Human Nature Book 1: A Satirical Science Fiction Graphic Novel

Human Nature #1

by Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Jeff Welch

From Academy Award–winning filmmaker Darren Aronofsky comes the first volume of his spectacular sci-fi trilogy, Human Nature The visionary minds behind Black Swan and The Whale, Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel, team up with writer Jeff Welch and acclaimed artist Martín Morazzo (Ice Cream Man) for Human Nature, a razor-sharp social-satire trilogy about ambition, power, and humanity’s desperate quest for immortality.Meet once just an ordinary nobody, now an ego-driven billionaire chicken magnate with nearly limitless wealth and power. But even endless fortune has limits—and Duke is obsessed with breaking the final death itself. Can he buy the key to defy death, or has his unchecked ambition finally gone too far?Overflowing with twisted humor, surreal adventures, and dazzling visuals, Human Nature hurtles readers into a bizarre yet unsettlingly familiar future, confronting unimaginable obstacles at every turn.It’s a gripping, audacious ride that only Aronofsky could conjure—one that races forward at breathtaking speed, promising even greater thrills as the trilogy unfolds.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Comics

208 pages, Hardcover

Published March 31, 2026

About the author

Darren S. Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter and film producer. He attended Harvard University and AFI to study both live-action and animation film theory, where he met long-time collaborator Matthew Libatique. He won several film awards after completing his senior thesis film, "Supermarket Sweep", starring Sean Gullette, which went on to become a National Student Academy Award finalist.

Aronofsky did not make a feature film until five years later, creating the concept for his debut feature, π, in February 1996. The low-budget, $60,000 production, starring Sean Gullette, was sold to Artisan Entertainment for $1 million, and grossed over $3 million; it won both a Sundance Film Festival award and an Independent Spirit Award. Aronofsky's followup, Requiem for a Dream, was based on the novel of the same name written by Hubert Selby, Jr. The film received an Academy Award nomination for Ellen Burstyn's performance. After turning down an opportunity to direct Batman Begins, Aronofsky began production on his third film, The Fountain. The film was released to mixed reviews and poor box office results.

However, his next film, The Wrestler, rebounded with positive reviews and healthy box office. Both of the film's stars, Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei, received Academy Award nominations. Rourke also won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and Bruce Springsteen won for Best Original Song for his title song. Aronofsky's next film, Black Swan, received further critical acclaim and many accolades, being nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, four Golden Globes including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, a record 12 BFCA nominations and a DGA nomination.

Reviews

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

~3.5 This is a script that Aronofsky has returned to many times but no matter the changes can’t find a studio to make it. I like the idea of adapting the story for a different visual medium but it’s hard not to wonder what it would have looked like as a film.

Human Nature follows Duke, a billionaire who made his money off of chickens, as he’s given a terminal diagnosis & he attempts to cheat death. When he can’t find a cure fast enough, he turns to cryogenics hoping his body can be cured in the future. When Duke wakes up the future is not what he expected at all!

Frankly I was uninterested in the story until Duke wakes up in the future. He’s confronted with a reality where he’s no longer in control, plus weird aliens abound! I wanted more of this part of the story! I assume parts 2 & 3 really dig into it. I thought the art matched the story but personally wasn’t blown away by it. All in all this was better than average but not great…

[Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel is pretty bat-shit, and I mean that in a positive way.

Firstly, I just want to say that I adore the art style and presentation – absolutely 10/10 on the visual front. The design and colours, tick tick tick, all the marks.

The plot and story is wild. I have no idea where it’s going at any point and it jumps between the present (which is in an unrecognisable and alien looking the future), and the past (which is our present, and a more familiar earth setting), and it has begun to explain how we got to the bizzaro-world we find ourselves in later.
This makes it sound complicated, but the way it’s presented makes it easy to follow, despite it’s weirdness.

Our main character is a classic unlikable capitalist douche-bag (I am quite sure he is meant to be a Musk analogue), but seeing him in the past and where he ends up, the mystery of everything that happens to him (and the world) in the interim is made very engaging and I am eager to see where the next books goes, and this first entry ends on a real cliff-hanger… almost literally!

There are some great sci-fi ideas and a punk ideology to back it up, which makes for a great combination in my opinion.

[Lizzy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was alright and I enjoyed my time reading it. The art style didn't do much for me, but the story was interesting enough. I could've predicted this but I feel it'd be much better as a movie, though I'm not even sure this feels like an Aronofsky story lol

I don't typically read graphic novels but I enjoy one every so often. I requested this from NetGalley as I'm a big fan of Aronofsky's movies (specifically The Whale, that one needs more love 😭)

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such an odd story. I'm kinda diggin' it.

