Superstar creator Kaare Andrews and his high school superhero Oliver Leif are returning for the second volume of their hit AWA Studios series. AWA Studios is home to some of the biggest artists, writers, and artisans in the world of comics today. Kaare Andrews (Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk) is launching E-Ratic: Recharged Volume 2 on September 7th after the success of Volume 1, and the four-issue YA story will follow high schooler Oliver Leif, who has superpowers that only last for 10 minutes a day. The new volume of E-Ratic will continue to build on AWA’s existing Resistance Universe.
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Oliver Leif represents Gen Z through the impermanence that comes with his 10-minute powers. The nature of E-Ratic’s powers also represents today’s youth, who have unlimited access to information and entertainment, along with limited job opportunities in a world that is constantly changing. Set in the shared universe spun off from The Resistance, Oliver’s limitations are what defines his powers and, through these limitations, helps him garner meaning, form, and structure. Volume 2 follows a successful introduction to the series, with E-Ratic Volume 1 included in AWA’s Top 10 bestsellers of 2020.
“Creating a high school character to exist in AWA’s superhero world has been such a thrill, and I knew I wasn’t done with Oliver Leif and his story,” said Kaare Andrews, creator, writer, and artist of E-Ratic. “In Volume 2, readers will see more adventure intertwined with the challenges of high school, young love, and being a teenager, all while navigating short stints of superpowers that aren’t always easy to control. Having written and drawn many major characters, E-Ratic is the first time my own kids begged me to do more. How could I say no to that?”
Axel Alonso, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of AWA Studios, added, “As part of our shared universe, E-Ratic fits into the larger picture of what we’ve built, but with a unique perspective that diverges from other Resistance stories. Our hero, Oliver, has just lived through a global pandemic and moved to a new town with his single mother. Everything in his life is fleeting and it’s only fitting that his powers are fleeting too.”
A description of E-Ratic: Recharged Volume 2 reads: “You’re fifteen years old. You’re suddenly granted incredible powers. Cool, right? There’s only one problem: you can only use your powers for 10 minutes at a time. After a quick recharge, high school superhero, Oliver Leif picks up right where he left off in Volume 2 – saving the world again as he navigates even more pressing perils like young love, bullies, a broken family, and the gauntlet that is high school. But this time, young Oliver is teamed with a barbarian princess who claims to be from another dimension.”
The Resistance is an ongoing series that establishes AWA’s new universe of heroes and villains. Created by writer J. Michael Straczynski (The Amazing Spider-Man) and artist Mike Deodato Jr. (Avengers), the series is part of a shared universe published under AWA’s Upshot Studios imprint that began in 2020. After humanity faced the Great Death – a pandemic that killed millions of people – survivors with superhuman powers known as the Reborns become Earth’s last hope. Alongside E-Ratic, Moths, Knighted, and The Joneses series make up this new shared universe.
E-Ratic: Recharged Volume 2 #1 will be available Wednesday, September 7th, both digitally and in stores wherever comic books are sold. The following four issues will be available on a monthly basis and fans can catch up on Volume 1 here.
