Writer Artist Shane Davis and inker Michelle Delecki announced their latest collaboration at Image Expo 2015 in San Francisco yesterday. The new series will debut in October 2015, and follows the life of a teenager named Eric who escapes into a video game. The big twist — the game bleeds over into real life, with "apocalyptic consequences."
"In the book, we're only going into a video game in the first issue," said Davis. "It's more about the game coming out into the world." Davis noted that there were definite homages to popular games — specifically to fighting series and Super Mario.
Delecki threw out her own gaming influences. "I've grown up playing video games," she said. "I was a Sega kid, and I graduated onto PlayStation. I like fighting games!" she exclaimed.
But Davis noted that series will be about much more than nerdy nostalgia. "This isn't just about video games," he said. "I wanted to tackle teen violence." Specifically the "bleed over effect" of the game is a very specific metaphor. "This is about disillusioned teens who may not be able to know where fantasy ends and reality begins."
"The main character in this book is basically half of a whole," said Davis. "We pick up with him a year after his twin brother died. I wanted to deal with his mourning and his escaping into games."
Axcend's first issue will launch on Oct 7, 2015.