[Books Amongst Friends · Rating 3 out of 5]

Format: Library Hardback
Writing & Execution: 3/5
Themes & Messages: 2.5/5
Illustration & Design: 3.5/5
Overall Story:
Enjoyment: 3.5/5

This was just okay. The story is definitely weird and there’s an array of characters that offer something new and strange. Although, both the story and its characters lack a depth or purpose for readers to cling to.

The illustration and design align with the story. I enjoy the change in lighting the most. You can see the subtle inclusion of warmer tones in the present contrast to the more sterile tone of the past. I could easily visualize how this could be made into a show or movie that would really grip an audience. In this format the illustration is done well, just not a style I was moved by.

I would read the next one just to see where it goes, but I won’t be pressed to get to it. My library just happened to have this, so I gave it a shot. As an introduction to a series that seems to take us through time and space, I feel many readers will wonder if it did enough to entice them to continue the story.

[Alex Sarll]

I've not felt up to attempting an Aronofsky film since Mother!; I recognise his skill at creating intensely stressful cinematic experiences, I'm just not sure what benefit I derive from continuing to put myself through them. On top of which, I'm a little sceptical of screenplays become comics, as I am of comics which are too openly screen pitches. So at times I did wonder why exactly I'd requested this from Netgalley. But part of the difference between films and comics is precisely that the reader has more control than the viewer over the experience, which makes it easier to pick out the actual story from the thrum of panic. Similarly, Ice Cream Man's Martín Morazzo is a great choice of artist, bringing a suitably queasy and unhealthy look to everything, even as the cartoonish edge stops events from feeling quite as horrible as they would if you were watching flesh and blood humans going through them. And frankly, it's no wonder Aronofsky and regular collaborator Ari Handler have been trying and failing to get Jeff Welch's script made since Requiem For A Dream, because based on this opening act, it would be a bastard to film. We begin in a small post-apocalyptic community, surrounded by inexplicable...things. It's time for the initiation rite, in which one of the elders tells the youngsters the story of how they came to be. Which cheats a little, in that it's pure flashback; I didn't understand all the business bits myself, and I live under late capitalism, so a future tribe would have no chance. At first it seems like a familiar tale, the old 'you can't take it with you' warning/gloat: Duke has worked his way up from nothing, made vast amounts of money, overcome every obstacle, then finds he can't do that with cancer. Except, just as he upended the chicken industry, he resolves to do the same with cryonics, and succeeds. And then, some time later, he wakes up, and...well, it's not what he expected, though this rather begs the question of what he did expect. From there we're in a sort of reality TV riff, except (even more) cosmic horror, and into the territory where even with advances in special effects, it would still be a struggle to realise this as convincingly on film as on the page. And from there...well, I still have scant idea how we're going to steer back around from the cliffhanger to the framing story, but I'm quite enjoying coming out of an Aronofsky experience with questions about what happens next, instead of simple relief that it's over.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars--Meet Duke. He is a sleazy billionaire who made his fortune in chicken factory farms. Duke has created an empire on suffering and death, but has no desire to experience this himself, so he cryogenically freezes his body after a dire diagnosis. He wakes up in a world so far into the future as to be unrecognizable...and is it even Earth?

Duke navigates a bizarre world with his anachronistic attitudes and seemingly needs constant reminders that he is no longer the billionaire who can expect his every whim to be indulged with zero consequences. At the same time, he wants to make amends with his daughter--a woman who has grown up with no knowledge that her father is the man she's been leading demonstrations against as an animal protection advocate. She is the opposite of her absent father in every way.

I was very surprised at the themes of this book. In part, it examines the question of how would we react if an advanced alien species treated us the way we treat all other beings on earth. I also enjoyed the wildly surreal and colorful artwork, as well as the design of the alien beings with their giant singular eyes and amoeba-like bodies.

[Juju · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just another story about an egotistical man trying to dominate everything around him, even when blessed with a second chance at life. Alien world premise is cool enough but the character was so chauvinistically hateable, I just could not get through it without rolling my eyes 🙄

[Andy Cantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightfully bizarre

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for an advance copy of this graphic novel by a noted filmmaker that deals with life after the body fails, the lessons learned from awakening in a place where wealth and power mean nothing, and how odd and weird the universe can be.

