Is Ben Mauro's 'Huxley' graphic novel universe the next big thing in sci-fi? (interview)

The enviable creative achievements of video game designer, ace illustrator, and Hollywood concept artist Ben Mauro could fill an entire library, with a sterling resume that includes credits on projects such as "Halo: Infinite," "Call of Duty," "The Predator," and Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium."

Oh, and did we mention he also spent five years down in New Zealand with director Peter Jackson working on costume design, weaponry, creatures, and props for "The Hobbit Trilogy?"

But aside from these accolades, Huxley is aiming to make his new sci-fi graphic novel series, "Huxley" (Thames & Hudson, 2025), into the next transmedia sensation in the vein of "Star Wars," "Dune," "Warhammer 40K," or "Foundation." Mauro remains dedicated to making it happen with this past December's "Huxley: The Oracle," the second entry in his interplanetary saga adorned with lavish illustrations delivering cinematic storytelling and the visual flair seen in AAA video games.

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"A lot of this began when I was working in production on films and games," Mauro tells Space.

"It's sort of like an arms race of you've got to be more realistic, got to be faster, so you learn every new technique on the job. It felt like I was getting further away from the reason I made art which was drawing and painting from scratch."

The book serves as a narrative prequel to Mauro's post-apocalyptic science fiction universe occurring on the planet FURY-7, where "ancient machines, rogue AI empires, and human survivors converge in a mythic struggle." The ambitious project encompasses superb illustration, narrative fiction, and the inevitable expansion into animation, games, toys, and collectibles.

"Huxley: The Oracle" showcases over 100 illustrations from distinguished collaborators like Syama Pedersen (director of "Warhammer 40K: Astartes"), Steve Chinhsuan Wang ("Gears of War 5"), Nikolas Gekko ("Halo Infinite," "Destiny 2"), and striking artwork from Mauro himself.

"Huxley: The Oracle" is a prequel to Mauro's original "Huxley" graphic novel (Image credit:  Thames & Hudson)

"'Huxley' started as, 'Okay I’ll do whatever I've got to do at the job, but I’ll come home and make what I feel is art or things that made me really happy.'" explains Mauro. "The original drawing of Huxley planted the seed of what is this character, what world does he live in, what’s his story? And it slowly grew from that over a ten-year period before the first book was finished."

'The Oracle' marks a major milestone in the continued expansion of the 'Huxley' universe, states the official synopsis. “Set decades before the original Huxley timeline, 'The Oracle' follows Max, an elite Ronin soldier navigating a world ruled by the Oracle Empire during the height of its power. As the AI Wars escalate across the desert planet, Max uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to fracture the very foundations of his world."

Max and Kai discover an ancient sentient robot in Ben Mauro's "Huxley" (Image credit:  Thames & Hudson)

"I felt more comfortable after working on 'Elysium' because that was the first time we did something from start to finish," he adds. "We got really good at telling stories over a lot of years doing it for directors. A graphic novel is almost like directing on paper, so I’d block out one-to-five pages. A lot of it would just be thumbnails and I would make sure my eye is flowing from the panels."

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Having been immersed in the video game industry for the past two decades, one tends to gather some pretty talented colleagues, and Mauro has enlisted some of the finest in their field to help promote "Huxley" with the release of brilliant cinematic teasers, story previews, and trailers online.

"Since I came from more of a film background, I was looking at European graphic novels like 'Metabarons' and Mœbius and 'Heavy Metal' kind of stuff. I was taking that in and adding a little more cinematic storytelling. Artistically it was very much Japanese and French influences. Also 'Akira,' 'Ghost in the Shell,' and Miyazaki movies like 'Nausicaä' and 'Princess Mononoke.' Then filtered through a kid growing up on Ridley Scott and James Cameron action movies. 'Terminators' and 'Mad Maxs' and 'The Matrix' and 'Alien.' It's a big melting pot of all that. I'm sure 'Star Wars' is in there and 'Dune' is there too."

Whether it scores a live-action adaptation or a deluxe animated iteration, Mauro has already done much of the heavy lifting for producers and studios, and with a third book on the way, "Huxley" is ready to roll!

"We're definitely getting into adaptations and exploring different things in games and animation to find what might be the most interesting first big product people can enjoy," he notes. "I’m pushing on all those fronts. It's really just finding the right partners and the right people. It's exciting to see things come to life and see it grow and expand. It just makes me happy every day."

"Huxley" and "Huxley: The Oracle" are available now in both standard softcover and deluxe hardcover editions.

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