That Distant Fire

by J.R. Hughto (Contributor), Curt Merlo (Drawings)

Vera and Paul hold enviable jobs at Pinkerton-Bei, a military engineering firm specializing in surveillance technologies. When Paul is fired but Vera asked to stay on, they choose to leave for the rural town where Paul grew up and move in with his father, Ben, his sister, Hazel, and Hazel’s actvist girlfriend, Diana, at the now defunct family farm. Jobs are in short supply in the area, and Vera and Paul hope to help the floundering community get back on its feet while completing their secret project — a handheld MRI-like “Device”.

Meanwhile, Diana begins to lead a strike against Queeny Agriculture, who owns and operates all the regional farms. Vera falls more and more under Diana’s influence, and the strike becomes increasingly violent as corporatized police forces and strike breakers bring the community to heel. Vera and Paul race against the clock to escape the powers moving in on them. Facing violence and unrest, they struggle to keep their labor movement from tearing itself apart, and the technology they’ve built from being turned against the community they are struggling to protect.

Genres: Comics, Bande Dessinée, Graphic Novels

168 pages, Hardcover

Published February 18, 2026

Reviews

[olinka malinka]

C'était trop court !!

J'ai adoré les dessins, l'univers et le propos, mais c'était beaucoup trop rapide ! J'ai quand même eu le temps de m'attacher aux personnages mais j'avoue ne pas avoir eu le temps de retenir tous leur prénoms et de tous bien les identifier visuellement. De ce fait, j'ai eu du mal à ne pas juger et à comprendre le choix final de Véra et Paul…

Malgré le rythme un peu rapide à mon goût, c'était quand même exaltant. Les chants, les grèves, les rassemblements : c'était galvanisant et on ressent dans sa peau les si belles inspirations historiques de J. R. Hughto et Curt Merlo. + leur démarche (publier sur leur site, au compte-gouttes, toutes les planches de la BD gratuitement prouve à quel point ils sont sincères dans leur démarche artistique et politique.

Banger et j'ai très hâte de lire ce qu'ils créeront à l'avenir :)

[Nat Yonce]

That Distant Fire is a triumph of synthesis - the commixture of disparate ingredients in deliberate weights to concoct something new and raw yet intimate and familiar.

The outer layer of the sci-fi futuristic technology that motivates the book belies a much older and much more human story, and it blends with a setting straight out of a million folk songs to conjure a classic and contemporary cautionary tale.

Far from being a macguffin, though, the tech itself (and its attendant incitement) reinforces an intimate symbolism present in all the interwoven concurrent themes of the book.

The art captures the tightness of an apprehension-filled chest, affording the reader only a precious few really deep breaths. The scant full-page spreads are all the more impactful for this, and a couple are downright devastating.

The limited palette of the book is an exercise in restrained cohesion, and the liberal application of those few colors subverts the typical relationship between comics panels and the borders that divide them. This blurring adds far more to the experience than one might imagine.

With community and self-determination as its sharpest edges, That Distant Fire will surely go down as one of the most prescient and important graphic novels of this sure-to-be-tumultuous decade. It's going to be a blueprint for future comics with something meaningful to say.

My only complaint is that I'll only be able to read it fresh once, because this story is too human to ever be forgotten.

[Jason Georgiades]

Amazing to see this project come to light. The book started as a screenplay for a feature film and evolved into a graphic novel. I love the way this project came together and became even stronger as a result of collaboration between the author an illustrator. The collaborative origins of the book echo some themes in the book that resonate well with what it means to be a part of a community. The book raises important and timely questions about our role in taking action to change our world if only in small incremental ways. These changes add up to a larger whole and reminds me of a quote by Eric Snowden that I feel captures the essence of the graphic novel:

"All you have to do is lay down one brick. All you have to do is make things a little bit better in a small way so that other people can lay their brick next. Together, day by day, step by step, year by year, we build a foundation of something better.” – Edward Snowden

Kudos to the team that made this book possible and here's to the next!

[Zac]

I didn’t connect with this so much, though I did read it quite quickly. There are about 6 major characters to follow but it felt like there was a lot going on. Maybe it could’ve been longer and a bit slower? The art was great in parts and I think I enjoyed the wordless sequences the most. Pretty heavy handed with the union speeches and Wobblies song, but obviously that’s where the creators were coming from. If the intent, as the preface suggests, was to illustrate the effects of capitalism on both white- and blue-collar workers, I think it succeeds but it’s not very subtle about it. I may find more to like about it upon a further re-read, and it's a nice looking book that I will hold onto.

[Susan Roth]

The ethics of our belief continues to remind us to pay attention, be prepared, much as we wish to put down our swords. This new work, That Distant Fire, is that call. Emotions are disruptive & sometimes subversive to reason, however this genius poetry by JR Hughto leads us to empathy & love. Worldly justice as past superheroes tell, comes at a cost. Graphic novels expand our universe giving place to ideas. Cert Merlo is the perfect Sancho Panza. His beautiful illustrations give clarity of realism to this story offering a narrative voice and as in Cervantes, a formidable union is born. Cross your finger for more tales!

[Matt Battaglia]

Loved the artwork - it's a beautifully told book and the art does some incredible heavy lifting on the world building side and it gives it a lot more emotional heft. I think the plot struggles a bit with balancing the authors political commentary and the needs of telling the story - it felt like there was some connective tissue missing in the story, I think it simply needed some more pages to get to know the characters a bit better and those pages would have helped the conclusion be more satisfying as I thought the ending went too quick.

Would recommend on the strength of the artwork alone.

[Thaddeus]

Truly inspirational, both in form and execution.
The story involves a family struggling to adapt to the (seemingly) dystopian future they have found themselves in. Things are not always as bleak as they initially appear however, and the story offers both hope and despair, presented in a beautifully cinematic style. Optimistic and heart breaking, it offers a vision of the near future that is all too possible, but also reminds us that there is always hope and a reason to keep fighting.

[Rosi Georgia]

A great read!

Beautiful artwork. You can see how much hard work and soul has been put into this graphic novel!

Just finished reading that distant fire. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Police brutality. Concepts of freedom and choice. Short job supply. Sacrifices one makes for their family. Collective actions. Great topics to analyze 🙏🏻✨

Looking forward to many more!

[Jasmine Tran]

i was lucky enough to read this book for school, and it was phenomenal. the amount of effort and thought put into the story and the art is easily seen and it truly has been an amazing book to analyze in class!

i mostly wish it was longer. the ending probably could've been better paced if there was more room. but overall i adored this book!

[Amber]

Gorgeous art telling a near-future, character-driven, grounded science fiction story of autocratic corporate greed, worker resistance, and family. Labor history is incorporated in the story, which is incredibly relevant to the times.

[Fanny ✨]

Une super histoire dans un futur proche qui fait froid dans le dos par son réalisme. L’intrigue est touchante avec des personnages en détresse dans une société dystopique où le monopole ne repose que sur un groupe.
Graphiquement rien à dire c’est superbe

Merci NetGalley pour l’envoi

[Jamie]

That Distant Fire blew my mind. I laughed, I cried, I felt hope. Incredible work of both art and story, a timely revolution begging for a sequel.

[Benny Van Dyck]

Great graphic novel

[Catharsis]

« Rien ne vaut le présent. »