Cryonics, the freezing of the human body before or just a few minutes after death, has been the basis of many famous stories in science fiction. People have always feared death, but those with wealth, power and even more hubris especially detest the idea of dying. Not just the usual what happens next, heaven, hell, limbo, nothing, but the fact they wealth, esteem, fear, mean nothing. Everything dies. Freezing someone for the future, well the odds are not good. However those with money to spare will take those odds. Maybe one will be frozen for a few years, until a cure can be found for whatever ails them. Maybe a decade, half a century, maybe more. Who cares, as long as one has a few more moments of life. However as we have learned the future isn't always bright. In fact it can be a little dark, weird and scary. And that is where our protagonist finds himself. From chicken billionaire to Elvis impersonator, in the brave new world of the future. Human Nature Book 1, written by famed filmmaker By Darren Aronofsky, with Ari Handel and Jeff Welch, illustrated by Martin Morazzo and colorist Chris O'Halloran, is a story about life, death, chickens, family, the future, and living up to expectations, from yourself, your children, and our future alien overlords.

Duke was born poor, and made even poorer by the death of his father, and loss of the chicken farm he grew up on. Duke however had persistence, and a lack of empathy which served him well. Eventually Duke was able to corner the market on chickens, making himself a billionaire a few times over, though at the expense of others. Duke automated his farms, squeezing every penny he could out of his chickens, giving him a horrible reputation and the focus of many groups wanting to end his cruelty to animals. Duke's true enemy was his own body, a cancer that couldn't be cured. At least now. Maybe in the future something could be done, but Duke wouldn't see it. Unless he froze himself. At the same time Duke finds that he is a father, though his attempts to do right by his daughter lead to a seizure, and allows his second in command to seize the company, and place Duke literally on ice. Duke awakes in a future that is not expected, one that no one planned on, and one that gets worse and worse. Duke must go on, for his daughter might be sharing this future with him. And Duke is just to ornery to give up, no matter what happens.

A odd story, one that is a parody of today, and a look at a future that seems out of Rick and Morty. There should be a style clash, but the creative teams does a good job of taking disparate storylines and making them, well not gel, but not clash. This is the first of a trilogy, and I must say I am intrigued to see where this story is going. Duke shows real growth through the story. From a one-sided capitalist, to a man with reasons, to a man clutching all the straws he can to stay alive. And maybe be the father he never had. There is a learning curve but those familiar with the movies of Aronofsky know enough to just sit back and see where Aronofsky is going to take us. The art is really good, as should be expected from an artist like Martin Morazzo, who might be familiar from the Ice Cream Man comics, or his Superman work. Morazzo can draw industrial, characters and surreal alien landscapes well, giving the comic a grounded and yet really otherworldly look. Seriously the chicken scenes have really made me question my love for meat in all forms.

An interesting comic, one that I want to read more of, mainly to see where it is going, and what crazy oddness happens next. A comic hard to classify, and that is all the fun.

[Adam Sorensen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Human Nature Book 1 is a graphic novel with loads of interesting ideas, but lacks a character and narrative hook to truly draw me into its world. The story of Human Nature centres on Duke, a billionaire whose chicken empire has given him the power to conquer everything. Everything, that is, until he's given a medical death sentence. Duke discovers the world of medical preservation, an industry where people pay a premium to pause their lifespan in hope for a future where medical science has caught up. Duke wakes up in an unfamiliar place, and is left grappling with a cosmic loss of control.

This is a terrific world-building hook that presents the collapse of ego and what happens when we seek to defy death. There's some immediately compelling artwork by Martín Morazzo -- chicken farms for miles, the sunset on an ending life, the bizarre architecture of future technology. Sadly, the novel is underserved by thin characterisation that prevented me from being truly absorbed in the story and the characters within it. When I read the first volume of a graphic novel, I look for a (usually) contained arc that sets the stage for a wider story. This disappointed in that regard, as it didn't give me enough to contemplate beyond its imagery, nor did it draw me in to the point of needing to know where the story goes next. Sadly a very strong concept and presentation with a story that didn't draw me in.

My huge thanks to Abrams ComicArts for providing a review copy via NetGalley in exchange for a sincere review.

[Astrophel AKA Beeneedssleep · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams Comic Arts for an arc. All opinions are my own.

Rating: ★ ★ ★
Genre: Sci Fi/Satire
Are There Gay People in this?*: ❌

I think this book has the potential to become a cult classic, but it didn't quite land for me. Since this is the first volume in a series, most of what we see is setting up dominoes without getting to see many fall. Which is totally fine, but since I never felt myself getting hooked, I ended up feeling a bit underwhelmed. I loved the illustration for the environment and aliens, but the way the people were drawn doesn't appeal to me personally even though I think it is skillfully done.

Unfortunately, I found the protagonist so annoying (which I do believe is intentional, since this is a satire), that I truly did not want to spend any more time reading about it. I don't mind a protagonist who is a bad person, or who is unlikable, but I felt like our protagonist, Duke, kept repeating himself too much.

