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Kepler
An allegorical sci-fi thriller in the tradition of Planet of the Apes!
The graphic novel debut of critically-acclaimed actor, author and musician David Duchovny!
When the Benadem, benevolent space gods, return to KEPLER, a planet where homo sapiens went extinct and all other hominid species thrived, their arrival threatens to plunge the world into chaos.
West, a 16-year-old Neanderthal girl, is thrust into the conflict and is the only hope to prevent extinction. Her efforts, unique because of her mixed hominid heritage, not only change her life, but also reveal the merciless ambition and identity of the gods themselves.
In the tradition of Planet of the Apes, KEPLER is an allegorical thriller of environmental disaster, colonialism, religion, history, and adolescence told through the eyes of a lonely outsider.
Story Locale:Kepler, a planet where homo sapiens went extinct and other hominids thrived
Series Overview: Original graphic novel
The graphic novel debut of critically-acclaimed actor, author and musician David Duchovny!
When the Benadem, benevolent space gods, return to KEPLER, a planet where homo sapiens went extinct and all other hominid species thrived, their arrival threatens to plunge the world into chaos.
West, a 16-year-old Neanderthal girl, is thrust into the conflict and is the only hope to prevent extinction. Her efforts, unique because of her mixed hominid heritage, not only change her life, but also reveal the merciless ambition and identity of the gods themselves.
In the tradition of Planet of the Apes, KEPLER is an allegorical thriller of environmental disaster, colonialism, religion, history, and adolescence told through the eyes of a lonely outsider.
Story Locale:Kepler, a planet where homo sapiens went extinct and other hominids thrived
Series Overview: Original graphic novel
112 pages, Hardcover
Published November 29, 2022
3 people are currently reading
114 people want to read
About the author
David Duchovny
18 books1,335 followersBorn and raised in New York City David Duchovny earned an A.B. in English literature from Princeton University, and an ABD in English literature from Yale University. He was on the road to earning his Ph.D. when his interest in playwriting led him to acting. Subsequently, he emerged to become one of the most highly acclaimed actors in Hollywood.
Globally known for his roles in the Fox Television’s monster hit The X-Files and Showtime's Californication, David has made his way into our pop culture lexicon. David Duchovny remains the only actor to have won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television series in both the Comedy and Drama categories.
David Duchovny has published four novels, Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale (2015), a New York Times Bestseller; Bucky F*cking Dent (2016); Miss Subways (2018) and Truly Like Lightning (2021).
Additionally, David Duchovny has completed two studio albums, Hell or Highwater (2015) and Every Third Thought (2018), and his third album is slated for release in summer 2021.
Globally known for his roles in the Fox Television’s monster hit The X-Files and Showtime's Californication, David has made his way into our pop culture lexicon. David Duchovny remains the only actor to have won a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television series in both the Comedy and Drama categories.
David Duchovny has published four novels, Holy Cow: A Modern-Day Dairy Tale (2015), a New York Times Bestseller; Bucky F*cking Dent (2016); Miss Subways (2018) and Truly Like Lightning (2021).
Additionally, David Duchovny has completed two studio albums, Hell or Highwater (2015) and Every Third Thought (2018), and his third album is slated for release in summer 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
September 20, 2025
Duchovny’s science fiction graphic novel. He provided the story. An environmental apocalyptic piece that was just marginal.
November 29, 2022
With thanks to Dark Horse and Edelweiss for a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review.
What stands out about Kepler right away, is that it was co-written by David Duchovny, widely recognizable as Fox Mulder from "The X-Files." The show was a beloved staple in my teen years, and I also happen to love science fiction, so requesting this comic from Dark Horse took about a split second of decision time once it was made available.
"Kepler" is an original story, first written by Duchovny as a television pilot, and conceived as part of a larger arc, potentially the first season of a TV series. In adapting it to the graphic novel format, it was co-written by comic industry veteran Phillip Sevy (who also did illustration, letters, and colors).
The novel's story is set on an alien planet called Kepler, with environmental conditions similar to Earth's, but where homo sapiens did not become the dominant form of life. In that respect it can be compared to "Planet of the Apes," showing an alternate history of evolution, one that takes humans out of equation - which allows other hominids to thrive.
