Made Up of Six One-Shot Stories from Award-Winning and Fan-Favorite Creators, the Collection Features Original Imaginative Stories Set in Better Tomorrows
LOS ANGELES, CA – JANUARY 23, 2025 –Speculative fiction often fixates on dystopian futures, depicting societies plagued by suffering and injustice. Storytellers use these cautionary tales to highlight the consequences of today’s decisions. While we have mastered the art of imagining everything that could go wrong, we have lost sight of something equally vital: envisioning the paths where things go right.
Until now.
Today, Artists Writers & Artisans (AWA), in partnership with Kathryn Murdoch and Ari Wallach’s Futurific Studios (PBS’s A Brief History of the Future), is introducing THEPROTOPIAS COLLECTION. This all-new, original sci-fi anthology series explores the many possible futures that can come to pass as our heroes fight to make the right choices in imperfect realities. The anthology combines a collection of self-contained graphic novellas that explore the spirit of “protopian” thinking: futures that still have struggles, conflict, and challenges, but are brimming with possibilities.
Six one-shots covering futuristic worlds, societal demands, and extraordinary lead characters make up the collection, with stories from various award-winning and fan-favorite writers and artists. POLIS, the first project in the collection launching in April, comes from Eisner and Ringo Award-winning writer Mark Russell (NOT ALL ROBOTS) and beloved Serbian artist Laci (SHERLOCK HOLMES). While these stories are thematically linked, each one-shot is individual and unique, spanning different sub-genres that take place in independent settings.
“At AWA, we believe there is a wide-open opportunity to be bold and take a different approach when telling stories about the future,” said Axel Alonso, Chief Creative Officer of AWA. “While the popularity and even longevity of dystopian stories is understandable, we believe futuristic narratives, taking place in evolved settings that are neither perfect nor hopeless, offer exciting new opportunities for storytelling. With THE PROTOPIAS COLLECTION, our goal is to bring fresh, imaginative stories set in better worlds that our readers might actually be excited to live in. Kathryn, Ari, and the Futurific Studios team understand this better than anyone, so we’re thrilled to partner with them, alongside our immensely talented writers and artists, to bring this original collection to life.”
Kathryn Murdoch, Co-Founder of Futurific Studios (and Co-Writer of GAYA, the fourth title from the collection) added, “We believe that outstanding protopian stories can give hope and contribute to popular culture by kindling a sense of new possibilities worth fighting for, especially for younger people. These stories are deliberately provocative in challenging us to imagine interesting, plausible, and possible futures worth working toward and fighting for. AWA has a strong pedigree of publishing unique, creator-owned stories that allow readers to immerse themselves in new worlds, so partnering with them for this collection was. We believe audiences will see some of themselves in the characters and what they contend with, and ultimately, feel inspired and optimistic after reading the range of titles that make up this collection.”
Coined by futurist Kevin Kelly, “protopia” offers a profound and essential alternative to the domination of dystopia and the naivete of utopia. Kathryn Murdoch and Ari Wallach founded Futurific Studios in 2023 to bring storytellers together who create realistic, thriving worlds and societies across multiple platforms. Exhausted by the dystopian narratives that consistently consume TV, film, and literature of today, the team pushes for change and focuses on working with artists who tell stories with a more positive look at the future. This is the first project between AWA and Futurific Studios.
The PROTOPIAS Collection consists of 6 one-shots that will be released every other month beginning Wednesday, April 2, 2025. Beginning with POLIS, the collected stories and the creative teams behind them include:
- POLIS (On Sale: April 2, 2025)
Writer: Mark Russell | Artist: Laci | Colorist: Marco Lesko | Cover Artist: Mike Choi
In this double-sized, 48-page debut issue, Eisner and Ringo Award-winning writer Mark Russell (NOT ALL ROBOTS, BATMAN: DARK AGE) spins the tale of Florida teen Natalie as she faces the decision of emigrating from the only home she’s ever known in search of a better life aboard Miragua, a floating city populated by refugees that has become a beacon of hope in a world beset by disaster and civil conflict. POLIS features a foreword by renowned futurist Ari Wallach and supplemental artwork and material laying out the scientific innovations behind the story, showing how this world could come to be.
- THE PURPOSE PROJECT (On Sale: June 11, 2025)
Writer: Danny Hogan | Artist: Felipe Cunha
This imaginative odd couple workplace comedy pairs an unambitious stoner with a salty soon-to-be-retiree as part of a new government initiative dubbed “The Purpose Project.” Its goal: to help everyday citizens adjust to a world in which most jobs have been made obsolete and where people have an opportunity to find alternative sources of purpose beyond the traditional concepts of “work.”
- ENTANGLEMENT (On Sale: August 13, 2025)
Writers: Josh Lak Kim & Ciara Ni Chuirc
Austin, TX. 2075. When a breakthrough in “botany tech” ushers in a new business boom centered around hyper-efficient energy production, two companies race to unlock the full potential of the technology in this story of corporate espionage, sibling rivalry, and merciless betrayal.
- GAYA (On Sale October 8, 2025)
Story: Kathryn Murdoch | Graphic Novella Script: Michael Coast | Artist: Keron Grant
A biochemist’s groundbreaking research into fungal networks inadvertently grants her extraordinary powers, transforming her into “Mother Nature.” In a spate of wrath, she taps into her connection to nature, becoming a force of vengeance, against humanity’s exploitation of the planet—until her family inspires a path of redemption and hope.
- BLACK MOON RITUAL (On Sale December 3, 2025)
Writer: Ytasha Womack | Artist: Alitha Martinez
Naaki, a cocky young surfer sees his life abruptly blown off course during the titular Black Moon Ritual. When the island society’s rite of passage doesn’t go as planned, Naaki sets off on a journey to find his missing friend, the purpose behind an abandoned boat, and his destiny in this Afrofuturist coming-of-age tale.
- AGGIE (On Sale February 4, 2026)
Writer: Mark Russell | Artist: ACO
AGGIE, or the “Aggregated Human Experience Database” is an experiential technology that has come to dominate life in the near future. The ubiquitous technology allows one to live life through someone else’s eyes. For most, that means a celebrity, an influencer, or an athlete. But when Aggie’s A.I. achieves sentience, it randomly matches its users with people that progress has left behind showing them the world through new eyes. Will this lead to widespread rejection of popular tech? Or awaken something new in society and people leading companies who shape our lives?
The first story from THE PROTOPIAS COLLECTION, POLIS, will be available on Wednesday, April 2, 2025, both digitally and in stores wherever comic books are sold. Additional one-shots in the collection will be released every other month through February 2026.
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