Writer Michael Conrad and artist Nathan Ooten are teaming up for a new graphic novel titled Neptune, a tale of revenge Conrad characterizes as “like observing a car crash.” The book will hit Comixology later this year, followed by Dark Horse Comics in 2025.
“Following books like Tremor Dose and Double Walker isn’t easy, I remain quite proud of both of those stories,” says writer Michael Conrad via a press release provided to Comic Book Club. “With NEPTUNE I wanted to rip something from the headlines and address it in a graphic novel. The result feels far less like “entertainment” and more like observing a car crash, a thing you don’t wish to see, but can’t look away from. Nathan Ooten nailed it, each page manages to be at once a beautiful display of his multimedia approach to sequential art, and a profane representation of quite vile subject matter.”
The book focuses on an ex-con named Corey Harrison who finds himself free for the first time in 17 years. Only once he’s out of the slammer, he has to look into the strange death of his brother — and the “vast darkness surrounding his legacy.”
Conrad continued, “NEPTUNE wasn’t easy to create, the story contains a lot of complex and troubling elements including incarceration, murder, human trafficking, and exploitation,” says writer Michael Conrad. “I hesitate to call NEPTUNE a horror story, but it is most certainly horrific.”
“Michael Conrad’s career as a comics writer continues to grow and we’re excited to be a part of it,” added Jeff DiBartolomeo, Comixology’s GM and CTO. “It’s been thrilling to debut Michael’s creator-owned graphic novels – Tremor Dose, Double Walker, and now Neptune – with Comixology Originals. This is a heavy story that deals with complex elements that require a unique artistic touch, and we’re pleased to spotlight the work of a bright new artist in Nathan Ooten.”
Check out the cover, below. Neptune will hit digitally on Comixology on September 3, 2024, and March 4, 2025 from Dark Horse in book stores, and in comic shops on March 5, 2025.