One would think that a civilization that has been allowed to develop without humans would be a world completely alien to us, and yet, eerily, it seems to be almost exactly like Earth. The novel quickly clears up that mysery, all the while focusing on larger themes of colonialism, religion, and environmental disaster. All of it is viewed through the eyes of an adolescent girl, a misfit and child of mixed (hominid) parentage.
In a major way, actually, the story is a cautionary one, and in the preface Duchovny communicates his hope that it might serve as a wake-up call to readers:
"What if we, humans got another chance with a fresh new world we hadn’t depleted and polluted?” he writes in the preface. “What if we entered into a new phase of colonization, space colonization — would we have learned from our genocidal colonial past? And what if, instead of indigenous peoples we were displacing and decimating, we came upon other types of hominids from our distant earth past? Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other intelligent evolving primates native to Kepler. Would we treat them as the evolutionary brothers and sisters they are? Or would we play God and try to remake them and this planet in our own image? I guess this graphic novel is my working out the answer to those questions."
Each reader will have to make their own mind on whether Duchovny was sucessful - I, personally, enjoyed the story and the art. The epilogue presents a possibility of "to be continued." If it comes to pass, I will be picking up the sequel.
What stands out about Kepler right away, is that it was co-written by David Duchovny, widely recognizable as Fox Mulder from "The X-Files." The show was a beloved staple in my teen years, and I also happen to love science fiction, so requesting this comic from Dark Horse took about a split second of decision time once it was made available.
"Kepler" is an original story, first written by Duchovny as a television pilot, and conceived as part of a larger arc, potentially the first season of a TV series. In adapting it to the graphic novel format, it was co-written by comic industry veteran Phillip Sevy (who also did illustration, letters, and colors).
The novel's story is set on an alien planet called Kepler, with environmental conditions similar to Earth's, but where homo sapiens did not become the dominant form of life. In that respect it can be compared to "Planet of the Apes," showing an alternate history of evolution, one that takes humans out of equation - which allows other hominids to thrive.
One would think that a civilization that has been allowed to develop without humans would be a world completely alien to us, and yet, eerily, it seems to be almost exactly like Earth. The novel quickly clears up that mysery, all the while focusing on larger themes of colonialism, religion, and environmental disaster. All of it is viewed through the eyes of an adolescent girl, a misfit and child of mixed (hominid) parentage.
In a major way, actually, the story is a cautionary one, and in the preface Duchovny communicates his hope that it might serve as a wake-up call to readers:
"What if we, humans got another chance with a fresh new world we hadn’t depleted and polluted?” he writes in the preface. “What if we entered into a new phase of colonization, space colonization — would we have learned from our genocidal colonial past? And what if, instead of indigenous peoples we were displacing and decimating, we came upon other types of hominids from our distant earth past? Neanderthals, Denisovans, and other intelligent evolving primates native to Kepler. Would we treat them as the evolutionary brothers and sisters they are? Or would we play God and try to remake them and this planet in our own image? I guess this graphic novel is my working out the answer to those questions."
Each reader will have to make their own mind on whether Duchovny was sucessful - I, personally, enjoyed the story and the art. The epilogue presents a possibility of "to be continued." If it comes to pass, I will be picking up the sequel.
December 18, 2022
(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Edelweiss. Content warning for violent imagery, including self-immolation.)
Kepler-452b is a "Golidlocks planet" located 1800 light years from Earth. Capable of sustaining life, the creatures on Kepler followed an evolutionary path similar to that of Earth. The three primary, ape-like species are the Thaal, kind of a mix between Neanderthals and conservative Christians/MAGA (lol); Bonobion, a bonobo-like species that's characterized by their empathy and peacefulness; and the Floren, the Lucies of Kepler, who have short life spans and are nearly extinct. In this world, homo sapiens were killed off before they had the chance to eradicate the others. And now the h. sapiens on Earth have their sights set on Kepler. Like I said, Goldilocks.
Like us modern-day earthlings, the citizens of Kepler sit at a crossroads. For centuries, they have been visited by God-like aliens they call the Benadem, whose gifts greatly accelerated their technological advancements - including their ability to wage war and deplete their planet. Now the Benadem promise to bring them the power to split the atom - the gift of nuclear power (or weapons). But a small yet determined group of Bonobion rebels are determined to stop them, and to return Kepler to a more 'primitive' and natural state of being.
