A Star Called the Sun: A Collection of Short Science Fiction Stories

"Worn-down characters, desolate environments, and grungy civilizations are reminiscent of the bande dessinée of Moebius and Grzegorz Rosinski, and are enlivened by the coloring in pastel shades and earth tones contributed by Sergei Nazarov and Drew Shields. The extensive worldbuilding and dark morals on offer here will appeal to fans of 2000 AD and Heavy Metal." --Publishers Weekly

Robotic clergy, posthuman hive-men, immortal cyborgs and ancient alien races all play a part in this collection of sci-fi adventure tales set in the universe of HABITAT and GRIZ GROBUS.

This anthology collects "Hale-Bopp," "The Oxpecker and the Elephant," "Pride of the Central Republic," "A Portrait of The Artist As Hive Parasite," "The Ansible," "The Anchoress," and finally, "Vanguard".

Select praise for A STAR CALLED THE SUN:

"Worn-down characters, desolate environments, and grungy civilizations are reminiscent of the bande dessinée of Moebius and Grzegorz Rosinski, and are enlivened by the coloring in pastel shades and earth tones contributed by Sergei Nazarov and Drew Shields. The extensive worldbuilding and dark morals on offer here will appeal to fans of 2000 AD and Heavy Metal." --Publishers Weekly

"It's exciting to see the histories, ecosystems, and technologies that Roy (along with colorists Sergei Nazarov and Drew Shields on assorted stories) can create with a limited page count, and he takes advantage of the short story form to experiment with narrative structure and tone, offering many different flavors of science fiction. These stories are anthropological, biological, and philosophical, but Roy always finds ways to make them feel personal and immediate." --The AV Club

"These are stories with fantastical space settings that find ways to simultaneously speak to the past, present, and possible futures of humanity. And they are stories that use one of my personal favorite science fiction tricks--one that was for my money most expertly deployed by the great Ursula K. Le Guin--incorporating touches of anthropology, especially the third story, Pride of the Central Republic, my favorite of the individual chapters here." --The Comics Beat

Author: Simon Roy
Publisher: Image Comics
Published: 03/10/2026
Pages: 200
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 8.44h x 6.07w x 0.48d
ISBN: 9781534333246


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 03/16/2026

About the Author
Wayward son of Vancouver Island, Simon Roy a comics artist, illustrator, and writer best known for working on books like PROPHET, Tiger Lung, HABITAT, THE FIELD, and JAN'S ATOMIC HEART.

He has worked with publishers and clients like Dark Horse, Image Comics, Dreamworks, and more!