Oni Press will publish Destination Kill, the solo debut of British artist Joe Palmer, beginning in May. Palmer will write, illustrate and hand-letter the four-issue series, which follows two detectives in 2125 London caught between a powerful corporation and an armed uprising of displaced workers.
“Destination Kill started life as an image in my mind of a lone, masked builder armed with a pistol, standing on the snow-covered rooftop of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London,” said cartoonist Joe Palmer. “That image really stuck with me, and over time, it evolved into this fantastical story of a transatlantic train and a citywide builder-led revolution that I knew I had to make someday. This book is me taking the (long overdue!) step of being in total creative control of my work, which turned out to be one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I wasn’t consciously thinking about it at the time, but at least part of the reason for doing this was to put something out in the world that represents me and my personality, and I feel like I’ve done that.”
The story centers on Gina Serene, a police detective, and her ex-partner turned private investigator Lance Wingman, who are the only ones standing between the megacorporation Overcon and a revolution brewing among the human workers it displaced with robot labor. The flashpoint is the first anniversary of Overcon’s Paradise Loop, a transatlantic train connecting London to New York in under 60 minutes, where the workers are planning an attack on the celebration.
“Destination Kill is the type of story we’ve been missing for decades—an action thriller equal parts entertaining in its satire and horrifying in its prescience,” said Oni Senior Editor Bess Pallares. “Joe’s characters, worldbuilding, and craft as a cartoonist sing brilliantly from the page in the perfect execution of style and substance. If you’re wondering how to manage stress in an insane world, you’ve come to the right place.”
The extra-sized, 40-page first issue features variant covers by Riley Rossmo, Ronald Wimberly, Tango and Liana Kangas, in addition to Palmer’s main cover:
And here’s a look inside:
The first issue of four will arrive May 13.