What if all of our fears about AI come true? Comixology has announced a timely sci-fi thriller, Boxed, written by Mark Sable and illustrated by Jeremy Haun with colors by Nick Filardi and letters by Thomas Mauer. Slated for release in November, the graphic novel takes place in a near-future world in which AI has gone awry and everyone is suffering for it ala I, Robot or Detroit Become Human.
Former FBI counterintelligence agent Frank Savage, a RAID (Rapid Response, Artificial Intelligence Division) Special Agent, is called in when an AI suspected of deviating from its programming. If Frank thinks the AI is an actual threat, he has to shut it down and “box” it in a massive, underground cavern shielded with electromagnets to prevent it from being reactivated from the outside.
Things get complicated when Frank has to shut down Hippocrates—the CDC AI in charge of pandemic response—after it starts a lockdown even though there’s no pandemic. To complete the task, Frank has to team up with a counterintelligence AI named Pandora, with whom he has a tumultuous past. Not only did Frank and Pandora have a sexual relationship, but he boxed the AI some years ago.
Check out the cover art and some interior pages from Boxed below.
“Much of Boxed is inspired by my work with military and intelligence agencies as a futurist for the Atlantic Council,” Sable said in a statement. “Artificial Intelligence software is shaking up our times, from Chat GPT to Midjourney to Open AI, these entities are becoming more immersed in our everyday reality not only replacing what humans can do, but blurring the line between human and machine intelligence and the capabilities are not to be underestimated.
“Jeremy has drawn covers for my books Godkillers, Miskatonic, and Where Starships Go to Die,” Sable continued, “but this is the first time we’ve worked together on interiors since Two-Face: Year One over a decade ago. Jeremy’s work on Boxed is incredibly detailed and really stands out.”
Boxed will be available digitally via Comixology on November 21.
