Jonathan Maberry has been delivering stories about how the world ends for years and in IDW Publishing’s upcoming ‘Pandemica,’ he is switching from the undead to a man-made pandemic. The story will be pitting brave scientists and soldiers against a genocidal conspiracy. Planned for this Fall, we’ll see a story high on action that shows America on the verge of war. When things kick off a shadow government prepares to launch “purity bombs” for ethnic cleansing, and a small group of scientists and former SpecOps shooters bands together to avert this disaster.
On the creative side, Maberry is being joined by artist Alex Sanchez (‘Star Wars: The Old Republic’) and colorist Jay Fotos (‘Locke & Key.’)
Of the series, Maberry shares:
“Pandemica reflects a lot of fears about the direction in which our country and the world is going. 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.”
Not only that, but the creator wants to keep things as realistic and true-to-life as possible for a scenario that hasn’t happened in the real world but feasibly could.
“I’m working with world-class scientists (epidemiologists, molecular biologists, etc.) to make the bioweapons in Pandemica as realistic as possible. What’s terrifying is that so much of this is actually possible; and that so many groups and governments over the last century have tried to make these kinds of genocidal weapons. Thankfully, we’ve also seen that there are people who will stand up against this kind of madness.”
David Hedgecock, Associate Publisher at IDW expanded on the idea above that Maberry is working past the undead here:
“Jonathan Maberry’s Pandemica is the culmination of all the various and disparate ideas he’s been working through as a writing professional for the past decade. After the immensely rewarding experience of working with Mr. Maberry on V-Wars, it’s an honor and privilege to help bring his fearsome new vision to an unsuspecting – and soon-to-be-captivated – reading audience.”
Chris Ryall, IDW’s President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer, also stated:
“Jonathan is an endless font of creativity. His cinematic storytelling so naturally reflects the quality and independent spirit that has defined IDW for 20 years. We’re so proud to work with him.”
With ‘V-Wars‘ actively in development as a television series for Netflix, it feels like the use of “cinematic storytelling” mentioned above might even hint at where this series could go in the future.
Are you looking forward to reading ‘Pandemica’ when it is released? Are you thrilled that Jonathan Maberry is branching out from the undead or were you hoping for more vampires or zombies? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The first issue of ‘Pandemica’ will be released in September.
