About Ex Astris

The Ex Astris Story...

In the 22nd century it was finally accepted that the Earth was dying due to a combination of factors including global warming, breakdown of the ozone layer, depletion of natural resources and a recent "flipping" of the planet's magnetic fields which will leave the surface open to the solar winds - as scientists now believe happened on Mars.

In response, a global conglomerate funded the construction of the ARK, a city-sized space ship in which is stored genetic samples of all life on Earth, together with the brightest and best of the population - 100,000 of them - all cryogenically frozen. The plan was to launch the ship into a vast elliptical orbit beyond the solar system, in search of a new habitable planet to colonise.

It is now the 24th century. The Ark is at the end of a 200 year journey, having found a new homeworld for its precious cargo, and is heading back to Earth in order to collect more survivors and transport them to the new world. They have sent a scout ship ahead - THE ARMSTRONG - a military-style ship, about the size of an aircraft carrier. Her mission is one of reconnaissance - to check the status of Earth and report back to the ARK where decisions will be made about the next stage of the programme. As the story opens we join the crew of the Armstrong, entering the Solar System on a heading for Earth.

Where You Can Read Ex Astris... 

Ex Astris: The Digital Comic

Ex Astris co-creator Bill Storie is working on a three-issue Ex Astris series for digital comics publisher ROK Comics, who previously published a serialised version of early episodes of the comic. The title will be launch in 2012.

Ex Astris in Spaceship Away 

Ex Astris featured in Issues 16-18 of the Dan Dare-inspired comics magazine Spaceship Away, and may yet return. Published three times a year, this full colour, glossy magazine started out as a way to get a newly created 1950’s ‘old Eagle’ style Dan Dare strip story (Drawn by Keith Watson and Don Harley) in print, along with how it was done.

The magazine has grown from 24 to 48 pages a time, and is now moving sideways into other science fiction. "Spaceship Away is evolving all the time," says co-editor Rod Barzilay, "and there are more new things already in the pipeline."

 • To get the magazine delivered to your door, go straight to the Spaceship Away Order Page