In the far-off future of 2023...

Turkey is celebrating the republic's 100th year by sending four mutant turtle brothers to explore Mars. But things are not what they seem… Raised by a dystopian state that values loyalty over all else, the confines of the space station start to merge with the limits of their consciousness. Hayret, Hiddet, Hikmet and Hürmet each respond to the harrowing mysteries on a hostile planet,  in their own ways. Will they overcome the dangers lurking among the barren ochre dunes and the explosive geysers boiling underneath their fragile space station? Or will they discover that the real danger lies within their tortured bodies and tormented souls? Brace yourselves for a journey into the depths of a dystopian terror, unlike any you have ever known…

Writer: Zymolust Ravenson Artist: Zezeah

From the Dark is the true story of Zymolust Ravenson, a metal musician relentlessly haunted by a despotic political regime whose incompetence is matched by its brutality. In this book, Zymo details a series of arbitrary arrests by various intelligence agencies in Syria between 2005-2011 in dialogue format. It is a dark comedy of tremendous suffering whose haunting intensity and gallows humour is brought to life by Zezeah’s biting artwork. Zymo’s cynical Kafkaesque pen gives a rare historical account of the conditions that led to the Syrian revolution in 2011 and should be regarded as mandatory reading for anyone trying to understand one of the most significant events of our lifetime.

Writer: Efe Levent Artist: Alaa Alhassoun

It Happened Here is an illustrated alternative history/dark fantasy story with strong allegoric references to the struggle against tyranny in the Middle Eastern Region. It is set in an alternate history universe in which an organisation called the Global Anthropological Society [GAS] dominates all discourse on social sciences. The book is structured as a 2006 archaeological report by GAS regarding a series of prophetic inscriptions discovered in Alacahöyük over the 20th Century. The mysterious inscriptions recount the transformations of a small village and its residents in the allegorical kingdom of Howling Shadows ruled by a despot simply known as The Mad King.

Writer: Ayman Makarem Artist: Hisham Rifai

A Letter Home is a deeply personal medley of emotions about Beirut, loss, and dislocation. Ayman Makarem and Hisham Rifai walk a delicate line between yearning and indignation for the home they have left behind. The beauty of this illustrated short story is its bravery in tackling irreconcilable emotions without falling into rose-tinted nostalgia or crippling cynicism. The ease and harmony with which the words and pictures blend together is a testament to the outstanding creative chemistry between Makarem and Rifai.