At the Los Angeles Times, BOOM! Studios have revealed writer Gabby Rivera (“America,” Juliet Takes a Breath) and artist Royal A. Dunlap (“Die Hibi Die”) are creating a new comic book series, “b.b. free,” which will be published by their Boom! Box imprint from this November. The comic book series is set in a post-climate change America where a disease has eliminated the uber-wealthy, and natural disasters have brought upon an eco-dystopia. The titular character, b.b. free, is a young Latinx character who lives an isolated life with her father, while running a radio show on the Florida Islands. One day, b.b. uncovers a secret that threatens to damage her relationship with her family, and forces her to leave her swamp home and set off on an adventure.
This coming of age story is based on Rivera’s childhood daydreams of “heading out into the world with a super cool best friend and doing whatever we wanted. Usually on motorcycles, with magical powers, and no parents to mess with our fun.” For Rivera, “‘b.b. free’ is a bouncy love letter to queer kids everywhere, especially the chubby Puerto Rican ones.”
Dunlap is most excited for readers to meet the ragtag group of teens who accompany b.b. called the Swamp Nerds, who the artist describes as the “‘inadvertently-trying-to-save-the-world’ young protagonists of this adventurous story.”
The first issue of “b.b. free” will be released on November 6th in comic book shops and digital comic book platforms. In the meantime, head on over to the Los Angeles Times for more early artwork.
