Mark Russell on POLIS, A Floating Vision of the Future

By David Brooke, AIPT Comics

Writer Mark Russell discusses his latest one-shot POLIS exploring climate migration, floating cities, and more.

Mark Russell has long been known for his sharp, satirical views of society. He often explores dystopian themes in works like Not All Robots and Batman: Dark Age. But his latest project, POLIS (on sale April 2, 2025), takes a different approach.

Set in a near-future world ravaged by climate disasters and political upheaval, the one-shot comic focuses on the concept of floating cities as a hopeful alternative to failing nation-states. Published by AWA as part of a larger sci-fi anthology series, POLIS imagines a world where refugees build a new society at sea.

I spoke with Russell about the story, its themes, and the protopian philosophy that sets it apart from traditional dystopian narratives.

The Spark Behind POLIS

“The realization that nation-states are probably the worst way to politically organize human beings in a massive global crisis, combined with the realization that the entire planet is divided into nation-states,” Russell says when asked about the inspiration for POLIS.

“For most of human history, if there was a drought, a flood, or a famine, you just picked up and moved somewhere else. Now there’s all these armed checkpoints we call borders. Climate change, and its myriad of attendant nightmares, is a crisis that could do us all in. And, if you can believe this, we are still in the ‘honeymoon phase’ of this disaster.”

Russell envisions floating cities as a way to bypass the limitations of modern geopolitics. “They could give refugees somewhere pleasant to go. A place where they were wanted and valued and could find a home, or at least, a temporary respite from being a refugee.”

A “Protopian” Future

Unlike many of his past works, POLIS is not a dystopian story. Instead, it embraces a “protopian” perspective — a term used to describe futures that acknowledge hardship but also embrace innovation and optimism. “As a ‘protopian’ story, POLIS tells the tale of a more hopeful future. I am not pretending the challenges we’re facing as a species aren’t there or that they aren’t enormous. They are real and they will cause untold misery. But the message of POLIS, unlike other more dystopian stories, is that, you know, there is a way out. We don’t have to die this way.”

Building a Realistic Floating City

To craft the floating city of Miragua, Russell dove deep into research on self-sustaining communities. “I spent time researching what kinds of things biodomes or other independent communities of the past needed to produce for themselves. Ironically, I found that being a free-floating city that moved about the world’s oceans, in many cases, made these challenges easier. You can plan the city’s travel to maximize its protection from storms and seasonal challenges. You can augment your food supply with fishing and aquaculture.”

He also found inspiration in real-world concepts. “I remember reading an article about Silicon Valley tech billionaires planning to build a floating offshore city to escape the oppression of, what, I don’t know. I just remember being blown away by the thought that they were the ones who needed that sort of protection. They never built the city, obviously, but they did hire people smarter than themselves…to come up with designs and a feasibility study and, apparently, it can be done. So, I thought, why not create something like that for people who actually need it?”

A Personal Journey Through a Global Crisis

At the heart of POLIS is its protagonist, Natalie, a Florida teenager faced with the choice of leaving her home behind for the floating city of Miragua. “I picked Natalie because I think she is a sort of every-woman. A good representative of the sort of person who might find the idea of climate change or floating cities ridiculous until they come for them,” Russell explains. “I also wanted a character who would narrate their journey of trying to hold onto their home and their past life for as long as possible, but then knowing they needed to find another way.”

The Future of POLIS

Although POLIS is currently a standalone one-shot, Russell is open to expanding on its world. “If AWA and Futurific wanted to turn this into a series, I would want to write the stories of other floating cities in other parts of the world, culminating in how they save the human race from disaster when the nation-states invariably start failing.”

Bringing POLIS to Life

Visually, POLIS is brought to life by an impressive creative team, including artist Laci, colorist Marco Lesko, and letterer Mike Choi. “Laci is a great artist whom I’ve worked with before, so I knew I was getting someone who was VERY good at drawing futuristic tech, but who could also bring the story down to a very human level and convey great emotion with a single facial expression or gesture,” Russell says. “This was my first time working with Marco and Mike, but they are just as responsible for how great I think this whole package is. I wanted, first and foremost, not to write a manifesto, but a gripping comic book that jumps off the page, and I have them to thank for that.”

A Year in Miragua

And if he had the chance to live in Miragua for a year? “Scuba diving. I would also really look forward to all the fresh seafood. Just because it’s the end of the world as we know it, doesn’t mean you can’t have some world-class scallops.”

With POLIS, Russell delivers a compelling vision of what the future could look like: not free of struggle, but filled with potential. Whether or not floating cities will ever become reality, the ideas behind them challenge us to rethink how humanity adapts to a changing world.