it sounds like they are the ones doing the singing:
When the BLOOM finally happened, humanity was changed forever, transformed by the symbiotic fungal megasystems that infected their bodies. Some of the affected grew new body parts, some found their personalities changed in radical new ways, while others reported contact with an intelligence that was not their own.
In this bold new world, Agent Spears finds herself investigating a series of mysterious murders, a chain of violence that leads her to a terrifying question on which the fate of every living being rests.
“Michael has written a story so visually rich that building the world through the art has been a dream come true,” Pearson said. “I’m getting to play with visual styles and techniques to create something that pushes the storytelling through a wild and varied approach. This is a story that makes you feel, think, and react in a number of ways. I can’t wait for you all to experience the world we’ve made for In Bloom.”
Here’s a look at Pearson’s interior art:
Pearson also drew the main cover for the first issue, while Alison Sampson and Jae Lee with June Chung drew variants:
The first issue will arrive in stores Dec. 11.