Revisit ASTER OF PAN with its upcoming sequel, THE SOURCE

The award-winning graphic novel Aster of Pan by author/illustrator Merwan finally has a long-awaited sequel, and it’s available on Backerkit for just one more week. Aster of Pan: The Source continues where its predecessor left off in post-apocalyptic France in 2068.

Deep in Fontainebleu forest on the outskirts of what used to be Paris, the society Pan survives by growing rice and scavenging for resources in the ruins of a once-thriving civilization. Pan’s survival is precarious at best, and it doesn’t allow adversity. It actually rejected one of its own, a young girl named Aster, whose hot-headed, “un-Pan” qualities made her too much of a liability.

But Aster may be Pan’s only hope when the technologically advanced Federation of Fortuna targets it for rule. Pan has two choices: accept the Federation as its new monarch or beat it in the barbaric game known as Celestial Mechanics. Perhaps Pan was too quick to eschew Aster after all…

The Beat can reveal an exclusive preview of the book, seen below.

“We fell in love with Merwan’s work when we first encountered it in French,” said Magnetic Press publisher Mike Kennedy. “Aster of Pan (originally titled Mechanique Celeste) was unlike anything we had seen before, evoking the dynamics of AKIRA with the expressiveness of The Long Halloween but with painted watercolor textures simply defies comparison.

“We were proud to publish several other books by Merwan since but imagine our excitement to return to the world of Pan and that family of beloved characters in The Source… it’s a post-apocalyptic future we love spending time in!” Kennedy continued.

Aster of Pan was an official selection at the 2020 Angoulême Comics Festival and Magnetic Press published the book in English in 2021. 

Backerkit pre-orders of Aster of Pan: The Source feature a campaign-exclusive cover by Peach Momoko. Pledge levels start at $14.99 for a digital copy of the book and you can purchase add-ons at checkout. 

The Aster of Pan: The Source Backerkit campaign ends Friday, May 17 at 5 p.m. PT.