Creators: Jake Tipton and Dan Albertson
Writer: Ethan Murphy
Artist: Gustavo Noveas,
Chunky Thunder Studios, September 2026
Created by Jake Tipton and Dan Albertson, with writing credited to Ethan Murphy and artwork by Gustavo Noveas, Ashes Over Neon is a retro-futuristic comic that combines corporate dystopia, underground music, and the sacrifice of a dream upon the altar of stability. Here is the promotional copy:
Meet SERA KLINE: A corpie hot-head who’s spent her whole life “doing everything right” – work your way up the ladder, get everything you want – but leave behind everyone you love: including yourself. Now, on the eve of the massive battle of the bands – being held in Sector-06 – Sera has to decide to either stay out of the gutter, or go back in. If she can’t decide, then fate will.… In the future, you don’t question the Iron Consensus. You wake up and do what you’re told. That is, unless you’re a Gutter Punk. Sera works a top position at Empiriom, one of the conglomerates serving Chimera Corp, and she had to leave everyone she loved behind to get there. And would you believe it? Destiny hinged on a bad sandwich. Sera then meets a stoic running from his past, a showman chasing a conspiracy, and a kid who plays like his life depends on it. One stage, one night, and four people who should never have met become the biggest band this city has ever seen. But the Warden is watching…
The story follows Sera, an overworked corporate employee living in Everos’ Sector 1. Her life is dominated by the grind of a soul-crushing job, but she finds an escape in the underground music scene of Sector 9. Unfortunately, her attempt to perform at an open-mic night ends in disaster when she freezes on stage.
Rather than abandoning her ambitions, Sera decides to try again, She eventually teams up with Nox, a musician who has just left his band, and guitarist Malachi. Together, they set out to form a new group and make their mark upon Sector 9’s notoriously hostile music scene. There is some churlish humor peppered throughout the story:
On the surface, starting with the very title, Ashes Over Neon appears to be cyberpunk-lite: big on conglomerate hive-grind, but meek on the more confronting aspects of cyberpunk involving biological modification. This is a Hunger Games future, not a Neuromancer future. There is a divide between the sleek, high-tech world of Everos’ Sector 1 and the underground environment of Sector 9, but that divide is not dangerous. Corporate exploitation and counterculture rebellion provide much of the colour and movement.
Yet, at least in this first issue, the lukewarm cyberpunk aesthetic is the backdrop than the substance.
At its heart, this is a very human story about burnout, lost ambitions, and the desire to reclaim something that once mattered. Sera gave up her creative passion in exchange for corporate stability, only to discover that the bargain left her exhausted and unfulfilled. Her decision to pursue music again gives the story an emotional foundation that could work very well without the futuristic setting. That universality is one of the comic’s strengths. Everyone comes to realize at some point in their life that the safe and sensible path isn’t necessarily the one that makes you happy. Sera’s mid-life crisis comes early.
Music is a major component of Ashes Over Neon. The creators have gone considerably further than simply incorporating fictional bands and performances into the narrative, with three albums produced to accompany the characters’ journey. We have chosen not to evaluate those albums as part of this review, since music falls outside the expertise. We did, however, enjoy the pre-release instrumental material we heard. It makes for a fun optional accompaniment while reading.
The graphic novel doesn’t depend on that additional soundtrack to work. The visual storytelling, dialogue, and panel pacing do a good job of communicating the energy and emotion of the performances on their own. The comic understands that a good music scene needs to feel energetic even when there isn’t any actual sound accompanying it, and the combination of expressive artwork and pacing generally accomplishes that.
In terms of artwork, Ashes Over Neon showcases bold, classic comic-book appearance remiscent of the work of Stuart Immomen (high praise indeed). Gustavo Noveas uses vibrant lighting and distinctive character designs to establish the different environments, while color plays an important role in communicating the mood of each scene. Sera’s corporate existence is appropriately drained of excitement, with dull and repetitive tones reflecting the monotonous grind of office life. When she enters the underground club scene, the visual palette becomes energetic, with rich purples and bright stage lighting giving those sequences an electric atmosphere.
That contrast relieves the text of the burden of explaining how miserable Sera’s day job is. The artwork communicates it. The stale, repetitive environment of the Sector 1 is deliberately oppressive, while the music venue is where the characters can finally breathe.
The first issue of Ashes Over Neon is appealing because of Sera’s struggle, to rediscover the creative ambition she abandoned. Around the relatable emotional core is the shell of high-res science fiction, provides an appealing visual shell for those who share a vista of the future which is dull and corporate. With its energetic artwork, strong use of color, and a protagonist whose journey feels considerably more timeless than its setting might initially suggest, Ashes Over Neon gets its band off to a promising start. The accompanying music is an interesting addition for readers who want an immersive experience (see https://ashesoverneon.bandcamp.com/album/pre-release-instrumentals ) but the comic can stand on its own without it.
You can find more information about this forthcoming title here: www.ashesoverneon.com and follow the Kickstarter campaign here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ashesoverneon/ashes-over-neon-in-the-gutter-the-origin-story-book-0