Webcomics Wednesday: Colonus

Hello, and welcome to Webcomics Wednesday! To those of you who are regular visitors to Comic Booked, you know that it is customary for Webcomics Wednesday to feature five different webcomics that all share one common theme or characteristic based on art, story, or appeal. Today will be a bit of an exception to that rule, however, and we’ll feature one especial webcomic that was requested that we look at: Colonus, the saga of humanity’s struggle to cope with the aftermath of Earth’s being laid to waste.

So, without further ado, let’s dive into the tale…

Title: Colonus

Creators: Ken Pisani and Arturo Lauria

In their own words: The future. Earth is a dead planet. Its survivors colonized Mars, while Earth’s outcasts—the miscreants, criminals, fringe-dwellers and sociopaths—fled inward, to Venus. Three generations later, the Mars colony has replicated the worst of the world they left behind: avarice, gluttony, and a thirst for power… while the denizens of Venus, strengthened by hardship forged in brutality and hellish conditions, thrive. And now Mars turns its attention to lovely Venus.

In our words: Let’s face it: sci-fi is a common genre. Countless stories in the past fifty years have featured aliens, time machines, space travel, and other manifestations of futuristic technologies. We’ve seen earth destroyed. We’ve seen earth discovered. We’ve seen earth invaded by more kinds of alien species than anyone could count. Is there really anything more that could happen?

The answer is yes. Of course. And Colonus is one of the finer examples of a new branch of a common genre. At first, seeing and learning about just how Earth was ruined in this story is all too reminiscent of Pixar’s Wall-e: there was so much junk and pollution that our home planet has become inhabitable, and people must find an alternative home. But unlike Wall-e, mankind hasn’t lost its spunk. Mars is the first to be colonized, and then Venus, but the way each planet is tackled is different and produces different results.

Colonus focuses on the aftermath of the colonization of Mars and Venus and the burden of the responsibility of knowing the importance of protecting a planet. Is it possible for people with different views and different goals to work together to build a strong community after witnessing such destruction? The tension is imminent.

The webcomic is available in several formats online, including the traditional webpage, the e-pub format, and another format specifically designed for comic e-readers. Also feel free to visit the Facebook page to drop a hello and get more news about the world of Colonus as it happens.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s special edition of Webcomics Wednesday, and please be back next week for more adventures in webcomics! In the meantime, please share your thoughts in the comments section below. What are your favorite approaches to sci-fi? Are there any special webcomics that you want us to look into? Please let us know!