A mad scientist's hired muscle wants out in Matt Lesniewski's Static

(Image credit: Matt Lesniewski/Carlos Badilla (Dark Horse Comics))

Eisner-nominated writer/artist Matt Lesniewski is back with a 120-page original graphic novel called Static, about a mercenary-for-hire named Emmett who ends up fighting one of the people who hires him most.

"As if being tracked by a violent gang of drug dealers wasn't enough, a mad scientist's muscle for hire, who hunts creatures for twisted Frankensteinesque experiments, finds himself fighting his boss and the patchwork monsters he helped create," reads Dark Horse's description of Static.

Here's an eight-page preview of Static by Lesniewski and colorist Carlos Badilla:

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Static preview

Static is Lesniewski's first major work since 2018's Freak OGN. In addition, he's created several self-published comics and appeared in the Image Comics anthology Where We Live.

"Before ever writing or drawing a thing, I had been thinking about the idea for [Static] for several years," Lesniewski says about the new OGN. "It went through many different iterations, but the core idea never went away: a character who one day realized their life had passed them by, leaving them 'stuck' in place all this time with no idea how to break from the cycle they've been in all these years. Hence, the title Static. Ironically, this story would sometimes leave my mind, but it always came back, never really going anywhere."

Static goes on sale on May 12.

Static will be available simultaneously in comic shops and on digital platforms. For the best digital comics reading experience, check out our list of the best digital comics readers for Android and iOS devices.

Chris Arrant covered comic book news for Newsarama from 2003 to 2022 (and as editor/senior editor from 2015 to 2022) and has also written for USA Today, Life, Entertainment Weekly, Publisher's Weekly, Marvel Entertainment, TOKYOPOP, AdHouse Books, Cartoon Brew, Bleeding Cool, Comic Shop News, and CBR. He is the author of the book Modern: Masters Cliff Chiang, co-authored Art of Spider-Man Classic, and contributed to Dark Horse/Bedside Press' anthology Pros and (Comic) Cons. He has acted as a judge for the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, the Harvey Awards, and the Stan Lee Awards. Chris is a member of the American Library Association's Graphic Novel & Comics Round Table. (He/him)