Oni Press & Magnetic Press Launch Joël Dos Reis Viegas’s Neon-Charged URBANCE Saga on Kickstarter!
·Al Mega
“URBANCE is a bio-punk ROMEO & JULIET in the neon-lit style of AEON FLUX in a JET SET RADIO future city,” says Magnetic Press’ Director of Publishing, Mike Kennedy. “A kinetic fusion of urban cyberpunk, gender-charged tension, and high-style action, it’s a story about rebellion, identity, and the dangerous power of connection in a world designed to keep the population divided.” Fans can support URBANCE on Kickstarter now.
URBANCE began as a high-style, hyper-urban adult animated project created by Joël Dos Reis Viegas and developed at Steambot Studios. Following a smash-hit Kickstarter campaign backed by thousands of fans worldwide, Steambot partnered with Yapiko Animation in Tokyo in 2015 to complete the 8-minute animated short film. The animated pilot’s strong visual identity, worldbuilding, and fan response helped propel URBANCE into its next phase: a four-volume comic series fueled by Joël himself. While the animation established the universe and characters, the comics expand and solidify the narrative, deepening the political tensions, youth-clan dynamics, and the mystery surrounding the virus and the underground drug. This transition from animation to comics allowed Joël to fully explore the world of Neopolis and develop the long-form story that the pilot only hinted at.
“While the animated pilot only scratches the surface of what rules Neopolis, the graphic novel series dives much deeper into the dark side of the society and human tensions,” explains URBANCE creator Joël Dos Reis Viegas. “Keeping the core elements — the virus, N-Dorphin, the protagonists, and Coevo — and reimagining a story about two youngsters, shaped by division, who are forced to come together against adversity. I chose a more aggressive and dark visual treatment to better match the story’s more mature tone. URBANCE is a reflection of my passions, my art style, and my fears.”
URBANCE welcomes readers to Neopolis, a futuristic neon-drenched city where physical desire has become deadly. A mysterious virus has infected every human at birth, making intimate contact between the sexes instantly fatal. To survive, society enforces absolute abstinence and segregation: boys and girls are raised apart, conditioned to fear, even hate, one another. A colossal wall cuts the city in two, and entire youth cultures have evolved in isolation, fueled by tribal identity, coded fashion, and explosive street-clan rivalries. But a new underground drug, N-Dorphin, which is rumored to bypass the virus’s lethal effects, begins circulating through the streets and destabilizes the fragile balance of power in Neopolis, igniting turf wars and paranoia as factions scramble for control. Kenzell and Lesya, two teens from opposite sides who defy the rules and risk everything to cross the divide, are caught in the crossfire. Together, they uncover a conspiracy far bigger than any clan feud, and their forbidden alliance becomes a spark in a city ready to explode.
The URBANCE Saga is 828 pages of cyber-slick, dynamic adventure. Fans can collect the complete series as a set of four premium 6×9” softcover books featuring the full URBANCE story in dynamic black-and-white artwork with full-color opening sequences in every volume. The series is also available as a pair of deluxe limited edition hardcover collections. In addition to the deluxe editions of URBANCE, the Kickstarter campaign features limited boxed sets of either the hardcover editions of softcover library, an exclusive 48-page sketchbook, a 10th Anniversary edition of the sold-out 168-page GENESIS OF URBANCE Production Art Book, the sought-after 2014 URBANCE Animation Dōjinshi, a limited-edition resin statue, and more.
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