What if you could be the sole recipient of a billion dollar empire just for outliving 139 other people? If everyone lives, they get an equal share of that fortune. But if any of the 140 meet an unfortunate end, then their share of the money is evenly distributed among the remaining survivors. As you might expect, that’s led to a murderous atmosphere in Vertigo’s Unfollow comic book series and the bodies are already starting to pole up!

This was the design of Larry Ferrell, the creator of a very Twitter-like social network. Ferrell chose 140 strangers to be the subject of his gruesome little social experiment. But now Ferrell is gone and the game has begun!

Series creators Rob Williams and Mike Dowling are continuing their story in Unfollow #9. In our exclusive preview, the formerly insane author Akira shares his lucid thoughts about the true price of having a smart phone. Meanwhile, the definitely crazy Rubinstein (he’s the dude in the South American death mask) is willing to attack and possibly kill Ferrell’s bodyguards just for a chance to pay his last respects.

You can read the rest of the preview in our gallery below. Here’s DC’s description for Unfollow #9

“Rubinstein wants access to the afterlife, but finds an enormous Samoan bodyguard blocking his path. Dave, Deacon and Ravan come face to face with an actual sea monster and, in Japan, Akira has vanished into thin air, leaving Courtney wanting blood. Meanwhile, the 140 list keeps dropping. Are we watching the Internet or is the Internet watching us?”

Unfollow # 9 will be released on Wednesday, July 6.

What did you think about the Unfollow preview? Let us know in 140 characters or less in the comment section below!

Images: Vertigo Comics