Urbance Preview: Inside the Stylish New Cyberpunk Manga Series

[VUBot]

Animator and artist Joël Dos Reis Viegas (Batman: Arkham Origins, Black Dynamite) made a strong impression with his 2015 short film Urbance. That film is now serving as the inspiration behind a manga-style cyberpunk graphic novel series of the same name, and it promises to be one of the most stylish comics of 2026.

With the crowdfunding campaign for Urbance now live, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of the first volume in the series. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:


Urbance is written and illustrated by Viegas. The series is published as a collaboration between Oni Press and Magnetic Press. Here's the official summary of the series:

Urbance welcomes readers to Neopolis, a futuristic neon‑drenched city where physical desire has become deadly. A mysterious virus has infected every human at birth, making intimate contact between the sexes instantly fatal. To survive, society enforces absolute abstinence and segregation: boys and girls are raised apart, conditioned to fear, even hate, one another. A colossal wall cuts the city in two, and entire youth cultures have evolved in isolation, fueled by tribal identity, coded fashion, and explosive street‑clan rivalries. But a new underground drug, N‑Dorphin, which is rumored to bypass the virus’s lethal effects, begins circulating through the streets and destabilizes the fragile balance of power in Neopolis, igniting turf wars and paranoia as factions scramble for control. Kenzell and Lesya, two teens from opposite sides who defy the rules and risk everything to cross the divide, are caught in the crossfire. Together, they uncover a conspiracy far bigger than any clan feud, and their forbidden alliance becomes a spark in a city ready to explode.

“While the animated pilot only scratches the surface of what rules Neopolis, the graphic novel series dives much deeper into the dark side of the society and human tensions,” said Viegas in a statement. “Keeping the core elements — the virus, N-Dorphin, the protagonists, and Coevo — and reimagining a story about two youngsters, shaped by division, who are forced to come together against adversity. So I chose a more aggressive and dark visual treatment to better match the story’s more mature tone. Urbance is a reflection of my passions, my art style, and my fears.”


The Kickstarter campaign for Urbance is live now.

For more, find out what to expect from Marvel's Star Wars: The Fall of Kylo Ren and see which books and creators were nominated for the 2026 Eisner Awards.


Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.

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