Fresh Friday Features: Tech and Mecha

In our Fresh Friday Features this week, creators catapult readers into futuristic dystopian worlds where advanced technology, artificial intelligence, and towering machines shape the narrative landscape. It's a riveting fusion of cutting-edge tech and epic adventures, offering a tantalizing glimpse into the limitless possibilities of the sci-fi genre.

This week, Jackson picked four titles that'll give you a peek into the ordinary lives that maybe aren't so ordinary anymore!

• Comic - Kyklos: World's End Rhapsody: In the year 2025, the world began to experience the beginning of the end; *Ophelia's Staircase.* Souls disappear from people's bodies, one by one, leaving them a vegetative husk to rot.
• Graphic Novel - The Last Day of Rain: Carol lives in a cloudless London. Her biggest dream is to see rain falling from the sky one day. But will that ever happen?
• Manga - A.D.A: The discovery of SA cells triggered a dramatic advancement in human civilization but would lead to its eventual collapse. The new sentient class beings, called Adams, build and control the new society.
• Webcomic - Dogfish and Tigershark: An artificial biosphere on Mars sustains life. There, the last human in the solar system lives alongside a giant tiger..shark... like a tiger and a shark.

KYKLOS: World's End Rhapsody, 66 pages - Published by t.scaletta, (cc/ @tscaletta)

SUPPORT ME AT ko-fi.com/tscaletta! In the year 2025, the world began to experience the beginning of the end; *Ophelia's Staircase.* Souls disappear from people's bodies, one by one, leaving them a vegetative husk to rot. Two years later, Felipa Corazón is one of the unfortunate bunch of people that still live day by day, waiting for their inevitable end. But by chance, an encounter with an unusual priest and a familiar little girl that clutch beside him unlocks a mystery that only leads to a downwards spiral.

Story and Art by t.scaletta

Comments from @Jackson: 

A mysterious illness that leaves you soulless, that's not good! Called "Ophelia's Staircase" it decimates the human population and leaves Felipe on her own, taken in by a friend. I love watching the events of the bar and music night. I definitely didn't expect the fighting and chaos! It's a neat way to introduce the pair of troublemakers. I read through the first two chapters and the major thing I noticed was the fantastic variety of panel shots. Different angles, great dynamic camera views. The looser art has its own charm to it and kind of matches the chaotic feeling of the character's lives and situation.

I have 2 more updates to read, so I'm hoping to see where this goes! It's also an LGBTQ+ book, and I'm excited to see some Sci-Fi books with LGBTQ+ themes! Great work T.Scaletta, looking forward to more!

The Last Day of Rain, 59 pages - Published by Claudia Matosa Comics, (cc/ @claudiamatosa)

Carol lives in a cloudless London. Her biggest dream is to see rain falling from the sky one day. But will that ever happen? After irreplaceable data and a suspicious intern vanish into thin air, the research that would fix it all seems on the verge of collapse. The Last Day of Rain is a blend of romance and mystery set in the late 21st century, when dire climate conditions created an inhospitable world for people to live. While uncovering a political conspiracy, Carol will learn that the only way forward is trusting those who lend her a helping hand. Happy reading!

Story and Art by Claudia Matosa Comics

Comments from @Jackson:

I don't know about you, but I am pluviophile. I love rain, I prefer it over sunshine, and it's absolutely terrifying to imagine a place without rain. The concept to be interesting, as well as the proposed solution the characters came up with, it's one I've heard of before in real life, so I'm curious to see it implemented in this Graphic Novel.

I also love the fun character designs, and the drama right away with the data. It's a mystery, and I'm all here for it! I'm curious though, as the answer seems obvious, but it can't be THAT easy. I can't wait to see it unravel as we figure it out together. Great work!

A.D.A, 254 pages - Published by MediBang Inc., (cc/ @MediBang)

The discovery of SA cells triggered a dramatic advancement in human civilization, but would lead to its eventual collapse. The new sentient class beings, called Adams, build and control the new society. They attempt to quash the rebelling Anti-netters and reject their physical appearances. After being captured and put into prison for being an Anti-netter, Eda finally comes closer to the truth...

Story and Art by MediBang Inc.

Comments from @Jackson: 

A new human-variant is a fun way to start the series. Superhumans, thievery, conspiracy, it's got all the makings of a good sci-fi drama with a bit of supernatural thrown in for spice! I enjoyed the clean manga work, the dynamic posing, and action right away. Exposition at the beginning is usually something I'm not into, but it was handled in an efficient way and didn't feel drawn out at all. I've only read through the first chapter, and hero here is clearly not prepared for these bad guys!

Gotta love an underdog story. Combined that with clean art, good lettering, dynamic paneling, it's worth your read!

Dogfish & Tigershark, 48 pages - Published by Nico Muda, (cc/ @niconicomuda)

The year is 3089. The Earth we know is an uninhabited snowball planet. All is not lost. An artificial biosphere on Mars sustains life. There, the last human in the solar system lives alongside a giant tiger..shark... like a tiger and a shark. Her name is Tigershark. Mystery, deception, the power of friendship; Dogfish and Tigershark solve Mars City's coldest cases - and deeper darker secrets - in this sci-fi detective saga. Currently on hiatus, Dogfish & Tigershark is my first comic; a series I can't wait to complete, but it needs some time to mature. Thanks for reading~!

Story and Art by Nico Muda

Comments from @Jackson: 

This has long been a favorite of mine here. I mean come on, a tigershark, like tiger and shark, and a human as friends? Sign me up! Poor "Fish" Dogfish dreams of being an Ace Investigator, like Tigershark was definitely an admirable goal. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, it seems like that just might happen! There's clearly something up when a bunch of robots require a meeting with the mayor!

I adore the world full of strange animal hybrids-like aliens. I especially loved seeing their routines to get a better feel for the world of Mars that we're living in with the characters. The art is fun and bounces from Greyscale to Color. Using color as a literary tool in that way is always fascinating to me, as someone who works in BW exclusively.

I'm happy to finally share this title with you all. Can't wait for the next update!

That's all for now, but we'll have another set of Fresh Friday reading recommendations next week. If you're looking for more recommendations, make sure to opt-in for our weekly reading list email! You can find that in your User Profile Notification settings. You can also browse through our Featured Comics news section!

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