I love the general premise (especially as articulated by David Duchovny in the forward), but the execution doesn't always work for me. For starters, I always find it more interesting when the aliens don't look quite so humanoid - the multiverse (or, heck, even just earth) is a vast and magical place, so why must all the dominant life forms look just like us?
Actually, scratch that: they look just enough like humans to produce that icky, uncanny valley feeling. As in, the artwork made me uncomfortable at times. Give me a Cthulhu any day.
Plus, there were just too many other improbable parallels for it to feel genuine: like a state called California, just spelled with a K. And yeah, Hollywood exists there, too. (In fact, I initially thought we were on Earth, with an extra-beastly looking president.)
Bonus points for the ending though, which is properly cynical and not where I thought we were headed.
Kepler-452b is a "Golidlocks planet" located 1800 light years from Earth. Capable of sustaining life, the creatures on Kepler followed an evolutionary path similar to that of Earth. The three primary, ape-like species are the Thaal, kind of a mix between Neanderthals and conservative Christians/MAGA (lol); Bonobion, a bonobo-like species that's characterized by their empathy and peacefulness; and the Floren, the Lucies of Kepler, who have short life spans and are nearly extinct. In this world, homo sapiens were killed off before they had the chance to eradicate the others. And now the h. sapiens on Earth have their sights set on Kepler. Like I said, Goldilocks.
Like us modern-day earthlings, the citizens of Kepler sit at a crossroads. For centuries, they have been visited by God-like aliens they call the Benadem, whose gifts greatly accelerated their technological advancements - including their ability to wage war and deplete their planet. Now the Benadem promise to bring them the power to split the atom - the gift of nuclear power (or weapons). But a small yet determined group of Bonobion rebels are determined to stop them, and to return Kepler to a more 'primitive' and natural state of being.
I love the general premise (especially as articulated by David Duchovny in the forward), but the execution doesn't always work for me. For starters, I always find it more interesting when the aliens don't look quite so humanoid - the multiverse (or, heck, even just earth) is a vast and magical place, so why must all the dominant life forms look just like us?
Actually, scratch that: they look just enough like humans to produce that icky, uncanny valley feeling. As in, the artwork made me uncomfortable at times. Give me a Cthulhu any day.
Plus, there were just too many other improbable parallels for it to feel genuine: like a state called California, just spelled with a K. And yeah, Hollywood exists there, too. (In fact, I initially thought we were on Earth, with an extra-beastly looking president.)
Bonus points for the ending though, which is properly cynical and not where I thought we were headed.
January 30, 2023
Future is scary !
January 10, 2023
Weirder than it is good, but will still be a thought provoking story for a younger reader. Duchovny's playing with themes he's been playing with since we've known him, and this GN is a self-contained cautionary tale about mankind's need to fuck with what we're given. Worth the read.
February 22, 2023
This book seems to have gotten a lot of mileage out of being Duchovny’s book. I admit, that is what initially attracted me too. I like him as an actor, I know he’s more educated than most actors, and I wanted to see, after reciting other people’s lines for decades, what sort of story he might come up with on his own.
Well, that story is Kepler. A science fiction adventure with a clever and original concept and middling at best execution.
The idea is that Earthlings found a planet in habitable Goldilocks zone and proceeded to slowly adapt it to their own needs, presumably for future colonization.
The planet, Kepler, is populated with three species all reminiscent of early Earth people, like Neanderthals, and on its own was at a fairy primitive level, but with consistent deliberate interference by technologically advanced species, they got to the level of something like 1950s or ‘60s. These advanced species are worshipped in a sort of expanded cargo cult situation. But not everyone is happy with the situation. Some more so than others.
There’s unrest on Kepler. It’s getting dangerous.
At the center of all this action is a sixteen-year-old mixed-race girl. Why? Is this meant to be YA? It’s difficult to tell by the uneven writing and dialogue.
Political intrigue, commentary on colonialism, environmental crisis, and more, Duchovny takes on a lot in Kepler, all sorts of current and trending topics, but the narrative falls rather flat. Something’s missing. It's messy and preachy, overambitious and overexplained. Planet of the Apes it categorically isn’t.
