Posted in: Comics, Current News | Tagged: Rekcah, The Future Is

The Future Is ****** #1 Seems To Have ****** Its Own Launch Today

The Future Is ****** #1 seems to have rather ****** its own launch this week from Rekcah Comics

This week sees the launch of the first Rekcah Comics publication, The Future Is ****** #1. When it was pitched by the publisher at ComicsPRO earlier in the year, I called it the best new comics pitch I had ever seen, and I stand by that. From a cyber-security firm-turned-comics publisher, The Future Is ******  is billed as a sixty-issue monthly series, priced at $4.04, or $13.37 for the first extra-sized issue, a price point with double meanings for the coder, the programmer and the hacker audience. As well as other embedded aspects of the comic, it is intended to give that audience a new problem to solve as they read the cyberpunk comic on a monthly basis. The first issue launches this week… but then stores also got copies of the comic last week, at a third of the planned cover price, a 404 edition. However, they are still expected to sell the first issue for the full $13.37 this week. A press release was issued, claiming the early release as some kind of publicity stunt. They stated

"Publisher REKCAH Comics, an outpost for comics and graphic novels from trusted cybersecurity firm Black Hills Information Security, is releasing a free-to-retailers, secret, unlisted variant of their debut comic, The Future Is ****** #1, to randomly selected comic shops internationally in place of their orders of the standard edition on May 28th through Lunar Distribution. Known as the 404 Edition, this version features the same stunning Jae Lee artwork with a blue trade dress and a low SRP to encourage new fans to try this series, which combines the action of Mr. Robot and Ocean's Eleven with ethical hacking-based Capture the Flag challenges. Readers who find the 404 Edition in the first week of sales are encouraged to post their books online using the #FindThe404 for a chance to win fabulous REKCAH prizes. "So much of cybersecurity is searching out the weaknesses in any system and finding ways to make them stronger. Since we wanted to bring some of that hacker spirit to comics, we're inviting comics shops to Find The 4.04!" said Deb Wigley, CMO of REKCAH Comics. Retailers who received the surprise 404 Edition will receive a product credit and freight credit, as well as their previously ordered The Future Is #1 standard edition copies with their June 4th orders. To encourage fans to seek out both series editions and "Find The 4.04," the originally priced $13.37 and the $4.04 editions will both be available for order in the Lunar Distribution system starting today. Previously announced affidavit returns for retailers with initial orders of 3 or more will only be accepted on the $13.37 edition."

This was a lie. This was a cover-up of a **** up (to use their own asterisks). Indeed retailers I spoke to were not happy at having a bunch of copies suddenly in competition with copies they had previously ordered and trying to sell this week, at full price. What happened? After a little trademark Bleeding Cool probing, Rekcah Comics fessed up.

"This is a 5 year series from a new publisher. As such, we knew that we will need to have lots of moments to promote to get people who missed the initial hype. At the same time we printed the 1st Printing, we also printed a "404 edition" with a lower cover price that we planned to warehouse until 3 or 4 months in when we knew we would need something to promote this ongoing 5 year plan. Someone at either the printer or the distributor (we know who but we're not saying because we don't believe in publicly embarrassing people who make simple mistakes and learn from them) switched some of the metadata leading the 1st Printing and the 404 Edition to be shipped at random to stores. We did not know about this until a retailer who got their shipment early asked about it. We then contacted Lunar, who quickly diagnosed the problem. REKCAH made the decision to comp that week's shipment, regardless of which version retailers got, including the freight cost and reship the 1st Printing that retailers ordered the following week. We made an announcement claiming that this was a marketing stunt to explain what retailers were seeing and obfuscate the mistake. It should be noted that the top 1000 accounts all received a free copy of the 1st Printing regardless of their order. This was going to be the big announcement that week, but got lost in the shuffle. The 1st Printing is still returnable within the affadavit returns program."

I'm going to say, at this point, fair enough. Maybe a little more transparency and a little less Mark Millar cosplay might have been in order. The returnability may help soothe a few nooses that were put out of joint, but The Future Is ****** remains an impressive launch into the comic book market, and it will be on sale in comic book stores this week, for both $13.37 and $4.04. What you actually pay, well, that will be between you and your comic book store. I have already ordered my 404 copy from Forbidden Planet…. though they have the $13.37 version available too. Just in UK prices, which don't match up with the gags at all.

FUTURE IS ****** #1 (MR)
(W) Fred Van Lente (A) Ennio Bufi (CA) Jae Lee
THE HACKER WARS ARE OVER. THE BLACK HATS WON. WHO WILL SAVE US FROM THE WORLD THAT'S COMING? BLACK MOUNTAIN—a rogue band of digital ronin, freebooters, and hackers—fight against a world ruled by data barons, artificial overlords, and technological terrorists. Each operative is paired with a sprite, an AI partner as unpredictable as the human it serves. At the center is WHEELER, a former black hat hacker dragged back into a war he thought he escaped. His team includes: MARTINA DE LEÓN – An Olympic-level infiltrator who operates in the real world. SALLY CHU – A hardware engineer fresh from nine years living in orbit. ELI NILSSON – A system vulnerabilities expert trapped between reality and augmented reality. ART & ARF – A machine intelligence obsessed with human creativity—and the dog it's bound to. Their mission: stop JASON ROANOKE. A self-proclaimed visionary, Roanoke once controlled the world's supply chains, private armies, and the lives of those who exist under his authority. He now rules from Tranquility Base, a lunar fortress beyond government reach. Roanoke is the first corporate king of space—and the future itself is his to shape unless Black Mountain stop him.This is THE FUTURE IS ******, a 60-issue cyber-sci-fi epic fusing the shadow warfare of Mr. Robot, the kinetic action of The Matrix, and the thrilling espionage of Ghost in the Shell.KEY SELLING POINTSA bold commitment—A 60-issue saga in today's comic landscape.Cutting-edge cyberpunk storytelling from New York Times Bestseller Fred Van Lente (Deadpool vs. The Punisher, Marvel Zombies).High-tech, high-tension visuals from Ennio Bufi (Assassin's Creed: Bloodstone).Cover by the legendary artist Jae Lee (Dark Tower, Inhumans) .Interactive hacker experience with Capture the Flag challenges in each issue. $13.37/$4.04 6/4/2025

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