The Follow-Up Series from AHOY Comics Centers on Everybody’s Favorite Canine, Business Dog
The year is 2046, two years after Billionaire Island fell—taking the world’s economy with it. Only one man—er, dog—can save us now. But where IS Business Dog? Welcome to BILLIONAIRE ISLAND: CULT OF DOGS, the long-awaited return of AHOY Comics’ scathing and all too prescient late capitalism satire from writer Mark Russell and artist Steve Pugh, in stores this fall.
BILLIONAIRE ISLAND: CULT OF DOGS takes place two years after the collapse of Billionaire Island. The global economy is in ruins, the president has resigned in disgrace and fled to live abroad, and our heroes continue to search for answers, using the tools they’ve spent their lives crafting: Trent continues to hunt down the surviving billionaires in the US, and Shelly covers the new “model cities” that may give humanity a hope of surviving the devastation to come. In this brave new world some Americans have used the sudden absence of the billionaire class to begin building cities to withstand the growing climate devastation, while others invest their hopes for survival in a new cult, centered around a very familiar canine…. But who’s the man behind the dog?
“Business Island: Cult of Dogs is about the aftermath following the collapse of Billionaire Island,” said writer Mark Russell. “About how the rest of us are called upon to be the human shields of the capital class when their empires crumble and how easy it is for lies to take the place of the truth when reality becomes too hard to look in the eye. Plus, there are like a lot of dogs.”
“I’m thrilled to be able to bring the entire team—Mark, Steve, and Chris Chuckry (ace colorist)—back for BILLIONAIRE ISLAND: CULT OF DOGS,” said editor Sarah Litt. “That the story revolves around one of my all-time favorite characters is just the cherry on top.”
“It’s not so much what Mark and Steve say so well, but that they think they’re allowed to say it—stuff like that is what drives robber barons to distraction,” said AHOY Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “Read it because it’s wise and funny and impeccably drawn, and remember the people who’d rather you didn’t.”
“When the world’s in flames and the billionaires are gone,” said artist Steve Pugh, “put your faith in dogs.”
“An arresting read… from none other than modern comics’ premiere satirist”—EW
“BILLIONAIRE ISLAND satirizes capitalism’s endgame.”—HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
“Billionaire Island #1 is a nasty piece of art that bares its teeth at the 1 percent with a level of bloodlust not seen nearly enough in the graphic medium.”—CBR
“A uniquely enjoyable read.”—FORBES
“Mark Russell and Steve Pugh reteam for another devastating satire…..Sick of seeing billionaires try to buy their way into elected office? Getting worried about global pandemics and accelerating climate change while you read articles about how the super-rich are planning their own private apocalyptic failsafes? Then Billionaire Island is a comic for you.”—ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
“Billionaire Island #1 is by far the most intelligent, jaw-dropping, razor sharp, impeccably-timed comic you’ll read this week or possibly ever. … Mark Russell crafts the story into one that is chilling and horrifying and too fascinating to turn away from. … Steve Pugh’s art takes it all up a notch by creating a bright, glossy world that somehow looks posh and like a cover to something truly rotten at the same time. It’s an incredible read and an absolutely outstanding kickoff to what is hopefully a long, twisty run.”—COMICBOOK.COM
“A series that’s simultaneously infuriating and hysterically funny in its indictment of not just the 1%, but of the people — and the economic system — that enable them.”—COMICS BEAT
BILLIONAIRE ISLAND: CULT OF DOGS will be published monthly by AHOY Comics and available in stores on November 9, 2022.
About AHOY Comics
AHOY Comics debuted in the fall of 2018 with the bold promise for readers to expect more from its line of comic book magazines, featuring comic book stories, poetry, prose fiction, and cartoons. The independent, Syracuse-based company is the brainchild of publisher Hart Seely, an award-winning reporter whose humor and satire has appeared in The New York Times and on National Public Radio. AHOY’s editor-in-chief Tom Peyer is committed to publishing comics with a (dark) sense of humor with titles like the religious satires SECOND COMING and HIGH HEAVEN, the superhero parodies THE WRONG EARTH and HASHTAG: DANGER, the sci-fi spoof CAPTAIN GINGER, the time travel tales PLANET OF THE NERDS and BRONZE AGE BOOGIE, and the humor/horror anthology series EDGAR ALLAN POE’S SNIFTER OF BLOOD.
About the Creators
Mark Russell is the author of not one, but two, books about the Bible: God Is Disappointed in You and Apocrypha Now. In addition, he is the writer behind various DC comic books such as Prez, The Flintstones, and Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles. He lives in obscurity with his family in Portland, Oregon.
Steve Pugh is a British comic book artist who has worked for American and British comic producers including DC, Marvel, Dark Horse and 2000 AD.