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PEOPLE & ARTS Monday 6 May 2019
Neon Future: DJ Steve Aoki's comic book sees techno-optimism

By DAVID FISCHER "He's the kind of the char-
MIAMI (AP) — Forget the acter that I would strive to
dystopian future of science become," Aoki said.
fiction stories, where Skynet Aoki came up with the term
endoskeletons stomp on Neon Future in 2014. He's
dry human bones or peo- used it in the title of three of
ple slumbering in fluid-filled his five studio albums, with
pods serve as living batter- "Neon Future" IV set to re-
ies. lease later this year.
Electronic music producer "Neon Future as a concept
and DJ Steve Aoki imagines deserved an illustrative sto-
a future where humans live rytelling piece," Aoki said.
in harmony with technol- "A piece that can paint the
ogy, and he's sharing that picture of what the Neon
vision in a new comic book Future really means."
series called "Neon Future." Aoki said he grew up read- This image provided by Steve Aoki shows a scene from his comic book "Neon Future."
Although science fiction ing Marvel comics, like Associated Press
narratives commonly de- Punisher, Wolverine, X-Men
pict cybernetic machines and Spider-Man. He eventually pitched the Krueger, who's worked for about his ideas. I started
turning on their human "Before I got into music idea of creating a comic DC and Marvel, said he ini- telling him about my ideas,
masters, as in "The Termi- even, comics were my go- book world around Aoki's tially expected just to give and it was kind of like, all
nator" or "The Matrix," Aoki to," Aoki said. He was also a "Neon Future" album series Bilyeu an overview of the business aside, really just
doesn't buy it. huge fan of Japanese ani- and then met with award- comic industry. two creators coming to-
"A general plot is that tech- mated films like "Ghost in winning comic writer Jim "And then it just became gether and having the
nology is destroying hu- the Shell," and even joined Krueger to help bring their fun from there," Krueger fun of beginning to create
manity," Aoki said. "The ro- an anime club in college. ideas to life. said. "He started telling me together."q
bots are going to make us "I'm obsessed with future
their slaves, or the human science technologies,"
species is going to be ex- Aoki said. "Before I was a
terminated by technology. science fiction guy, I was
But in this case, we are go- a comic book guy. That's
ing to become augment- where imagination comes
ed. ... We use technology from."
for the good. It's a different "Neon Future" is the first
kind of story." comic series produced by
"Neon Future " is set rough- Impact Theory. Founder
ly 30 years from now in a and CEO Tom Bilyeu said
United States that has out- Aoki and his team were
lawed advanced technol- clear that they didn't want
ogy. A civil war is brewing a series about a fictional-
between people who have ized version of Aoki go-
integrated technology into ing on adventures in some
their bodies and those who high-tech fantasy world or
have not. The resistance a marketing tool to pro-
movement, Neon Future, mote his musical career.
is led by a longhaired, The top priority was creat-
bearded, Asian-American ing a story that would ap-
man named Kita Sovee — peal to comic fans.
whose name happens to "They did not want to be
be an anagram of Steve beholden to Steve's image
Aoki. The series follows an as a person, the way that
anti-tech crusader who people think about him,"
dies and is resurrected by a Bilyeu said. "We thought of
technology developed by him as an actor. Imagine if
Aoki's character. Steve Aoki were cast as this
"I believe that technology character Kita Sovee."
will merge with us," Aoki Bilyeu was doing research
said. "I believe that at the and preparing to interview
end of the day, we will all Aoki for a web series in
become the robots. We 2017 when he realized Aoki
will become cyborg beings shared his sense of "techno-
where we can have super- optimism" and concluded
human qualities with the Aoki might be the perfect
technology." partner.
Aoki said he liked the idea "I realized that in real life he
of having a character in the plans to be cryogenically
comic who's loosely based frozen when he dies," Bily-
on him but not the primary eu said. "And I just thought
protagonist. With two sides that was so incredible, and
at war, Kita Sovee fights for I have a personal obsession
a third way — a path of co- with the possibility of living
existence. forever."