One of the comic book industry’s brightest luminaries is the Eisner Award-winning illustrator simply known as Jock (AKA Mark Simpson), whose stylish artwork is a sterling example of the comics art form taken to its absolute pinnacle.
One glance at this Scottish creator’s edgy, unsettling pencils found in books like “Batman: The Black Mirror,” “Wytches,” “Detective Comics,” and “Snow Angels” and it’s immediately obvious why he’s perhaps the most sought after talent in the world.
Now Jock is debuting the first 48-page installment of a premium format sci-fi series, “Gone,” on October 25. It’s his first independent project acting as both writer and artist, conceived with the new creator-owned publisher DSTLRY that he helped co-found and we’ve got a provocative 5-page peek into the premiere issue to share.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“On an impoverished and distant planet where menial workers scratch out a living resupplying starships, the best place to be is GONE… and that’s exactly where 13-year-old Abi wants to be. Along with her street-tough friends, Abi stows away on a colossal luxury space-liner, hoping for a better life. Unbeknownst to her, Abi’s ‘friends’ are not who they seem, and she suddenly finds herself branded a saboteur as she desperately struggles to evade the ship’s deadly crew to stay alive! As the young heroine confronts betrayal, discovers her true allies, and fights against all odds, Abi will soon realize that nothing is farther away than…home.”
Here’s our exclusive 5-page preview of the debut issue in the gallery below:
Wraparound variant cover for “Gone #1”
In addition to Jock’s stratospheric comics career soaring across multiple publishers over the past two decades, he’s also known for his distinctive work in Hollywood, where his concept artwork and character designs were used in movies such as “Ex Machina,” “Annihilation,” “Children of Men,” “Dredd,” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”
“Gone” represents the culmination of 24 memorable years in the business and showcases the superstar’s unique ability to infuse each panel with an electrifying pathos, energy, and emotion. The premise of this absorbing narrative display was first introduced in Jock’s riveting short-story “The Stowaway,” a fascinating entry found in DSTLRY’s kickoff release, “The Devil’s Cut.”
With a formal presentation and preview by DSTLRY at this year’s New York Comic Con, “Gone #1” lands in comic shops and online outlets on Oct. 25, 2023.
