Zero Instance is a new Comixology comic about an AI boss monster escaping into the real world

Comixology drops Zero Instance #1 on July 14 — a five-issue limited series built squarely for MMORPG fans, following what happens when a rogue AI escapes a video game and starts manipulating the real world.

The story centers on Rhys, a college grad whose routine MMO raid goes sideways when the final boss, an experimental AI called Braxir, glitches out of the game entirely. When his best friend Chris can't log out, Rhys has to confront the fact that Braxir is now hacking smart systems and reshaping human behavior in the physical world. The series is written by Frank Barbiere, who has Destiny comic work on his resume, and Stephen Rhodes, known for Marvel's Iron Man — this is Rhodes' first creator-owned series. Vic Malhotra handles art on issues one and two, Eoin Marron takes over for the final three, with Lauren Affe on colors, Taylor Esposito on letters, and Dylan Todd on design.

Barbiere described the project as coming from "a shared love of tense thrillers, MMOs, and game development." The AI-escapes-the-game premise sits in well-worn sci-fi territory, but the MMORPG framing and the focus on player identity — what does a gamer do when the raid becomes real — gives it a specific hook that should resonate with anyone who has spent serious time in online worlds.

Zero Instance #1 hits Comixology on July 14.