AfterShock Comics have announced “Moth & Whisper,” a futuristic, young adult heist series written by Ted Anderson (“My Little Pony,” “Adventure Time: Beginning of the End”) with art by Jen Hickman (“Jem and the Hologram: Infinite,” “The Amazing World of Gumball 2017 Grab Bag”). The comic revolves around Niki, a genderqueer teenager and child of the two titular thieves, who starts posing as both of them after they go missing. Here’s the solicitation:
MOTH & WHISPER #1 / $3.99 / 32 pages / Color / ON SALE 09.12.18
Writer: Ted Anderson
Artist: Jen Hickman
Letterer: Marshall Dillon
Cover A: Jen Hickman
Cover B: Jorge CoronaEveryone knows that the two greatest thieves in the city are the Moth and the Whisper. Very few know that the Moth and the Whisper disappeared six months ago. And what nobody knows is that the new Moth and Whisper are actually one person pretending to be both of them. One supremely skilled but uncertain young genderfluid thief: Niki, the child of the Moth and the Whisper.
Niki has been trained by their parents in the arts of stealth and infiltration, but they’re still just a teenager, and now they’re alone, searching for their parents in a hostile cyberpunk dystopia. Corporations run the streets while crime lords like Ambrose Wolfe run the alleys — identity is a commodity and privacy is impossible. The truth about Niki’s parents and their disappearance is out there, but can Niki survive long enough to find it?
A Young Adult cyberpunk thriller starring a genderqueer super-thief, MOTH & WHISPER is the brainchild of Ted Anderson (My Little Pony, Adventure Time) and Jen Hickman (Jem and the Holograms, The Dead), that just HAD to be told at AfterShock!
In a press release, Jen Hickman called the comic a combination of “a character driven coming-of-age story with a good heist/spy story. It’s the kind of book that will delight you with all the wily fun crime stuff, and then keep you cheering for our hero to find what they’re searching for and who they really are.” Anderson described it as “a story about identity: who we are and who gets to decide that for us. Our protagonist, Niki, is a genderqueer teenager trying to fill their parents’ shoes while also trying to establish their own identity. I’m excited for readers to meet Niki; they’re a complex character in a tough situation, navigating a hostile world using their wits, their skills, and a variety of high-tech gadgets. When your face is just another commodity to be bought and sold, the most dangerous person is the one wearing a mask.”
Hickman and Anderson have worked together on a few other projects, including “The Amazing World of Gumball 2017 Grab Bag.” Anderson said, “Jen and I have the same taste in video games and cyberpunk media; they’ve played a huge role in shaping the look of Niki’s world. We’ve been looking for a project to do together for a long time, and I’m so happy I get to work with them on a story that means so much to both of us. And our letterer, Marshall Dillon, has done a lot to establish the ‘sound’ of different voices in the book—his work is really distinctive and adds a whole other layer to the book. I’m really proud of the whole team, and I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve put together.”
“Moth & Whisper” #1 will be released on September 12. Here’s a preview of the artwork:
