The Beast Trilogy: Chapters 1 & 2 - The Dormant Beast / December 32nd TP

Set approximately 25 years in the future, the series takes place in a world where catastrophic nuclear accidents occurred in 2003 and 2004 in Pakistan and Russia. Those disasters brought about the formation of a super-terrorist organization known as the Obscurantis Order: Fundamentalists from "the three principal monotheistic sectors" -- Judaism, Christianity and Islam -- joined forces when they agreed that they worshipped the same God and shared the same goals of purifying art, culture and science. The Obscurantis Order went on to become the world's most fearsome terrorist organization; in response, many nations, including America, became theocracies ... It's a complex book, but ultimately very rewarding and the prose and artwork are so appealing, it won't feel like a chore. Bilal does the illustrating as well as the writing, and his pencil work, which doesn't try to hide the lines, adds a grittiness that suits the story.