Feeling dystopian on this Wednesday morning? Good, because today’s Pull List has some sci-fi sweetness tinged with a hint of existential dread and technological trauma. With a pair of killer #1 issues that take us to a far-off future and frenetically fun trip to Miss Quinzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types, there’s plenty of fun for everyone. So, read on and find out what’s in store for you at your local comic book store this week, on a brand new edition of The Pull List.

Tokyo Ghost #1

Publisher: Image Comics
Writer: Rick Remender
Artist: Sean Murphy and Matt Hollingsworth
Letterer: Rus Wooton

Cyberpunks rejoice, because Rick Remender and Sean Murphy have delivered what may be your new favorite dystopian thriller. If you think we’re addicted to screens now, then Tokyo Ghost #1 takes our obsession to its logical conclusion. The comic is set in the year 2089 in a world where TV feeds directly into our brains, giving us a constant IV drip of mindless entertainment. Digital pleasure is like a drug to most of the inhabitants of this world, and gangsters run rampant. Our heroes are the no-nonsense, rifle-toting Debbie Decay and the musclebound, motorcycle-riding Led Dent. As Constables– a weird mixture of detective, fixer, and bounty hunter– they patrol the streets of the Isles of Los Angeles looking to make some scratch. When they take on “one last case” to take down Davey Trauma–a Powerglove-wielding, video game-obsessed psychopath with a penchant for leaving a trail of bodies in his wake–our heroes bite off more than they can chew. The case sets them on a dangerous path, one which will lead them all the way to The Garden Nation of Tokyo, that last technology-free place on Earth. It’s a clever twist on an old apocalyptic/cyberpunk trope, but one that entirely welcome.

The world-building here is absolutely bonkers. From the very first sequence in which Debbie and Led chase down a thug on their motorcycle, to brutally grinding his face to a fleshy pulp against the wall is shocking, visceral, but also immediately gives us the sense that this is a bold new world. The fact that no one around them seems to notice or care — including Led, whose eyes are permanently glued to the TV screens projected in front of his face — lets us know that it’s a terrifying new reality. Remender seamlessly weaves in exposition and peppers it with all manner of hilarious, inventive futurespeak (the nightclub scene plays out like one of Stefon’s SNL fever dreams). This would prove a daunting task for a lesser writer, but Remender expertly doles out just enough information to keep us hooked, making the reader feel as though they’re discovering crumbs along a trail rather than being lectured at by a narrator we’re supposed to love. What really sells these complex, conflicted characters and the grimy world of Tokyo Ghost is Sean Murphy’s artwork. There’s a ferocious, cinematic quality to Murphy’s art that makes the book leap off the page, feeling like a familiar treat and something new and exciting. Come for the compelling story, stay for the existential dread; just pick it up because Tokyo Ghost is a book that demands to be read.

D4VE2 #1

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Ryan Ferrier
Artist: Valentin Ramon
Colorist: Valentin Ramon
Letterer: Ryan Ferrier

What’s up, butthorns?! That’s, right! Everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed, robotic slacker is back, but this time he has a cushy new job as the general in charge of global defense. For those of you who don’t know, D4VE2 is the sequel to D4VE, a sci-fi comedy about a futuristic version of Earth where robots have taken over. Instead of a utilitarian utopia, they’re pretty much living like metallic versions of the humans that preceded them. In D4VE’s, he was a former defense bot turned wage slave, working a dead-end job with a rude son and an overbearing wife who doesn’t respect him waiting at home. It’s all very Rick and Morty minus the whole alcoholic teleporting grandpa thing. Now, though, D4VE is something of a big shot, having saved the planet from an alien attack. However, when mysterious ship comes to Earth, the ensuing panic threatens to undo all of D4Ve’s hard work, as well as his fractured relationship with his son, 5COTTY. Silly, sophomoric, and surprisingly poignant, D4VE2 #1 manages to capture the spirit of what made the original mini-series such an unexpected treat, while still pushing the narrative envelope. Thanks to engrossing artwork by Valentin Ramon, one can’t help but smile at D4VE2’s cyber-slacker vibe. And thanks to Ferrier’s incredibly knack for creating future-slang, you won’t be able to stop laughing either.

Lumberjanes #18

Publisher: BOOM! Studios/BOOM! Box
Writers: Shannon Watters and Kate Leyh
Artist: Carolyn Nowak
Colorist: Maarta Laiho
Letterer: Aubrey Aiese

Thank goodness for Lumberjanes. Whenever I’m having a bad day, I can always count on picking up an issue of this comic for off-the-wall, bonkers, oddball fun. Creating an all-ages comic is hard enough, but making one with as much spirit, vigor, and unbridled adventure as Lumberjanes is damn near impossible. Issue #18 carries on in the series’ proudly silly tradition with a tale of friendship, rock ‘n’ roll bands, and of course, mermaids. Excuse me, merwomyn. When April, Jo, Molly, Mal, Ripley, and Jen go fishing, they accidentally discover a whole race of mermaids living in the lake. To make matters even stranger, these mermaids are in the middle of a dispute that tore a band and, more importantly, a friendship apart. But as the Lumberjanes always say, “Friendship to the max.” And that’s precisely what sets them on a course for getting the band back together in this raucous, delightfully demented story. Fall may be right around the corner, but you owe it to yourself to relive the last vestiges of summertime silliness with this supremely satisfying book.

The Complete List

(via PreviewsWorld)

What’s on your Pull List this week? Let us know in the comments below

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of 100 Things Avengers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. You can follow him on Twitter (@Osteoferocious)