This week’s Small Press Spotlight is going sci-fi with Agent of W.O.R.L.D.E. from Scout Comics. The all-new, all-original, four-issue comic series is created by Deniz Camp (Maxwell’s Demons, Quarantine Comix Special, Bloodshot: Unleashed), Filya Bratukhin (Cayrels Ring), Jason Wordie (First Knife, God Country, The Autumnal), and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (X-O Manowar, First Knife), and is described as “a madcap story of duty, deception, and creative destruction.” Wes Craig adds his talents to the cover art.
Read more about the science fiction/spy tale below:
“Philip Blank is the top agent for the scifi spy organization W.O.R.L.D.E., keeping capitalism safe from aliens, time travelers, and maladjusted geniuses off their meds. But lately he’s been having doubts about his work, wondering if there might be more to life than missions and mega-violence. This starts Philip on a death-or-more-death journey through the weirdest W.O.R.L.D.E. has to offer; epicurean terrorist organizations, horny robots, alien origin stories, ex-spies with metal eyes, and a web of secrets and lies of Blank’s own making.”
The official synopsis for issue #1:
“Horny robots! Super-evolved orangutan bosses! Joyriders from the 26th Century! Nothing phases Philip Blank, top agent for the scifi spy organization known as W.O.R.L.D.E.! But lately Philip’s been wondering if there isn’t more to life than saving the world through creative violence. What is Philip hiding from W.O.R.L.D.E., and how far will he go to keep it hidden? The most beautifully bizarre book of the year is here!”
“We wanted this to be a book in the tradition of Geof Darrow’s Hard Boiled or Shaolin Cowboy,” said Camp. “Big ideas and big feelings; high-scifi & inventive action. It’s taken years to get it just right, but that effort has resulted in something surprising and special.”
Artist Bratukhin added, “Working on each page turned out to be a little adventure with its own challenges and interesting discoveries. And, perhaps, this is the most important thing I would like to express… That the reader, too, should go on an adventure in the pages of our story. May they find Waldo there! Who knows? (Not a Spoiler).”
Colorist Wordie chimed in, “This project has been a long time in the making. It’s a true passion project for all involved and I’m proud to be part of such a great team. A lot of hard work went into it, and I’m excited for people to get their hands on it.”
“Getting to see Filya and Jason’s art on this series has been the highlight of the past few years. Every new page just melts my mind, and I can’t wait for people to see what everyone has done on this comic,” said letterer Otsmane-Elhaou.
Each of the four issues focuses on a different mission and tells a complete, stand alone story, with characters and consequences from each installment snowballing into the next. At the heart of the series is Philip Blank himself, a spy starting to realize he might be the bad guy.
“I’m telling you, we put our whole hearts into this book.” continued Camp. “It’s going to be one of the most beautiful comics of the year; Filya and Jason are doing things you’ve not seen before. Every page is an explosion, every issue is an event.”
Agent of W.O.R.L.D.E. #1 releases on June 22. Ahead of the release, check out some preview pages here!
