The Martian Universe, created by Julian Darius, is a shared sci-fi universe in which intelligent life on Mars began its space age while humans were still painting in caves.
The universe’s initial story, “The Girl from Mars,” is being serialized in Martian Comics. The story follows Izzy Montoya after her apparent possession by a Martian woman, who is simply interested in a vacation from her technologically advanced life on Mars, which she finds boring. She’s forced to navigate Izzy’s human life, including her sister Rita, before meeting the Other, the villain of the story. He then narrates his activities on Earth, in which he kept America at war for profit.
Alongside “The Girl from Mars,” Martian Comics publishes stories set throughout the history of Martian civilization. Darius has stated that these stories will eventually tell a vast and complete story of a civilization that spans nearly 20,000 Earth years.
To date, the Martian universe comprises four comic-book titles. The universe’s flagship title, Martian Comics, was begun in 2014. It has published far more issues than any other title. The first spin-off, Kimot Ren, was launched in 2016 and stars a Martian android. The second spin-off, Lazarus, the Forever Man, was launched in 2017 and features the Biblical Lazarus, who first appeared in early Martian Comics issues. The third spin-off, The Synthetics, was launched in 2018 and focuses on Martian robots (such as Kimot Ren, although the initial stories in The Synthetics are set in a far earlier period). A fourth spin-off, a series of graphic novels under the Cities of Mars umbrella, is planned.
