About this item
"Thoughtful and beautifully illustrated science fiction. A masterful comic book experience." - Farel Dalrymple, The Wrenchies, Pop Gun War, Omega Man-For their 45th anniversary, Hank and Molly Nonnar decide to undergo an experimental rejuvenation procedure, but their hopes for youth are dashed when the couple is faced with the results: severely disfigured yet intellectually and physically superior duplicates of themselves. Can the original Hank and Molly coexist in the same world as their clones? In Upgrade Soul, McDuffie Award-winning creator Ezra Claytan Daniels asks probing questions about what shapes our identity-Is it the capability of our minds or the physicality of our bodies? Is a newer, better version of yourself still you? This page-turning graphic novel follows the lives of Hank and Molly as they discover the harsh truth that only one version of themselves is fated to survive.
About the Author
EZRA CLAYTAN DANIELS is a writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles, CA. His critically acclaimed graphic novel series, The Changers, began a unique career peppered with a number of collaborative multimedia projects ranging from video games to animation to feature documentaries.Ezra is the creator of the popular live art spectacle, The Comic Art Battle, which is a staple of the Stumptown Comics Festival and the template for countless iterations at comics and art events throughout the country, as well as Loaded Blanks Greetings, a line of fill-in-the-blanks comic-art greeting cards featuring both established as well as up and coming comics artists.Ezra collaborated with Chicago-based chamber group Fifth House Ensemble on the narrative concert series, 'Black Violet', which the Chicago Sun-Times called "a modern classic". He also contributed animation to experimental hip hop luminary Alexis Gideon's Video Musics series of animated rap operas and has worked on several interactive projects with esteemed interactive artist Erik Loyer. His most recent collaboration, 'The Golden Chain', an animated short film with experimental video artist Adebukola Bodunrin, has screened at the The Whitney Museum, The British Film Institute, The International Film Festival Rotterdam, MFA Boston, REDCAT Theater, ATA San Francisco, and at Art Basel, Switzerland. In 2017, 'The Golden Chain' was acquired by The Whitney for their permanent collection.Ezra's latest graphic novel, 'Upgrade Soul', began life as a pioneering immersive serialized graphic novel for iOS in 2012. 'Upgrade Soul' has been frequently featured on the Apple App Store, was named a 2013 IndieCade Finalist, and has exhibited at The Hyde Park Art Center, the Wexner Center for the Arts and the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. 'Upgrade Soul' was a featured project at the Fantoche International Animation Festival in Baden, Switzerland, Haarlem Stripdagen in Amsterdam, and the Fumetto International Comics Festival in Lucerne. 'Upgrade Soul' was released in print by Lion Forge Comics in 2018. It was the recipient of the Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics, and was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2018.
