Wild Cards: Now & Then (George R. R. Martin Presents)

Two heroes revisit a traumatic incident from their past—and learn hard truths in the present—in this original graphic novel set in the Wild Cards universe, where an alien virus mutates some and grants superpowers to others, created by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones.

In 1946, an alien virus ravaged the world, its results as random as a hand of cards. Those infected either draw the black queen and die, draw an ace and receive superpowers, or draw the joker and are bizarrely mutated.

Over a year ago, the U.N.’s Committee for Extraordinary Interventions sent ace heroes Ana Cortez and Kate Brandt—Earth Witch and Curveball—to Brazil to investigate Aurora Mission, a charity that claimed to provide education and medical care for those affected by the Wild Card virus. But local ace and activist Gabriel Silva reported abuses. Ana and Kate helped him get to the truth, which turned out to be far more sinister than anyone expected.

Ana and Kate thought that case was closed, but now a Brazilian official has questions. Did they do the right thing or overreach their authority? The case amply demonstrates that, even in a world of incredible powers, there will always be victims.

Written by New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn with art by Eisner-nominated creator Renae De Liz, this dynamic story gives readers a new look into the Wild Cards universe, and shows how even those with great powers have their limits.

Carrie Vaughn’s work includes the Philip K. Dick Award–winning novel Bannerless, the New York Times bestselling Kitty Norville urban fantasy series, over twenty novels, and upwards of one hundred short stories, two of which have been finalists for the Hugo Award. Her most recent novel, Questland, is about a high-tech LARP that goes horribly wrong and the literature professor who has to save the day. She’s a contributor to the Wild Cards series of shared world superhero books edited by George R. R. Martin and a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. An air force brat, she survived her nomadic childhood and managed to put down roots in Boulder, Colorado.

Renae De Liz is a comic book artist and writer whose projects include the Eisner-nominated The Legend of Wonder Woman, the New York Times bestseller The Last Unicorn, and the community charity project Womanthology, which celebrates and highlights the diverse female creative talent in the comic book industry. Born in Alaska and raised in the redwood forests of the West Coast, she found her forever home in Maine, where she lives now with her four children.