‘Malinky Robot': A Slice-of-Life Tour Through a Dystopian Future [Preview]

On sale in August is Malinky Robot, a new collection of short stories created by Eisner-nominee Sonny Liew (Liquid City, My Faith in Frankie). Each tale stars Atari and Oliver, cute, imaginative kids who serve as our guides on a slice-of-life tour through a lavishly rendered, vaguely dystopian city of the future. The book is a charming and quite beautiful depiction of the idiosyncratic aesthetics and character types found in urban Southeast Asia, and you can check it out after the jump.Based in Singapore, Sonny Liew has contributed to such lauded anthologies as Flight and 24Seven and also illustrated Mike Carey's My Faith in Frankie (with Marc Hempel), the Vertigo graphic novel that directly inspired DC Comics' short-lived Minx imprint, for which Liew also drew Re-Gifters. Liew is nominated for an Eisner Award this year for his editing and contributions to Liquid City volume 2, the second installment of the anthology series dedicated to showcasing comics and creators from Southeast Asia. His Malinky Robot won the Xeric grant for self-publishing.

Described in the solicitation text as "street urchins," Atari and Oliver serve as the reader's eyes and ears through their childish adventures in the expansive cityscape of Malinky Robot. Featuring encounters with local merchants and doing chores for elderly neighbors in possession of cool robots, Liew's pages accurately communicate the sense of community that exists in many Asian cities like Singapore (where I lived for many years), with its ever expanding skyline, but with a bit of a science fiction twist as well. It's that unusual contrast between the visual frenzy of the Asian metropolis with its adventurous and imaginative kid characters that I think really reminds me of my time in the region, and I look forward to Malinky Robot when Image releases it later this year.

Malinky Robot can be pre-ordered now at your local comics shop or online at Things From Another World.

Street urchins Atari and Oliver are out to steal bicycles, watch Giant Robot movies and spend some Large Denominational Bills! MALINKY ROBOT collects five tales by Eisner-nominated artist SONNY LIEW (MY FAITH IN FRANKIE, WONDERLAND, SENSE & SENSIBILITY) featuring stinky fish, philosopher-labourers and summer rain. A recipient of the Xeric Award, the Utopiales SF Festival's Best SF Album award and featured in the acclaimed FLIGHT anthologies, MALINKY ROBOT blends dystopian sci-fi and indie sensibilities into a uniquely charming, off-kilter world.