About

Afterlife Inc. – A Company You Can Believe In.

The afterlife is under new management…

When corporate con-artist Jack Fortune’s life comes to an abrupt and brutal end, he discovers a business opportunity on a previously unimaginable scale. A mysterious Calamity has struck the afterlife, wiping the ruling body from existence and plunging the Empyrean – the great golden city of the dead – into chaos. The time is ripe for modernisation.

With the vision, the business-smarts and a ragtag collection of allies behind him, Jack strives to reinvent the afterlife as a modern-day corporate entity. Establishing a new business is always challenging, but now Jack must balance the demands of a free market with rampaging archangels, a misplaced God and the dark secrets at the heart of their world.

This may be the job he was born to die for, but has Jack’s reach finally exceeded his grasp?

Hi everyone. I’m Jon, the writer and creator of Afterlife Inc. I’ve been working on Afterlife Inc. for over a decade now, first as a solo creator and later as part of Big Punch Studios, which I co-founded in 2015. I’m also the creator of the Comic Writer’s Journal, a customisable journal designed to help comic writers of all skill levels bring their stories to life. Outside of my work at Big Punch Studios, I’ve written comics for 2000AD, and games for companies such as LEGO, Retroware and Nicalis. I’m also the writer on the upcoming Toxic Crusaders video game based on the long-running Toxic Avenger franchise from Troma Entertainment. You can find out more about everything I do on my website. Thank you for checking out Afterlife Inc.

@jonlockcomics

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Jack Fortune

The star of the show: self-made man and con-artist extraordinaire. Jack’s got it all. The look, the attitude, the smile of an angel… Whether or not his conscience is as pure remains to be seen. Jack’s spent a lifetime (two, arguably) deceiving people, and there’s no reason to assume he’s changed his stripes now. But Jack’s on a mission, and under his leadership the afterlife is changing for the better. Death is no longer a disadvantage.

Jack’s dangerous thinking has challenged an eternity of tradition. But with the entire afterlife dancing to his tune, can he be trusted with the power?

Mr Ochroid

As Jack’s right-hand man, Mr Ochroid is responsible for navigating a maze of bureaucracy and paperwork behind the scenes. If Jack is the face of the company, then Mr Ochroid is its backbone, dealing in all the boring stuff its CEO would rather forget.

He’s timid and neurotic, yet unshakably loyal to his boss; the first recruit to the company.

Lux

Formally a soldier angel created to obey without question, Lux was lost post-Calamity without the orders that defined her very existence. As the Empyrean’s new head of security, however, she has proven herself more comfortable giving commands than she ever was receiving them.

An excellent tactician and fighter, Lux rarely agrees with Jack’s showboating.

Nuriel

The most powerful of all the angels, Nuriel is charged with keeping the Empyrean’s most dangerous residents safely under lock and key. His vast size and terrifying appearance cast him apart from the rest of the Empyrean. Considered a mindless guard-dog at best, it was not until Jack offered him a place in the company that anyone realised he was capable of speech.

Having found someone who views him as an equal rather than a slave, Nuriel is now utterly devoted to his boss.

Elizabeth

As the only other human on the board, Elizabeth’s zero tolerance for nonsense more than makes up for her lack of business experience. She remains the one person Jack cannot manipulate, and he relies upon her to keep him honest.

The bandages around her wrists hint at how her life came to an end. To her horror, she has found herself in a world no more caring or understanding than the one she left behind.

Elizabeth sees the afterlife as nothing less than a cruel joke. She’s just waiting for the punchline.

Elizabeth sees the afterlife as nothing less than a cruel joke. She’s just waiting for the punchline.

Anahel

The last surviving remnant of the Empyrean’s ruling body, Anahel is perhaps the only archangel to have come through the Calamity unscathed. He alone is able to harvest manna, the energy source of the dead, and thus plays an essential role in the running of the afterlife. Regal and aloof, he makes no secret of his contempt for such lesser beings as humans or angels.

As long as he is left alone, Anahel cares little for anything outside his gardens.

Temperance Jones

Hailing from a region of the Empyrean that conforms to stereotypical notions of hell, Temperance is one of many angels created to torture those who feel they deserve it. Beneath his hideous appearance, however, lie a warm heart and the passionate soul of a socialist.

Temperance now heads the afterlife’s first trade union and fights tirelessly for the rights of his fellow labourers.

App

One-angel army, walking weapon of mass destruction and all-round nice guy App is Jack’s personal bodyguard. Equipped with the ability to download over 10,000 powers as the situation demands, App is uniquely equipped to provide around-the-clock protection to the most important man in the afterlife.

When not guarding Jack, App is often seconded to Lux’s Special Forces division, tracking down and eliminating threats to the Empyrean before they arise.

Rich Fire

Jack’s secret weapon against challenges to the company, Rich Fire’s role as off-the-books corporate spy grants him a great deal of political freedom – much to Lux’s chagrin.

Rich Fire treads a fine line between genius and insanity. He’s the best there is at what he does. The problem, however, is that what he does is often bewildering and ill-defined…