By Zack Quaintance — Writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Andre Lima Araújo have announced Phenomena: The Golden City of Eyes, the first of a three-part graphic novel series to be published by Abrams ComicArts. Part one is slated to hit shops on Sept. 13, 2022, with part two arriving in Fall 2023, followed by part three in Fall 2024.

According to comicbook.com, which had the exclusive announcement, the book is about the following:

Phenomena: The Golden City of Eyes features a young boy named Bolden and his warrior friend Spike. They're both survivors of a phenomena that took over the Earth years ago. While it isn't described as an apocalypse, the phenomena is something far more interesting. Bolden and Spike are forced to team up with another lost orphan named Matilde, as they go on a globetrotting adventure that takes them to a magical, mysterious placed called the Golden City of Eyes.

It, of course, features Lima Araújo’s stunning detailed artwork, which is on full display in the only interior artwork so far teased from the project…

I’d definitely heard in the past that this duo was working on creator-owned comics, which I think they made clear when they teamed a while back at DC, I believe during Bendis’ time helming Young Justice. This past year or so has seen Bendis increasingly focused on creator-owned work, rather than the Big 2 superhero comics he’s penned for nearly 20 years (to be fair, there was often creator-owned work done within that time, but it was far from a focus…).

Last year, Bendis launched a new title on his Jinxworld imprint (published through Image, Marvel, DC Comics, Dark Horse Comics) called Joy Operations, which is illustrated by Stephen Byrne. Dark Horse has also announced that another Bendis creator-owned will return soon, this being Pearl, the San Francisco-set story of tattoo artwork and the Yakuza, Pearl.

What’s notable here is the format. All three books are getting straight-up graphic novel releases, with no floppy monthly comics in site. Just 144 pages of comics story straight-up in a hardcover that retails for $24.99. Bendis is far from the only big name creator with a sizable audience to make this shift, with Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips now publishing their own Reckless series this way, now on its fourth book.

Anyway! I’m really into this one. I’m nothing if not a Bendis superfan, and the sort of visionary hyper-detailed artwork that Lima Araújo does really thrills my brain. Excited to see what the two concoct together, free from the limits of established IP.

You can pre-order book one via Abrams ComicArts. Full description is below:

PHENOMENA: THE GOLDEN CITY OF EYES
By Brian Michael Bendis and André Lima Araújo
Abrams ComicArts | September 13, 2022
U.S. $24.99 | CAN $31.99
Hardcover with jacket | 144 pages
6½ x 9¾" | Black-and-white illustrations throughout

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Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He has written about comics for The Beat and NPR Books, among others. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as Comics Bookcase.