The Punk Isn’t Dead Project: Take Two
Welcome back!
Those of you who don’t receive our newsletter (tip: you can sign up by emailing [email protected]) may not know about some recent changes, so here’s a quick February update for everyone. The shape of our author team changed in January — for now, the entirety of the project is going to be co-written by Lassie Larceny and Toni Trouble. Lassie will be our solo director of art, and Toni will continue to work as our promotional manager. This shift resulted in some ongoing plot developments, and keeping track might prove a little tricky for a while. As a result, this blog is going to take a little bit of a turn from a place where we share info about an ever-evolving story, to a place where we track our progress, share art, and engage with everyone interested in the project itself. That said, here’s a little summary on the definite changes.
The Story So Far:
The Western World found itself between Industrial Revolutions in 1859. Progress had slowed, though it hadn’t stopped. Oregon became a U.S. state in March, ground broke for the Suez Canal in April, Big Ben first chimed in July. The world’s population had just crested 1.2 million and was still climbing. Then came the Carrington Event — the largest solar storm in recorded history, one that caused the Northern Lights to be seen in South America and disabled telegraph communication worldwide. It also triggered something latent in human DNA worldwide, a specific gene that became known as the viradix (pl. viridaces).
The viradix gene caused a surge in superhuman abilities in every population. While they didn’t have immediate effects, only manifesting in children born during and after the storm, it changed the surface of human history starting with the Great War and throughout the 20th century.
As a result, 2006 sees a world similar to ours at first glance but very different under scrutiny. People with viridaces (viradors) who abuse their powers have been classed as supervillains, and a small group of virador vigilantes have been officially recognized by the U.S. government as official “superheroes” whose job is to assist law enforcement and prevent collateral damage. This group, collectively known as The Crystals, is centered around Ethan Walsh — a powerful virador with an unknown history, but a genuine desire to save lives.
Through a series of conflicts and coincidences, Sam Walsh (Ethan’s sister), Arlo Baker (recently grown-up teen vigilante), and Maria Phillips (a healer recovering from a coma) are brought together as the newest team of Crystals. While Ethan’s core team focuses on immediate problems in around their main base in Chicago, the new team is tasked with investigating a ragtag group of rioters and robbers called the Resonants, led by the world’s first known viraphage: Anarcho-Punk.
Can Sam, Arlo, and Maria figure out what it is that Punk and his band are gearing toward before it gets out of hand? Or will a bigger problem make itself known?
Find out in
The Punk Isn’t Dead Project, Volume One: The Crystals