* I count a book as including gay people if any of the main or secondary characters are implicitly or explicitly queer or trans. This does not necessarily mean the protagonist is queer or that there is a queer romance

[Siina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Human Nature was very interesting, I liked the novel idea a lot! The main character is Duke, a former nobody and now a billionaire. His ego is out of this world and he wants to rule everything and needs wealth and power like food and shelter. He's made his money from chickens, but is now dying of a disease. Of course his ambition is to defy death and survive, since he has so much to offer (at least he thinks that way). Well, he avoids death on some level as he wakes up in a weird world ruled by aliens that are big eyeballs surveying everyone. He can outdo this too, right?

The art looks interesting and I enjoy the color theme. There's this nice crudeness to the art and it works well with the world depicted. Perhaps I wanted some likability more? Duke isn't multifaceted character, which makes him a bit boring. The daughter part was good though. Duke needs some inner turmoil more. Otherwise this is surely interesting and hard to say what he will encounter before we are at the campfire where he is telling all this to a group of kids. Let's see?

[Lucsbooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read "Human Nature" the moment I saw who wrote it, and that didn't change for the months I was kept waiting for my request to be approved.

This reminded me of The Matrix mixed with Cloud Atlas mixed with The Arrival. The themes it touches on, such as cryofreeze, late stage capitalism and a rich mfer thinking rules don't apply to him are very timely.

That also meant that no matter what happened to Duke, including some very graphic things, I couldn't bring myself to feel anything but satisfaction because I don't feel sorry for billionaire CEOs. Not even fictional ones.

The art is interesting to look at and fits the story, and is unsurprisingly very cinematic. The recurring theme of human nature was interesting, the plot twists were surprising, but all in all, I found it very underwhelming.

I was expecting something spectacular, and it was just written by a man.

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for this DRC.

[El☽⊹ ࣪ ˖ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reads more like a movie in my experience, which is to say that I enjoyed it so much I flew through it in around one hour. The story leans heavily into science fiction with our main character being extremely unlikeable. Unfortunately we are stuck with his pov which does not stir me away from it, only makes me more interested in this plot as we seem to start the story with our villainous main character.

There are two story lines one of the present and the past, we slowly find out why the state of the world has changed with the pacing being very good. I will not say too much about it as it's a short experience and it would definitely ruin it. Additionally the art is quite unique, I have not encountered it before and, while you cannot call it pretty, it's definitely beautiful in itself, especially when it depicts the world. Just try it.

Thanks NetGalley, Darren Aronofsky and Abrams Comic Arts, for giving me a copy of this.

[Waldkauzz · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be completely transparent, a short while after reading the comic, I came across Darren Aronovsky's AI film studio. I will not read from the author again.

But nevermore, this comic is about the surreal journey of a man, once a chicken-based rich man, who then has become a terminally ill person, who then finds himself thrust into an uncertain future. Facing the last frontier: death.

The comic itself is alright enough, quite quick-paced and all the new and extremely changing environments and set of obstacles which the protagonist encounters, keeps the reader's interest. Sometimes events seem unconnected, and you have to go along with some character decisions: The trilogy's resolution will either make or break the comic. Good art.

Thanks to NetGalley and Abram ComicArts for an ARC for an honest review.

[Amaris Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and reflect my experience with the book.

[3 of 5]

The art was pleasant enough though I was expecting something closer to what was presented on the cover & would have enjoyed that far more.

I enjoyed what the book was trying to do with the satire and likely will continue reading the series because I am intrigued by the overall premise but the way the premise is presented & the humor used was not really for me.

I had much higher expectations for this book due to my enjoyment of Aronofsky's films but his vision just doesn't translate in the same way into this medium. It honestly didn't really feel like an Aronofsky piece at all because any depth and darkness of the premise was way overshadowed by the juvenile feeling of the humor.

[Aliyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Filled a gap that the cancellation of Scavenger's Reign left behind--I was glued from the first few pages. Darron Aronofsky and Jeff Welch creates a world that's deeply absurd and at the same time deeply familiar; the tropes of capitalist greed, bootstrap ideology, individualism, self-interest all extended as far as the creators think they can go. Every character is a stereotype: CEO, good-hearted orphan, impassive assistant, a genius with a morally questionable start up, and they all come together to paint a picture that is still unique. This is a credit to the illustrator, Martin Morazzo.

An interesting read, and I find myself looking forward to volume 2.

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Frankkie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars - This book was… not what I expected, and honestly, I’m still not entirely sure what I read.

It was definitely weird. I truly had no idea where the story was going at any point. The art had this uncanny quality to it, and the characters were hard to get behind; I’m not sure I liked any of them, including the protagonist.

