Author: Newsroom
PORTLAND, Ore. 08/05/2025 — Fan-favorite writer Aubrey Sitterson (No One Left to Fight, The Comic Book Story of Professional Wrestling) and critically-acclaimed artist Jed Dougherty (Savage Hearts, Worlds’ Finest) a dauntless, cerebral leap into a meticulously researched and visionary science-fiction epic with the upcoming Free Planet, Vol. 1. It is set to hit shelves this Winter from Image Comics.
This all-new graphic novel series delves deep into a rich array of political themes echoing the scope and gravity of today’s hottest topics. Fans of series like Dune and East of West will enjoy sinking their teeth into this exploration of societal structure and suspenseful storytelling filled with separatist movements, counterrevolutionaries, and a looming trade war.
The first completely free planet in human history has won its independence. In Free Planet, readers follow a group of revolutionary heroes who must defend the planet’s unique energy source from a pair of hostile intergalactic powers while determining what complete freedom actually entails.
Free Planet, Vol. 1 trade paperback (ISBN: 9781534335004) will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, November 26 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, December 9.
Free Planet is also available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.
Early praise for Free Planet:
“Demands to be read in a comfy chair, next to a fire, or the window of a starship, while taking in a distant supernova. Sitterson and Dougherty are holding a masterclass in rich, intricate worldbuilding that is equal parts Dune, Claremont, and Saga while being wholly original.” —Robert Kirkman, Invincible, The Walking Dead
“One of the hardest parts of making a comic book is the intense task of worldbuilding. Free Planet shrugs off that pressure, fully fleshed out for characters to explore and readers to witness, proving that Aubrey and Jed have what it takes to bring you to a place completely new and totally refreshing.” —Daniel Warren Johnson, Transformers, The Moon Is Following Us
“With notes of Warhammer 40k and Firefly, Free Planet is lusciously rendered, dense, political sci-fi with a lot to say.” —Kieron Gillen, The Power Fantasy, The Wicked + The Divine
“Free Planet, a kind of space-politics-opera, brings shades of the cosmic imagination of Jack Vance, Jack Kirby, and Samuel Delany and Howard Chaykin’s great lost Empire—but with a special supercharged future-fictional-Wikipedia density of its own.” —Jonathan Lethem, The Fortress of Solitude, Omega the Unknown
“A truly unique sci-fi comic, flipping the script on a well-worn trope while also straddling the divide between comic and novel.” —AIPT
“Beautifully detailed and visually immersive.” —The Superpowered Fancast
“How high is the cost of true Freedom? Free Planet is a thought provoking take on that concept via multi level storytelling. Sitterson weave in many themes while laying a solid foundation to grow the story. Dougherty and Astone craft superb imagery as the goals of the Freedom Guard come into focus. There is really nothing like this at the comic shops so don’t miss out.” —Nerd Initiative
“I don’t read SF anymore; I tend to agree with Tom Disch’s dismissal of it as a children’s literature. That said, I will always have a warm spot in my heart for the work of Cordwainer Smith, in its outright freakish and complex nuttiness. It’s a touch of that wild-haired sensibility that Aubrey and Jed have conjured here in Free Planet, a great comic book series, a synergy of text and image possessed with a density of vision that shames most any other attempt at legitimate space opera in comics.” —Howard Chaykin, American Flagg, Time
“Incredibly imaginative world-building, all around compelling characters who have depth. Read this!” —Mark Waid, Batman and Robin: Year One, Absolute Power
“Drops you into a fully realized world and immerses you right away on a page-turning adventure. If dystopian sci fi with an ensemble cast of memorable characters is your jam (and it is mine), you will definitely want to check out Free Planet.” —Mark Russell, Batman: Dark Age, The Flintstones
“A thunderbolt to the mind. Aubrey and Jed bring an energy and sophistication to the comics page that I’ve been yearning for. This is comics at Full Power.” —Matt Bors, Justice Warriors, Toxic Avenger
“With graceful, compelling prose, Free Planet feels akin—in the best possible ways— to great sci-fi of the ’60s and ’70s while charting a new course with compelling word building that is distinctly modern. It’s refreshing to see an original sci-fi epic and that’s what Aubrey Sitterson and Jed Dougherty have crafted here.” —Marc Guggenheim, Arrow, Star Wars: Jedi Knights
“Ambitious, energetic and thought-provoking: this heady blend of big ideas, societal ideologies and scrappy guerrilla violence walks the worldbuilding-tightrope between the granular and the epic. Something like the mutant offspring of Asimov and Marshall Bravestarr.” —Simon Spurrier, Hellblazer, The Flash
“Unabashedly the opposite of many contemporary comics. It’s meticulous, lush and filled with more ideas than can be absorbed in a single reading. A truly unique and fun comic!” —Tyrell Cannon, The Schlub, Beef Bros
