Future Tales by Philip Tarl Denson - Comic Review
Cyberpunk meets folklore in this genre-bending graphic novel.
Details
Title: Future Tales
Writer: Philip Tarl Denson
Publisher: Wild North Comics
in Association with: Outlore Comics
Artists: Raymund Agustin, Antonio Diaz, Anneke Putri, Yussuf Adeleye, Zidiyad Chaouqui, Silvia V. Ferrera, Purple Lamma Creative, Darius Kepczynski, Lucas Assis & Guilherme Sabino
Introduction
I honestly can’t recall if I grew up with fairy tales. I don’t remember hearing stories of Red Riding Hood or Jack and the Beanstalk. I am sure that my mother read them to me (along with plenty of books), my mother loved books and she is probably the reason why I love them as much as I do.
Even though I lack the memory of them, for whatever reason I’ve always been drawn to the tale-twisting, mythmashing, lorebending stories. From Fables to The Sandman universe, Once Upon a Time to Grimm, and more recently Evermore, I love stories that breathe new life into old legends. Future Tales fits snugly on that list of revisionist stories I’ve genuinely enjoyed (and let’s not forget the endless Greek mythology remixes across media).
Story
Once upon a time... the world ended.
No one knew where they came from or what they wanted, but they took everything.
They called themselves the World Order Liberation Force—W.O.L.F.
We fought back as best we could...
Now, the survivors live in three underground cities, each run by a resistance leader—ex-cops, colloquially known as “The Three Pigs.”
We fight to survive.
We fight for our happily ever after.
I picked up Future Tales from a box Saurabh (founder of comix.one) sent over for an upcoming giveaway. I hadn’t even read the blurb on the back which happened to be the above summary. I just flipped through a few pages, loved the art, and dove in.
It didn’t take long to realize this wasn’t just another dystopian story. By the end of chapter one, I noticed they called her “Red.” She fought soldiers from “W.O.L.F.” And then came the mention of her Grandma. That’s when it clicked.
But here’s the thing—the writing is so strong, the story would hold up even if you missed all the fairy tale nods. Knowing them just makes everything richer: why characters behave the way they do, how they fit into the world, and how it all comes together.
At just under 100 pages, the book delivers a satisfying dose of cyberpunk-meets-folklore action. Each chapter introduces a new character inspired by a classic tale, culminating in—fittingly—a “Happily Ever After.” It works as a standalone, but I sincerely hope there’s more to come from writer Philip Tarl Denson.
Art
One of my favorite kinds of comic book surprises is flipping a page and realizing something has subtly (or not so subtly) changed. In Future Tales, that moment came when I noticed the art style shift dramatically between chapters—and then realized: each chapter has a different artist.
Normally I’m a bit skeptical of anthologies for not-so-logical reasons. They’re often disjointed, and the art styles can feel like they belong to different books entirely. But Future Tales pulls it off.
Each artist brings a distinct style, but the overall tone and worldbuilding remain coherent. It actually enhances the experience—each new character’s arc feels like entering a fresh fairy tale, layered into a larger dystopian timeline. The shifting art becomes part of the storytelling, not a distraction from it.
Here’s a list of the artists that worked on Future Tales. For what is worth, I tried to include a Instagram account for each but couldn’t find them for many of the artists and decided to leave that blank.
Raymund Agustin
Antonio Diaz
Anneke Putri
Yussuf Adeleye
Zidiyad Chaouqui
Silvia V. Ferrera
Purple Lamma Creative
Darius Kepczynski
Lucas Assis
Guilherme Sabino
Final Thoughts
Future Tales is a rare gem—one that blends familiar mythology with gritty sci-fi in a way that feels fresh, bold, and genuinely fun to read. It’s a fairy tale, a resistance story, and a comic that knows how to surprise you.
If you’re into lore remixing, cyberpunk chaos, or anthologies done right—this one's worth your time. I’d be first in line for a follow-up.