RAYLA 2212 follows Rayla Illmatic, a third generation citizen of Planet Hope, a former Earth colony that has claimed its independence. But the utopian world has turned upside down and Rayla is on a quest to right the wrongs and end the rule of the Dirk. After her lover, and rebel leader Carcine disappears on a mission to find mystical scientist Moulan Shakur, Rayla embarks on a journey to complete it. She soon finds herself on a journey to find The Missing, a group of New Age Astronauts who were lost in the teleport project. But all isn't what it seems in this world where time and space shift at will. This story ties reincarnation, space travel, virtual worlds and love. As Rayla discovers new worlds, she comes to discover herself and her power.

2014 Locus Awards Finalist, Nonfiction Category In this hip, accessible primer to the music, literature, and art of Afrofuturism, author Ytasha Womack introduces readers to the burgeoning community of artists creating Afrofuturist works, the innovators from the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delany, Octavia Butler, and N. K. Jemisin to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities, the book's topics range from the "alien" experience of blacks in America to the "wake up" cry that peppers sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves.

As a young journalist covering black life at large, author Ytasha L. Womack was caught unaware when she found herself straddling black culture's rarely acknowledged generation gaps and cultural divides. Traditional images show blacks unified culturally, politically, and socially, united by race at venues such as churches and community meetings. But in the “post black” era, even though individuals define themselves first as black, they do not necessarily define themselves by tradition as much as by personal interests, points of view, and lifestyle. In Post Black: How a New Generation Is Redefining African American Identity, Womack takes a fresh look at dynamics shaping the lives of contemporary African Americans. Although grateful to generations that have paved the way, many cannot relate to the rhetoric of pundits who speak as ambassadors of black life any more than they see themselves in exaggerated hip-hop images. Combining interviews, opinions of experts, and extensive research, Post Black will open the eyes of some, validate the lives of others, and provide a realistic picture of the expanding community.

Where does a time travelling warrior find peace? The war is over and Rayla Illmatic is charged with rebuilding her beloved Planet Hope. However, Rayla's restlessness is a distraction for the Council and she is sent on a mission to the very solar system that believes she and her world are a myth. Rayla is Mars bound but the deep waters below the red world's crust uncover a mysterious waterway. A web of myth, mystery, love and the future, Rayla must face her nowness and navigate the fluid streams of existence that remix her new found reality. This is the second volume in the Rayla 2212 series.

What is there to hope for today? How does hope manifest itself at a time when a linear understanding of the future, of growing prosperity, security, and progress is canceled? How can hope be thought beyond market-driven forms of worldbuilding? Is there a third approach in which hope as a critical practice opens a path to alternative futures? After Techno Globalization Pandemic and Kingdom of the Ill, HOPE is the third chapter of the long-term project TECHNO HUMANITIES, exploring the urgent questions of what it means to be a global citizen in the present-day dependency between ecology, technology, and economy. HOPE brings together a wide range of artistic positions from different generations that see the end of future as the start of new beginnings and an incentive to validate more circular and re-generative practices as a source of wonder and collective movement.

Comprising elements of the avant-garde, science fiction, cutting-edge hip-hop, black comix, and graphic novels, Afrofuturism spans both underground and mainstream pop culture. With a twofold aim to entertain and enlighten, Afrofuturists strive to break down racial, ethnic, and all social limitations to empower and free individuals to be themselves. This book introduces readers to the burgeoning artists creating Afrofuturist works, the history of innovators in the past, and the wide range of subjects they explore. From the sci-fi literature of Samuel Delaney, Octavia Butler, and NK Jemison to the musical cosmos of Sun Ra, George Clinton, and the Black Eye Peas Will.i.am, who debuted "Reach for the Stars" on Mars, to the visual and multimedia artists inspired by African Dogon myths and Egyptian deities. Topics range from the “alien” experience of blacks in America to the “wake up” cry peppering sci-fi literature, sermons, and activism. Interviews with rappers, composers, musicians, singers, authors, comic illustrators, painters, and DJs, as well as Afrofuturist professors, will provide a firsthand look at this fascinating movement. Ytasha L. Womack is a filmmaker, futurist and the author of Post Black: How a New Generation is Redefining African American Identity and the coeditor of Beats Rhymes and Life: What We Love and Hate About Hip Hop. She is also the creator of the Rayla 2212 sci fi/multimedia series and author of 2212: Book of Rayla. She lives in Chicago.

Follow for Now, Vol. 2 picks up and pushes beyond the first volume with a more diverse set of interviewees and interviews. The intent of the first collection was to bring together voices from across disciplines, to cross-pollinate ideas. At the time, social media wasn't crisscrossing all of the lines and categories held a bit more sway. Volume 2 aims not only to pick up where Follow for Now left off but also to tighten its approach with deeper subjects and more timely interviews. Featuring conversations with thinkers like Carla Nappi, Rita Raley, Dominic Pettman, Ian Bogost, Mark Dery, Douglas Rushkoff, and Dave Allen, and musicians like Tyler, The Creator, Matthew Shipp, Sean Price, Rammellzee, and Sadat X, as well as writers like Ytasha L. Womack, Chris Kraus, Pat Cadigan, Bob Stephenson, Simon Critchley, Simon Reynolds, Malcolm Gladwell, and William Gibson, Follow for Now, Vol. 2 is another critical cross-section of the now.

Science fiction stories of ingenuity, grit, and inspiration. This new volume in the Twelve Tomorrows series of science fiction anthologies presents stories that envision how science and technology--existing or speculative--might help us create a more equitable and hopeful world after the coronavirus pandemic. The original stories presented here, from a diverse collection of authors, offer no miracles or simple utopias, but visions of ingenuity, grit, and incremental improvement. In the tradition of inspirational science fiction that goes back to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke, these writers remind us that we can choose our future, and show us how we might build it.

An incredibly unique comic book benefit project featuring comic shorts, pin-ups, short essays, and flash fiction, the proceeds of which will be going to the Innocence Project We've all seen the pictures: a six-year-old Ruby Bridges being escorted by U.S. marshals on her first day at an all-white, New Orleans school in 1960; a police dog attacking a demonstrator in Birmingham; fire hoses turned on protesters; Martin Luther King Jr. addressing a crowd on the National Mall. These pictures were printed in papers, flashed across television screens, and helped to change the laws of this nation, but not necessarily all of the attitudes. Similarly, we've seen the pictures of Michael Brown lying face down in a pool of his own blood for hours; protesters with their hands up, facing down militarized policemen. There are videos of Eric Garner choked to death, John Crawford III shot down in Walmart for carrying a toy gun, and 12-year-old Tamir Rice gunned down in broad daylight for the same reason. APB: Artists Against Police Brutality is a benefit comic book anthology that focuses on hot-button issues including police brutality, the justice system, and civil rights, with one primary goal: show pictures and tell stories that get people talking. The proceeds will go to the Innocence Project, an organization dedicated to exonerating wrongfully convicted people.

Black Panther: A Cultural Exploration charts the compelling people and times that contributed to the comic’s evolution, from the 1960s to today.