WATCH C2E2: Steve Aoki's The Neon Future

What if you lived in a dystopian world where technology was outlawed until the leader of the anti-tech movement died and was revived by — what else — forbidden tech?

Steve Aoki's The Neon Future is his Neon Future album trio taking comic form (listening to his music is like getting catapulted a thousand years forward), a sci-fi collaboration between Aoki, Jim Krueger and Tom Bilyeu.

"[Futuretech] is going to be completely catastrophic if we're not paying attention, but I believe the thing that will pull us out to the other side is also technology," Bilyeu told SYFY WIRE's Jordan Zakarin.

In the comic, which happens a scary-close 30 years from now, the resurrection of the leader who formerly banned technology ignites a civil war. Those who somehow got tech illegally implanted in their bodies before his death and those who have no technological enhancements are suddenly clashing. Could you really compete with someone who had access to a neural network or could see in infrared?

By the way, these things are actually happening on right now. Think Elon Musk's Neuralink and the experiment that proved the eyes of mice can be modified to see in near-infrared light.

Neon Future is divided between the natural and digital realm. Mind-blowing illustrations for these split worlds are the work of Neil Edwards, who brought the natural world to life and has worked on Wonder Woman, X-Men and more of the biggest comics in existence, and Jheremy Raapack, who ventured into the digital world and has previously drawn Injustice. Six issues are planned for the series, which could possibly be extended.

"Creating a neural interface is the future," said Bilyeu, who met Aoki on his show, The Impact Theory. They clicked right away after finding out both were techno-optimists. Aoki even wants to be cryogenically frozen, and after finding that out, Bilyeu realized that someone who refuses to accept even death was the creative genius he wanted to collaborate with.

Watch the video to find out more about the series and see a video message from Steve Aoki!

This article was contributed to by Elizabeth Rayne.