Upcoming OGN Averee explores when social media celebrity goes sour

(Image credit: Marika Cresta/Andrew Dalhouse (A Wave Blue World))

Future State: Harley Quinn writer Stephanie Phillips is branching out with a prescient OGN about the dangers of social media importance titled Averee. Conceived with Dave Johnson, Averee will be drawn by artist Marika Cresta and colorist Andrew Dalhouse for debut in summer 2021 from A Wave Blue World.

"A world where social rank rules and your status sets your inevitable course in life — sound familiar? Just imagine if it was all controlled by an app!" reads the synopsis for the OGN. "In Averee's world, the usual trials of making your way into adulthood come with the added stress of Ranked, a ubiquitous and all-knowing tech innovation that awards you points for socially acceptable behavior and takes them away when you don't conform. It seems fun enough at first, but it becomes much more than a game when Averee's rank suddenly drops overnight. Now she's getting hassled at school, blocked from her favorite restaurants, and her mom is out of a job."

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Averee preview

"Luckily for our hero, she has Zoe — a bottom-ranked BFF — whose open disdain for all things Ranked makes her the perfect accomplice on what's about to be the heist of the century: they're staging a raid on the app's corporate HQ to set things right and its spokesperson, the virtual popstar Pretty Kitty, is in their sights," the synopsis continues. "With Averee's crush Luke in tow, these friends are in way over their heads and they're about to learn that the 'right' they're fighting for may be on a global scale."

Joining Phillips, Johnson, Cresta, and Dalhouse on this are letterer Saida Temofonte and editor Joseph Illidge; Phil Smith designed the logo for Averee.

Averee will be the launch title for a new YA line at A Wave Blue World, with a second title to be announced later this week.

Averee goes on sale April 7, 2021 in comic book stores and digital services; the booktrade market will debut the book on April 20.

This OGN will be available online the same day it debuts in print. Check out our list of the best 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)