AUTHOR EXCLUSIVE
Reality Bytes
Zack Kaplan takes the red pill in his mindbending Vault Comics series Beyond Real
WORDS: STEPHEN JEWELL
Cover art for issue one, by Fabiana Mascolo.
AFTER DELVING INTO how apps can be used to control people in 2022’s Mindset, Zack Kaplan is again focusing on the increasing impact that digital devices have on all our lives in his new Vault Comics series Beyond Real, which questions the very meaning of existence itself.
“In many ways, the two series are companion pieces in that they look at our relationship with technology or ideas about technology,” Kaplan tells Red Alert. “But the similarities end there – Mindset is a cautionary tale about a flawed hero, while Beyond Real is a fantasy adventure about an idealist heroine. Mindset suggests we might have reason to fear technology, while Beyond Real asks if the world itself could be, not technological, but positive and beautiful. Beyond Real certainly takes readers on a thrilling and nerve-racking journey, but it’s a positive message about the value of creativity and artists in our world.”