On Wednesday, IDW announced its latest series, a dark action series called Pandemica. It’s penned by New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry (Marvel Universe vs. The Punisher, V-Wars) and he has a grand plan for the series. His story of defiance against authoritarian regimes is a warning about cultural intolerance.
“Pandemica reflects a lot of fears about the direction in which our country and the world is going,” says Maberry. “It deals with a diverse group of people who discover that a secret organization is selling designer pathogens for use in ethnic cleansing. My story is about the kinds of people who take a stand against this, who find the courage to fight back, who put themselves in harm’s way to protect the innocent.”
Joining Maberry to tell this charged series is artist Alex Sanchez (Star Wars: The Old Republic) and colorist Jay Fotos (Locke & Key). When their story picks up in its first issue, America is on the brink of war. A mysterious government organization has created something called “purity bombs,” weapons used exclusively for ethnic cleansing. It’s up to a team of scientists and former spec ops to stop them from ever being used. Maberry says the premise is significantly reflected in how he sees the world right now. Where there are powerful people in control hurting those beneath them, there must be good people willing to stand up.
He’s taken care to ensure Pandemica is as scientifically accurate as possible by discussing the purity bombs with “world-class scientists (epidemiologists, molecular biologists, etc.)” Maberry knows this is more of a pressing issue than many would like to admit and he wants it known that we could be closer to this reality than we realize. He warns that “many groups and governments over the last century have tried to make these kinds of genocidal weapons.”
According to IDW associate publisher David Hedgecock, it’s the concept Maberry’s been working on for a full decade. Check out what he’s got in store for readers when Pandemica drops this September from IDW.
