Mariko Between Worlds

by Matthew Erman, Liana Kangas (Illustrator), Rebecca Nalty (Colorist), Micah Myers (Letterer)

Overview

Mariko and Rem are breaking up but they have one last night together in the Mall of Portals, an inter-dimensional consumerist heaven full of unending vice, before Rem takes his new job doing data entry on the Moon of Plenty. With a couple hours to spare, no personal repercussions and entire dimensions at their fingertips — what's the worse that could happen?

This out of this world rom-com is straight out of the year 2099, but speaks to a feeling that time will never change. The fear of loss. Artist Liana Kangas teams up with author Matthew Erman to create a world of lust and star dust. Find yourself navigating the human condition with the most out of this galaxy characters. Mariko Between Worlds is a realistic down to earth graphic novel completely off the wall swarming with magic portals and sexy aliens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781952303531
Publisher:	Mad Cave Studios
Publication date:	10/10/2023
Pages:	114
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Matthew Erman is a writer of comics (primarily) and the creator of the critically acclaimed horror series Long Lost (2018, Scout Comics) with artist Lisa Sterle. Since then, he's worked on the properties: The Dark Crystal, Power Rangers, Care Bears, BONDING, Terminal Punks, and now Mariko Between Worlds with Mad Cave Studios.

Liana Kangas is a freelance comic artist, illustrator, and writer. Current works include drawing and co-creating the comic miniseries TRVE KVLT, written by Scott Bryan Wilson published by IDW, drawing a short written by James Tynion IV for Razorblades, published by Image Comics and contributing to a short with David Booher on CANTO, Tales of the Unnamed World. Liana has also worked on the IDW/LucasFilm title Star Wars Adventures written by Sam Maggs, co-writing the short one-shot Seeds of Eden, co-written by Joe Corallo, drawn by Paul Azaceta, and published by TKO Studios, co-created and drew a mini series titled She Said Destroy, written by Corallo and published by Vault Comics, and the BlackAF series title Devil's Dye written by Vita Ayala published by Black Mask Studios. Liana’s work has been featured in anthologies including 2000AD, Z2’s The Final Symphony, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Comic Mix’s Mine!, Image Comics Where We Live, and A Wave Blue World’s All We Ever Wanted, Dead Beats, Embodied and Dead Beats: London Calling. Liana has drawn covers for series published with Image Comics, IDW, Comixology, Oni Press, Ahoy, Vault, Mad Cave and Scout and licenses such as Star Trek, Star Wars, Dark Spaces: Wildfire, and more. You can find fun features of Liana’s work on Nerdist, SYFY Artists Alley, Panel x Panel as well as featured articles on Deadline Hollywood, Newsarama, Paste Magazine, AIPT, Doom Rocket, Multiversity, Comics Beat, Vice, and Comics Alliance.

Rebecca Nalty is a comic colourist currently living in Dublin, Ireland. She previously worked in the animation industry as a background artist on BBC's Danger Mouse, but has been a colourist full time since 2017. Some of her projects include IDW's Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures and GLOW, Mad Cave Studios' Mariko Between Worlds, Dynamite's Xena Warrior Princess 2019 and Vampirella Red Sonja and Vault's Quests Aside and Finger Guns. When she's not working she enjoys spending time with her dog and playing video games.

Micah Myers has lettered stories and books for DC Comics, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Mad Cave, Webtoon, Devil’s Due, Heavy Metal, Aspen, Starburns, Scout, Darby Pop, and many others. He has worked on comics with Steve Orlando, Matthew Erman, Magdalene Visaggio, Michael Avon Oeming, Mark Bertolini, Joe Corallo, Shane Berryhill, Cullen Bunn, Josh Blaylock, JT Krul, Chris Sebela, Curt Pires, and many more.

Editorial Reviews

08/07/2023

A breakup is envisioned as an interdimensional crisis in this action-filled rom-com from Erman (Bonding) and Kangas (the Trve Kvlt series). Mariko is a typical citizen in a multiverse connected by dimensional gateways, working as a cocktail waitress at a massive hub called the Mall of Portals and browsing its countless lush adventures in her downtime. When her alien boyfriend Rem leaves her to take a job in a universe of corporate wage slaves, she descends into the interdimensional underground to get the visa she needs to follow him. The premise is barely sketched in before the plot plunges into a kaleidoscope of universes with names like the Undertow, the Plane of Honeyed Milk, and the Moon of Plenty, where Mariko encounters characters ranging from an angelic exotic dancer who devours egos to the skeleton staff of a restaurant that serves grief. Beneath the sardonic banter and barrage of fantastical concepts is a sincere story about moving on to a new stage of life and coping with endless change. Chunky inks and neon colors create the sense of realistic characters adrift in unreal situations. Fans of The Hitchhikers’ Guide to the Galaxy will enjoy this romp. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Gives the feeling of getting lost in a vibrant world where almost anything is possible. Leaving it behind can feel bad, but it makes memories.

Gutternaut

Artist Liana Kangas and writer Matthew Erman come together to create a strange weird multidimensional space of emotional exploration and outer-dimensional entities that sparkle in their own unique ways. The whole yarn is very existential and dreamlike and will leave you thinking about the nature of relationships and what one means to oneself, others, and the space between spaces.

Comicon.com

07/28/2023

Welcome to the future, where every experience imaginable is but a portal away. Carnal cravings and emotional snacking are just some of the multitude of options when a couple visit the inter-dimensional Mall of Portals. After her visa is denied, Mariko is desperate to find a way to stay with her boyfriend, who is leaving for a new job on the Moon of Plenty, so she takes on a mission to deliver a secret package for the mysterious Mr. Eat-Your-Heart-Out. A brilliant palette and wildly playful illustrations make for a compelling tale as readers follow this night of revelry down the rabbit hole—or perhaps the rabbit portal. Erman (Witchblood) and Kangas (TRVE KVLT) create a wonderfully madcap last night for a couple on the verge of becoming something new. Futuristic and psychedelic, the message of growing up and away from the path that one thinks they want will resonate with many. VERDICT Recommended for mature teens and adults, this title captures the rush of youth, where nights out have no repercussions and hangovers are tomorrow's problem.—Mary E. Butler

Library Journal