Sci-Fi is hot right now, especially the aspects that are set far into the future. The concept of “how far will we take science” has always fascinated me, and how that affects humanity opens up great conversation. We’ve spoken at length about our love for Mass Effect, and The Expanse has become must-watch television. Genre comics are hitting all those points as well, and perhaps push the concept further than we thought possible. Such is the medium of story-telling.
Staunch Ambition, created and written by Brian E Lau, is a new series that approaches Sci-Fi possibilities with an unique hook: what if we use science to access the supernatural? Could this lead to a “New Enlightenment” or a downward spiral?
At Motor City Comic Con recently, Lau was premiering issue 2 of the series, expanding on the “shit hitting the fan” chaos that humanity is now dealing with. In a future where humans have conquered almost all aspects of their physical existence, they’ve moved beyond the ethical and moral restraints of right and wrong. For example, the concept of sleep has been reduced to hooking ourselves up to a machine and receiving the necessary nutrients and energy in a fraction of the time that we would lose in eight hours of rest. Conversely, many are abusing this capability, becoming addicted and getting high off of the experience. Though these aspects aren’t the focus of the book, they both affect and are the results of the futuristic predicament, exposing us to the concept that no matter how we change the world around us, we still have the same needs, desires and failures.
The books themselves center on the story of Azarus, a bio-engineered clone created by splicing animal and human DNA. In this future, these beings are devoid of emotion, existing only to work in manual or mundane labor. Azarus should be just another worker, but he’s begun to question what it means to be human. His story and those of the people around him begin to intertwine, with ultimately challenging situations.
Though the character-driven stories move the narrative forward between issues, the star may very well be the world in which the books take place. To develop this future is a big task, and so Brian Lau enlists the help of other writers and artists to collaborate on building it. The more eyes on it the better.
Staunch Ambition is certainly an intriguing concept, and a different avenue for where Sci-Fi can go. Though it’s not a super hero book, there are elements of heroism and super abilities, but they fit within the context of its world. There are currently two issues in the planned continuous story with more planned.
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