Also, the look of it is weird. The faces are too weird. The scenery’s fine, but the character drawing didn’t quite work for me.
Overall, decent but nothing special. Does read quickly.
Well, that story is Kepler. A science fiction adventure with a clever and original concept and middling at best execution.
The idea is that Earthlings found a planet in habitable Goldilocks zone and proceeded to slowly adapt it to their own needs, presumably for future colonization.
The planet, Kepler, is populated with three species all reminiscent of early Earth people, like Neanderthals, and on its own was at a fairy primitive level, but with consistent deliberate interference by technologically advanced species, they got to the level of something like 1950s or ‘60s. These advanced species are worshipped in a sort of expanded cargo cult situation. But not everyone is happy with the situation. Some more so than others.
There’s unrest on Kepler. It’s getting dangerous.
At the center of all this action is a sixteen-year-old mixed-race girl. Why? Is this meant to be YA? It’s difficult to tell by the uneven writing and dialogue.
Political intrigue, commentary on colonialism, environmental crisis, and more, Duchovny takes on a lot in Kepler, all sorts of current and trending topics, but the narrative falls rather flat. Something’s missing. It's messy and preachy, overambitious and overexplained. Planet of the Apes it categorically isn’t.
Also, the look of it is weird. The faces are too weird. The scenery’s fine, but the character drawing didn’t quite work for me.
Overall, decent but nothing special. Does read quickly.
February 18, 2023
I got this;
1) Fan of David Duchovny
2) I really enjoyed Holy Cow
3) I really dig comic books.
I properly enjoyed it. The story was very compelling and I liked the characters.
Read this was initially a TV pilot script. Would have been interesting to watch, but I am grateful it became a comic instead. (could be cool to do it as an animated adaption in future).
Well designed art style and the colour choices was great. Phillip Sevy did some excellent design work
I sincerely hope we get much more of this world!
Thank you DD and PS
1) Fan of David Duchovny
2) I really enjoyed Holy Cow
3) I really dig comic books.
I properly enjoyed it. The story was very compelling and I liked the characters.
Read this was initially a TV pilot script. Would have been interesting to watch, but I am grateful it became a comic instead. (could be cool to do it as an animated adaption in future).
Well designed art style and the colour choices was great. Phillip Sevy did some excellent design work
I sincerely hope we get much more of this world!
Thank you DD and PS
February 23, 2025
2.5 Stars - The positives: Interesting concept and well-plotted. Character design was meticulous as necessitated by the plot and worked both visually and narratively.
In the notes it says this comic was originally conceived of as a television series and that definitely shows in the scope, but also in the... angle/field-of-view(?) of the story. It's just wide enough to show the full scope clearly and end the series within time constraints.
In the notes it says this comic was originally conceived of as a television series and that definitely shows in the scope, but also in the... angle/field-of-view(?) of the story. It's just wide enough to show the full scope clearly and end the series within time constraints.
April 24, 2023
(2.5 stars) Starts off with a cool idea and ends pretty flat. Kepler is a plant like Earth but they are not as advanced as earth. They have their own species similar to our human species but after Duchovny creates some good starting points it all fizzles away to me. The plot gets rushed along and in the end it is just OK, not very good. Art is nothing special either, at times sub par for me.
August 30, 2024
Too many elements to fit in one volume, so the story feels very by-the-numbers. I also don't buy that there would be exact counterparts to Earth hominids. Either make it "similar" but not exact, or come up with a Planet of the Apes-style reason why it's the same, but not neither.
July 18, 2025
Definitely a great read. Yes it’s kind of like the planet of the apes feeling to it but it’s a very interesting story. I’ve read every book by him and I’ve yet to be disappointed by any of his works.
March 29, 2023
David Duchovny is a weird dude.
May 16, 2023
I’m a big Duchovny fan. This comic has some interesting concepts. The artwork was okay. I didn’t find anything noteworthy.
January 21, 2024
Has things to say.
November 3, 2024
Really 3.5. The world is built quickly and clearly. The story goes by pretty quickly without a lot of depth, but is entertaining and thought provoking.
July 16, 2025
2.5:
This wasn't really for me, and I had the feeling that it wouldn't be.
This wasn't really for me, and I had the feeling that it wouldn't be.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews