In the near future, ©alifornia, Inc. is a new corporate country still in its formative years with factions in-fighting to achieve their ideal of what the new nation should be. The 4-issue miniseries is written by Arthur N. Ebuen, illustrated by Dave Law (Space Odditorium, Thoughtscape, Wolf Punks), edited by Justin Giampaoli (Rome West, Starship Down, The Mercy Killing), and lettered by Frank Cvetkovic (Blink, Count Crowley, Cyberpunk 2077).
It’s 2047, 18 years after ©alifornia seceded from the United States. After creating a new fresh water source to ensure independence, ©alifornia’s borders are closed, and it supplies 80% of North America’s produce. With Silicon Valley, high-tech is the largest source of revenue, their massive military presence is now privatized, and Hollywood PR continues to shape the world in its image. All citizens are employees of ©alifornia, Inc. and live the ideal ©alifornian life; surf, sun, and gluten-free. But as employees living on company property, certain privacy rights are waived. With CCTV on every corner, ©alifornia is little more than a totalitarian state masquerading as a utopia, and no one is bigger than the brand, even the top brass.
©alifornia, Inc. is for fans of Showtime’s Homeland and HBO’s Succession. It combines the geopolitical chess moves of each power-player and influencer with the pulse-pounding action of tactical military missions, featuring the soldiers and statesmen of ©alifornia, Inc.
The Kickstarter pre-launch page for ©alifornia, Inc. #1 (of four) is live, visit https://bit.ly/caincprelaunch to get notified as soon as the campaign launches in early February. The campaign offers multiple tiers for digital and print copies, variant covers and original art, as well as in-world swag and retailer bundles.
You can follow the comic book’s Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/californiainccomic/
Arthur N. Ebuen started as an animator for Futurama and The Simpsons. Over the last two decades, he’s since moved on to tell other brands’ stories as an Associate Creative Director in advertising and as a Writer/Producer for video and film production.
Dave Law is the artist and co-creator of the ongoing sci-fi space opera, The Space Odditorium, the mind bending Thoughtscape 2319 comic, and cyberpunk horror Wolf Punks. He’s contributed to anthologies Wrong Magnetic Poles and the eclectic Paranoid American History 101. He focuses on visually exploring the unknown and dreaming up alternate, often dystopian worlds within his illustration, sequential art, and concept design. His style is bold and adventurous with a good dose of humor and lightheartedness. His happy place is at his desk combining crisp pen and ink with explosive watercolor and digital elements to create cinematic page layouts.
Justin Giampaoli was a prolific critic at Thirteen Minutes and Comics Bulletin for over a decade. As a writer, his work includes the self-published crime caper The Mercy Killing with artist Tim Goodyear, introductions and bonus content for New York Times Bestseller DMZ at DC/Vertigo, the alt-history epic Rome West and the sci-fi drama Starship Down, both with artist Andrea Mutti at Dark Horse.
Frank Cvetkovic is a comic book letterer who hates when people assume that all he does is put words inside bubbles. There’s a little more to the job than that. For instance, sometimes he puts them in boxes. His work can be seen in Blink, Count Crowley, and Cyberpunk 2077.
