Dark Horse has announced an original graphic novel from the team behind Cyberpunk 2077: Big City Dreams. Today, The Beat can reveal The Weapon Is Hungry, which hits shelves this fall.
Written by Bartosz Sztybor and illustrated by Alessio Floriniello, with colors by Jonathan Amarillo, letters by Frank Cvetkovic, and design by Piotr Niklas, The Weapon Is Hungry is about the moral quandary of finding a monster in its infancy after its species has been driven extinct.
Here’s the full synopsis:
The last giant monster has fallen as world leaders called to eradicate the species following the end of the war. A decade later, three firefighters—a troubled mother, the son of an alcoholic veteran, and a patriot—respond to a call where they find a baby—the first of its kind since their presumed extinction. Is this an innocent creature to be nurtured or a deadly beast bound for destruction? Entangled in a government conspiracy, with the yakuza, monster hunters, a crazy sushi chef, and other maniacs after them, they must decide: save the baby, save the world, or save themselves.
Check out a preview and cover art below.
“The Weapon is Hungry is a story I was writing for a few years,” says Sztybor. “We started working on it with Alessio almost 10 years ago, we even had 20 pages ready, much different than what you’ll see in the actual version. Though the story was similar, the emotional weight was different. I think I needed to become a parent to finally find what this story should be about.
“Though you have giant monsters here, yakuza, a crazy sushi chef and several huge Akira-like action sequences, it is a story about parenthood and responsibilities. I always write personal stories, about things and feelings that I don’t understand and that’s why I write, to explore them, understand them,” he continues. “But I always search for a perfect genre and pop cultural tropes to make those personal themes stand out more.
“That’s why the worst mother in the world (and a firefighter) suddenly needs to take care of a baby behemoth (so a kaiju-like creature) and decide what she’s really responsible for? For her human child (as a mother), a new born monster (as his guardian) or maybe for the whole of humanity (as a firefighter)?” Sztybor explains. “So The Weapon is Hungry is my attempt to understand: what are your most important duties and responsibilities when you’re a parent, a lover, a human being, and is it possible to be and fulfil all at once?”
“It has been a long and intense journey, especially in truly exploring the characters’ emotions,” adds Fioriniello. “I deeply admire Sztybor’s direction and his cinematic vision, which pushed me to build depth through movement and performance, while delivering the scale and impact that only a world of Kaiju can unleash in its action scenes.”
The Weapon Is Hungry will be available everywhere books are sold on September 29.
