In HYPER FORCE NEO, a wild new middle grade sci-fi graphic novel from Z2 Comics, creator Jarrett Williams throws us head-first into the future (the year 21XX, to be precise). And Jarrett’s world isn’t some dreary dystopia; it’s a distillation of everything great about our technological present painted with a brightly optimistic futurist pallette. The people of New Sigma City live mostly normal lives, updating social media constantly in real time, and the connection is more Hallmark than Big Brother. Life proceeds sprightly, with some fun techy upgrades and a spirit of camaraderie and community we could all use more of.

This laid-back peace is threatened when an evil force vanquished long ago by the city’s founder rises again, with squishy-looking alien minions leaving spy devices around town and someone called “Dark Chef” literally cooking up evil plots in his kitchen. In traditional super sentai fashion, dormant robot helpers reactivate and recruit a team of teen heroes to save the day. Given some powerful super suits and giant robots, the kids who make up Hyper Force Neo have to learn fast as they fight, with their only training coming from video games, comic books, and movies — something any kid today can relate to (and hope for!).

Jarrett (Super Pro K.O., Adventure Time) drives the fast-paced alien invasion plot with diverse characters who have their own personalities, interests, and skills, so kids from all backgrounds have a point-of-view character to call their own. He fills each page with visual asides, jokes, chibi-style internal reflections, gear labels, and video-game-ish vital stats, giving readers a reason to come back and pore over every panel.