The Shard

Death, Art, and Street Racing in a futuristic metropolis

2021, 37 pages, black and white
Available Now for $7 USD plus shipping

Titled for the City in which it is set, the Shard consists of three vignettes following different characters over the course of one night as they experience different sides of the city.

The Shard is a techno-capitalist mega-metropolis divided into sectors and strata. A blissfully complacent middle class gets around by high speed cars and trucks, and the highways have become the new social space. The lower class live their lives amongst the undergirding of tall buildings and highways never seeing the sky. Billboards and advertising are everywhere. In a city so big and disconnected, nobody can see the big picture, only their own surroundings.

First we see Gary the wage slave as he makes his way home from the night shift, then there are Snood and Diva, two middle aged lovers and joyriders who get into a street race with their friends on the Skyway and see the city as a delightful blur. Lastly there are two workers who think themselves artists as they go from job site to job site installing advertisements.