Romance in the Age of the Space God Is a Quirky, Timely Dystopian Sci-Fi Graphic Novel

Writer/artist Stephan Franck has built up a sizable fan following thanks to his critically acclaimed Palomino graphic novels. Now Franck is taking to Kickstarter to release not only the next two volumes in the Palomino saga, but also a hauntingly topical sci-fi comic called Romance in the Age of the Space God. Who doesn't love a good dystopian story starring cutesy mice characters?

With the Kickstarter campaign for Romance in the Age of the Space God live now, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of this epic graphic novel. Check it out in the slideshow gallery below:

Romance in the Age of the Space God is written and illustrated by Franck and published through Dark Planet Comics. Here's the official description for the book:

Born in heavy times which have not gotten any lighter, ROMANCE IN THE AGE OF THE SPACE GOD is set in a world in erosion, in which the hallowed-out trappings of civil society remain in place, merely existing as a maze for people to stumble through. And then there is the Space God. What is it? What does it want? Is it here to Judge us? To Rule us? To end us? To enlighten all of us or maybe just a select few? Or does it want nothing at all—its inescapable presence an inscrutable void for people to project their existential struggles into?

“Romance in the Age of the Space God is a strange comic for and about strange times,” said Franck in a statement. “It is cute and funny, it is sci-fi and dystopian, it has political satire and the kind of slice-of-life that I love. It introduces Nate, Lydia, Anya, all looking for their place in a difficult world, all profoundly human — even though they are adorable little mice. It started as a webcomic, but the plan was for it to be released in print, in an oversized format like a magazine. We did a very, very limited run last year just before San Diego Comic Con and it immediately sold out. The time has come to pull out all the stops and bring this comic to a much wider audience. It’s a little weird gem of a comic, and I hope you will give it a shot!”

Romance in the Age of the Space God and Palomino Volumes 4 and 5 are all crowdfunding on Kickstarter now.

In other comic book news, Marvel's new Thunderbolts series is being rebranded as The New Avengers, mirroring the MCU.

Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.