Veteran video game writer Joshua Rubin, who worked on Assassin’s Creed 2, Destiny, and a multitude of Telltale games, has launched a comics company. Strange Land Comics promises “elevated genre for grown-ups” with its first series, Time Sensitive, a sci-fi story described as “an existential puzzle-thriller in the spirit of Severance, Inception and Black Mirror.”
Written by Rubin and drawn by Jorge Coelho, Time Sensitive follows LAPD detective Caleb Stone as he investigates the disturbing disappearance of his wife, Sara. But this is no simple missing person case – everyone in Stone’s life insists that Sara has been dead for five years. Everyone but Tallulah Hsu, that is. The 17-year-old punk rocker has uncovered a vast conspiracy to rewrite memories, and Stone’s missing wife is just one small part of a much larger puzzle. Together, they’ll have to bust this mystery wide open.
The idea has been percolating in Rubin’s head for decades, and the publication of Time Sensitive will see him fulfil something of a lifelong dream. He describes the story as a “complex, grown-up tale of love and sacrifice.” That’s the sort of logline you can expect from any future Strange Land project, too; the company aims to write “elevated” science fiction stories for adults. With that in mind, it’s unsurprising that Rubin namechecks Severance, Inception, and Black Mirror, since all three use complex sci-fi ideas to explore deeply human themes.
The series’ debut issue kicks things off with a bang (in multiple ways - you’ll see when it finally launches) and very quickly gets to the heart of the matter. Rubin’s writing has shades of Rick Remender’s punchy, oft-sweary dialogue as seen in the pages of Black Science and Tokyo Ghost, lending the scenario an enjoyably pulpy, incredibly “comics” vibe. It’s Coelho’s hand-drawn-on-paper art that’s the star of the show, though. The chunky characters and blocky, emotive heads fit the “brain candy” vibe Strange Land is gunning for, emphasising the humanity of each scene while keeping things distinctly larger-than-life, while a heavy amount of extra line work adds texture to each panel.
Rubin is arguably the most famous name among Time Sensitive’s credits, having won Emmy awards for his work in video games. He co-wrote Assassin’s Creed 2 and thus is partially responsible for the character of Ezio Auditore da Firenze, one of the most beloved characters in the medium. He was also part of the original Destiny writing team, and penned multiple episodes of multiple Telltale series, including The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones. More recently, he was lead writer on People Can Fly’s Outriders, and was narrative director on a currently unannounced Dying Light project.
He’s joined on Time Sensitive by a similarly talented cohort: artist Jorge Coelho has worked at both Marvel and DC, drawing for Loki and Rocket Raccoon for the former. Colorist Kay Wollhiser hails from the indie comics scene, where they’ve worked on the likes of A. Guardian, The Knight and the Lion, Sagas of the Shield Maiden and more. Finally, lettering comes courtesy of Micah Meyers, a veteran of DC, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, and Mad Cave.
The team’s first issue of Time Sensitive has just launched on crowdfunding website Kickstarter today. Rubin and his team will no doubt be hoping for a successful campaign, as Time Sensitive is just the first project that Strange Land Comics has planned. With any luck, the company will follow this debut up with a variety of “high-concept, mind-bending, brain-candy sci-fi” comics.
Matt Purslow is IGN's Executive Editor of Features.
