Exclusive Fantagraphics preview: “The Innernet” is born in Joshua Cotter’s Nod Away

It’s been eight years since cartoonist Joshua Cotter made his impressive debut with Skyscrapers Of The Midwest, and Fantagraphics releases his follow-up project this month with the sci-fi graphic novel Nod Away, a cerebral story about a near future where humans are mentally connected to each other via “The Innernet.” Cotter explores both the physical and psychological realms of this new world as he tells an expansive story that travels from the deepest recesses of the human mind to the sprawling vacuum of deep space, offering a multi-faceted look at how technology impacts human behavior and changes the course of history.

This preview of Nod Away—which is available in comic shops now and hits bookstores next week—delves into the origins of “The Innernet” via a talk show conversation between Summer Sumner and “Innernet” founder Bertrand Earnest, immediately establishing Cotter’s focus on technology by introducing the scene on a variety of television sets. Throughout Summer and Bertrand’s conversation, Cotter jumps away to show more devices broadcasting Summer’s show, emphasizing the more archaic ways people receive information before connecting to Bertrand’s streaming service. Cotter’s expressive, textured linework draws the reader into the exposition, but these pages are just a small taste of the ambition and craft behind this new graphic novel.