First Look: Benjamin #2 Takes Readers Further Into The Pit Of Sci-Fi Existential Dread!
The Acclaimed Mind-Bending Science Fiction Story from Psychic Storytellers Ben H. Winters and Leomacs Continues July 16th!
BENJAMIN #2 | COVER A BY CHRISTIAN WARD
PORTLAND, OR (June 20, 2025) HE DOESN’T KNOW WHY HE’S HERE – MAN? ROBOT? SIMULACRUM? OR DREAM? – Oni Press – the multiple Eisner and Harvey Award-winning publisher of groundbreaking comics and graphic novels since 1997, is proud to give readers their first look inside BENJAMIN #2, the second issue from ground-breaking miniseries by Edgar Award nominee and Philip K. Dick Award winner Ben H. Winters (EC’s Cruel Universe, The Last Policeman Trilogy) and rising star Leomacs (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss, Basketful of Heads)! A mind-bending tale that looks at identity and reality, BENJAMIN #2 will leave you questioning everything.
Legendary science-fiction novelist Benjamin J. Carp has just been resurrected 40 years after his death . . . and that’s not even the strangest thing that’s going to happen to him today.
In an effort to unravel the mystery of author Benjamin J. Carp’s unexpected reappearance, Benjamin and his newfound companion, Marcus, travel to the arid Joshua Tree desert, where they discover the secret lair of a cabal of scientists eager to revive the minds of some of history’s greatest thinkers in an effort to save humanity from its greatest weakness: lack of imagination. Are they to be believed . . . or is this just more sci-fi hokum torn from a chapter in one of Carp’s beloved novels?
Edgar Award nominee and Philip K. Dick Award–winning novelist Ben H. Winters (EC’s Cruel Universe, The Last Policeman Trilogy) teams with rising star Leomacs (EC’s Epitaphs from the Abyss, Basketful of Heads) to recite the next haunting chapter of 2025’s mesmerizing science-fiction daydream with profound implications for the fate of the universe, as delivered in a prestige, ad-free format.
BENJAMIN #2 | INTERIOR ART BY LEOMACS
In the tradition of Philip K. Dick's A Scanner Darkly and Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice comes a uniquely fascinating and hilariously deranged excursion into the metatextual nexus where existence and oblivion, past and future, genius and madness, and glitter and grim reality all meet just beyond Hollywood Boulevard, and the first issue has received plenty of praise!
PRAISE FOR BENJAMIN #1
“BENJAMIN is cosmically brilliant. You have never been on a trip like this.”
—Lev Grossman (The Magicians, The Bright Sword)
“Refreshing …special…. The dialogue is snappy, with a real humor to it, and the set up is elevated by questions of consciousness. ”
—COMICS BEAT
“A vivid, thought-provoking debut that explores identity, friendship, and sci-fi legacy with a surreal wink and stellar artwork… Leomacs is putting in his best work yet. It’s safe to say comics like this don’t come around very often, and publishers like Oni Press are the scant few who would publish it.”
—AIPT
“Buckle in for what is sure to be a one-of-a-kind experience.”
—NERD INITIATIVE
“BENJAMIN #1 is a debut that’ll get you coming back for more and one you don’t want to miss.”
—GRAPHIC POLICY
“Fascinating.”
—FANBASE PRESS
“The interior work [is] as close to the label of ‘masterpiece’ as possible in terms of quality.”
—COMICON.COM
“Ben H. Winters’ words and Leomacs’ art look to be creating a perfect mix of the surreal and the grounded, the mundane and the urgent. Life is unsettlingly fantastic and inscrutable and Benjamin looks to understand that and embrace it unflinchingly.”
—FREAK SUGAR
Presented in a prestige, ad-free format with 32 pages of story content and premium cardstock covers on every issue, BENJAMIN #2 will rise and walk in comic shops everywhere on July 16th, 2025 with gorgeous covers by multiple Eisner Award winner Christian Ward (Batman: City of Madness, Spectregraph) and visionary artist Malachi Ward (Black Hammer Reborn).
BENJAMIN #1 (OF 3)
WRITTEN BY BEN H. WINTERS
ART BY LEOMACS
COVER A BY CHRISTIAN WARD
COVER B BY LEOMACS
COVER C BY MALACHI WARD
VARIANT (1:10) BY CHRISTIAN WARD
ON SALE JUNE 18th, 2025 | $5.99 | 32 PGS | FC
BENJAMIN #2 (of 3)
WRITTEN BY BEN H. WINTERS
ART BY LEOMACS
COVER A BY CHRISTIAN WARD
COVER B BY MALACHI WARD
FULL ART VARIANT (1:10) BY CHRISTIAN WARD
ON SALE JULY 16th, 2025 | $5.99 | 32 PGS. | NO ADS | FC
FOC: 6/23/2025
BENJAMIN #3 (of 3)
WRITTEN BY BEN H. WINTERS
ART BY LEOMACS
COVER A BY CHRISTIAN WARD
COVER B BY MALACHI WARD
FULL ART VARIANT (1:10) BY CHRISTIAN WARD
ON SALE AUGUST 20th, 2025 | $5.99 | 32 PGS. | NO ADS | FC
FOC: 7/28/2025
COVER A BY CHRISTIAN WARD
COVER B BY MALACHI WARD
FULL ART VARIANT (1:10) BY CHRISTIAN WARD
About the creators
Leomacs is an Italian comic book artist. He has worked extensively for European publishers, in particular drawing fan favourite comics Tex and Dylan Dog for Sergio Bonelli editore, and in France he has been published by Glènat and Delcourt. For DC Comics, he has collaborated on Lucifer, more notably he has drawn the Hill House Comics' thriller Basketful of Heads, written by Joe Hill, and Rogues written by Joshua Williamson. For Boom! Studios he has drawn Ghostlore, written by Cullen Bunn.
Ben H. Winters is the award-winning, bestselling author of The Last Policeman trilogy, Underground Airlines, Big Time, and many other books. As a television writer/producer, he worked on FX’s Legion, Apple TV’s Manhunt, and was the creator of the smash hit Tracker on CBS. Ben lives and works in Los Angeles.
Benjamin is TM & © 2025 Beekeeper Entertainment Inc. All rights reserved.