The storyline starts out fairly normal for sci-fi/speculative fiction, and then it completely goes off the rails. At a certain point, I had no idea what was happening anymore. Still, it was fun to read in a chaotic sort of way, and the cliffhanger ending has me just interested enough that I might pick up book two - because there’s absolutely no way I’m guessing what happens next on my own.

I received this book as an eARC.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Darren Aronofsky wrote a comic. Well, actually he wrote an unfilmable movie script and that became a comic when he finally realized a movie was never going to happen. It's about Duke, an insanely rich Southerner who revolutionized the chicken industry. Then he finds out he has cancer and attempts to find a way to stay alive. And he does but it turns out to be nothing like he thought it would. This ends abruptly. Just turn the page and it's done kind of way which I didn't like. Have your trilogy sure but give us the end of act one, not just cut us off when you hit your page count quota.

Martin Marrazo of Ice Cream Man is the artist and his art works well for this kind of story.

[Ije the Devourer of Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing sci-fi graphic novel.

In this first volume a chicken 🐓 rearing business man has cancer and undergoes a treatment that will put him to sleep until a cure is found. When he wakes up the world and the universe have changed and there are strange beings in control. And so his adventure begins as he tries to find out what has happened and where he is.

The artwork is great and the story is gripping. Alas the first volume ends on a cliff hanger which means we need volume two and quickly!

Great start to a new series.

Copy provided via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

[Amelia Suedel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Abrams ComicArts for an eARC in exchange for my review!

I really enjoyed this first installment! I am familiar with this art style from the Ice Cream man comics and I thought it fit this theme similarly. I loved seeing elements of the main character's past and I am invested to learn the rest of what happened based on the glimpse we see of him in the future. I think that the MC is one of those characters that you love to hate and I think there is a lot of room for character development.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a few graphic scenes and full nudity to be aware of.

I can dig a funky and odd futuristic adventure with giant eye ball aliens. The graphics are okay, not my favorite style. The main character is a little to quick to need sex. Can't say I connect to or care much for any of the characters. But the story left on a fun cliffhanger and I got through this so quickly.

For readers that enjoy SAGA, you might enjoy this. Also had a little bit of Octavia Butler themes from her books sprinkled in there. It was a fun little time.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve realized what makes Morazzo’s drawings so damn creepy- it’s the eyes! They don’t just draw a round or even pointed eye like most comic artists, they draw that little part next to the eye, where all the gunk and grit get caught. I couldn’t stop looking at those eyes!

A surprisingly great story that has me fully engaged in what happens next. I love the pacing and back and forth- I haven’t expectations for this series.

Aronofsky also directed one of my all time favorite films, the wrestler. I recommend everyone go and see that.

[Nadine Sturgill · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 🌟
Thanks to NetGalley and Abrams Comic Arts, I got to read this gem early. On vacation and thought why the heck not. Read it quite quickly and left asking questions as the cliff hanger is a banger for sure! Don't know why, but I'm absolutely rooting for Duke even though hes a bit of a douche. Can't wait to see whats gonna happen next. Will be posting review on Amazon once release date hits.

[logankstewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Impulse read from the library stacks. A satire sci-fi graphic novel about a chicken farmer billionaire who cryogenically freezes himself and wakes up in an unrecognizable future. A bonkers book with a fitting illustration style, some humor, and an intriguing story. I’ll probably read the remainder of the trilogy whenever the library gets the future copies.

I have no idea ultimately what Aronofsky is satirizing but I enjoyed the book well enough.

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Um... I'm at a loss for words. This is fine. The cartoonish MC (I mean cartoon in character development not art) is very hard to care about and makes his life worse at every turn. The book ends abruptly with no real hook or development that makes me want to keep going. Morazzo's art fits the story well but didn't do much to compel the uninteresting plot. Three screenwriters collaborate and this is the best there was? Maybe three was too many. I won't be picking up Vol. 2.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to Abrams ComicSrts and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this comic. All thoughts are my own.

I found this one to be interesting. It managed to cover quite a big chunk of the story without feeling rushed of incomplete. It's a unique premise about how a community of people came to exist and I'm excited to see how it ends and how everything is tied together.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC provided by NetGalley

I am very intrigued by this comic. It is so strange and I really want to know what is going on. The strangeness was to be expected, as this is a project by Darren Oronofsky.
Of course I also want some comeuppance for the pain character, as he is quite the AH.

[Greg Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 for Ice Cream Man art team and an entertaining and enjoyable sci-fi story. This is volume 1, and a cliff hanger ending in true comics fashion. Looking forward to the next volume to see what happens to our protagonist next.