David Hine & Boo Cook take 2000 AD into the void with new psychedelic sci-fi series
A substance like no other. A harsh galactic regime reliant on its supply. A captain and her crew given an offer they can’t refuse. A Revolution that can’t be stopped!
VOID RUNNERS is the new series for 2000 AD from the warped minds of writer David Hine (Crossed, X-Men, Bulletproof Coffin) and artist Boo Cook (X-Factor, Judge Anderson, Elephantmen).
Beginning in 2000 AD Prog 2334, out now from all good comic book stores and newsagents, the eight-episode psychedelic sci-fi series follows the adorable Captain Shikari and their crew of alien misfits as they search the cosmos for Kali’s Dust – the drug that essentially holds the universe together.
Uptight and repressive, the Ankorites are shared-mind entities that rely on the drug called Kali’s Dust – a magical medicine that feeds their psychic visions and allows them to rule over the network of planets and systems known as The Federation. However, supplies are running dangerously low and so their ruthless foot soldiers, The Subjugators, call on notorious Void Runner Captain Alice Shikari to track down the pleroma – the deep-space creatures that are the source of Kali’s Dust.
But Shikari has a vision of her own and it involves spreading joy and enlightenment to the masses – the revolution is here!
David Hine said: “When Boo asked me to come up with something a bit psychedelic to pitch to 2000 AD it seemed blindingly obvious that the world needs a sci-fi version of Ken Kesey’s Magic Bus trip across the USA in the 1960s. This time around the bus is a spaceship, crewed by Captain Shikari and her piratical crew of Void Runners. See fascistic cops who share one mind between three bodies, gigantic jellysquids who are also the oldest, wisest creatures in the cosmos, a battle with kamikaze space sharks and an actual vision of the ultimate meaning of the Universe. WARNING: Do not lick the pages!”
Boo Cook said: “Having been a big fan of David’s work for years I figured he would be the guy to ask about doing a space strip that was extremely psychedelic. This was a correct assumption – he did not disappoint! Void Runners it’s a sprawling space epic in the true 2000 AD tradition, full of irreverence, anarchy and mayhem. there’s vibes of ‘D.R. and Quinch’, ‘Nemesis the Warlock’, Moby Dick and Dune but they come out of the pipe like an exotic firework straight to the frontal lobe – I think I’ve had to invent some new colours during the course of it! Hopefully it’ll read like a hallucinogenic space manual on how it’s a real pain in the arse to live full of hate – no doubt that will annoy some people but ‘I’d like to think the affable Shikari could win round any galactic despot.”
Matt Smith, editor of 2000 AD, said: “The fevered imaginations of David Hine and Boo Cook are the perfect combination for a Dune-style surreal space adventure, full of weird beings and psychedelic cosmic vistas. Don’t miss this voyage into the void, Earthlets!”
Void Runners begins in 2000 AD Prog 2334, which is out now. Grab 2000 AD and more of Rebellion’s comic book titles from your local comics shop or newsagent – find your nearest stockist with the 2000 AD storefinder at 2000AD.com/store-finder or locate your local comic book shop at ComicShopLocator.com
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