Spinning Out of the Pages of Astonishing Times Comes Astonishing Times: Rise of the Kokin

Written by Frank J. Barbiere and Arris Quinones with Art by Ruairí Coleman

The Series Begins Digitally from Comixology Originals January 23, 2024

Spinning out of the pages of the smash hit series Astonishing Times, comes Rise of the Kokin from award-winning writer Frank J. Barbiere and Arris Quinones, host of YouTube’s Variant Comics channel. Featuring kinetic art by Ruairí Coleman, colors by Andrew Cramer, and letters by Taylor Esposito, the team returns to the world of Astonishing Times to craft a story that examines the role of superheroes in the 21^stcentury. Astonishing Times: Rise of the Kokin #1 arrives January 23, 2024, from Comixology Originals, Amazon’s exclusive digital content line.

“I’m excited to come back to the world of Astonishing Times after the huge success of our first arc and focus on that volume’s breakout character, Kokin,” says artist Ruairí Coleman. “Being that Kokin is such a complicated individual, it was only fitting that we gave him an equally complex origin story and I feel that the tale we’ve woven in Rise of the Kokin will really resonate with fans of character-driven superhero adventures. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s chock full of Cyberpunk action and intrigue!”

Astonishing Times: Rise of the Kokin is a new 5-issue comic series that focuses on the life of one of reporter Noah Sans’ most revered heroes, the mysterious cybernetic samurai, Kokin. Spanning Kokin’s life, from his early years as the young son of a prominent military man, to the powerful warrior he becomes, as seen in the pages of Astonishing Times. All will be revealed—from who trained him, where he comes from, and what he fights for!

“I am beyond stoked to be able to tell the origin story of Kokin,” says co-writer Arris Quinones. “Being able to hone in, and really focus on one of my favorite characters that we created is a dream come true. He was definitely a fan favorite the first time around so I’m excited for fans to finally learn the origin and mythos of him. I hope to keep creating more stories for Kokin and characters in the Astonishing Times universe for a long time.”

“I’m thrilled about getting this amazing team back together to do more great work for Comixology Originals,” says co-writer Frank J. Barbiere. “We’ve taken everything up a notch. Getting to tell the story of the mysterious and exciting Kokin is just the cherry on top. Any fan of action, cyberpunk, and superheroes is going to find a lot to love in this series as we continue to build out the world of Astonishing Times!”

Astonishing Times Vol 1 is available in print from Dark Horse Books and digitally at amazon.com/comixology.

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Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!