Time to get to the meat of the matter. Coming this July is Mad Cave Studios’ newest cyber-cult thriller, Under the Influence! To celebrate this all-new series, we’ve teamed up with illustrators Stefano Simeone (THE LAST DAYS OF BLACK HAMMER, STAR WARS, STAR TREK, RADIANT BLACK, MEGAMAN) and David Rubin (RUMBLE, ETHER, X-O MANOWAR: UNCONQUERED, BLACK HAMMER: THE END) to cook up two limited-edition Mad Cave Exclusive variant covers of Under the Influence #1!
Limited to a print run of 100 copies each, make sure to collect your very own copy while they’re hot! (We double-dog dare you.)
Writer: Eliot Rahal – Artist: Stefano Simeone – Letters: Frank Cvetkovic
Synopsis: (New Series) A teenage sociopath, Paul Kozac, has accidentally created an internet cult called The Hot Dog Party. When a prank turns deadly, the F.B.I. sends in an undercover agent, Cara Cole, to investigate and infiltrate their ranks. Now Cara battles against real stakes, fake news, and memes in a character-driven story about power structures and the communities you build. This is a story about “Click to follow” cultism during the age of social media.
MEET THE CREATORS!
Eliot Rahal (W)
Eliot Rahal (Hot Lunch Special, Bleed Them Dry, Madam Satan) is a New York Times-acclaimed writer best known for his work in comics and his collaborations with Last Podcast on the Left, Machine Gun Kelly, and Emily Hampshire.
“Cults as an idea are very fascinating to me. How they work. The relationship between the cult members and cult leader. And now it really seems that we as a species have moved into a new era of cults through the internet.” Writer Eliot Rahal shares, “Sometimes I can’t help but think about where this is all going. Under the Influence will be a five-issue story about an internet cult that gets too big, inertia, and hot dogs. ”
Stefano Simeone (A)
Stefano Simeone (The Last Days of Black Hammer, Star Wars, Star Trek, Radiant Black, Megaman) is a comic artist from Rome, who collaborates with Disney, Pixar, Image Dark Horse, IDW, Boom! Studios, Sergio Bonelli Editore and others. His real talent is cooking and Angry Birds.
“Since I read Eliot’s first comics, I’ve wanted to work with him on something. I was sure he could cook something special. I wasn’t wrong, and he cooked Hot Dogs!” Artist Stefano Simeone mentions, “This book is about internet and socials and cultism, and tells about the most difficult age of life – when you’re too young to be an adult and too old to be a child, so you’re just stuck in the middle. I’m lucky I have the chance to bring to life all those characters with their different feelings, it’s a great challenge.”
TRAILER
Sneak Peek!
Under the Influence #1 is now available for pre-order on the official Mad Cave Studios website, and will be available at your favorite bookstore, local comic shop, and digital comic reader on July 5th, 2023!
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