Bejamin HC-Advanced Review

BENJAMIN HC

Publisher: Oni Press

Release Date: March 11, 2026

Cover Price: $24.99

Publisher's Solicit: IN ONE L.A. MOTEL ROOM, A COSMIC QUEST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN... More than just a writer, more than just a science-fiction icon, Benjamin J. Carp was a cultural revolutionary. Over the course of 44 novels and hundreds of short stories - including the counterculture classic The Man They Couldn't Erase - Carp pushed the boundaries of literary respectability for the sci-fi genre and his readers' perception of reality itself... until decades of amphetamine abuse and Southern California excess finally ended a mind-bending career that always just escaped mainstream success. He died in 1982.Until 2025... when Benjamin J. Carp awakens, alive, in a burned-out motel on the fringes of Los Angeles. He remembers dying. He knows he shouldn't exist. Is he a dream? A robot? A ghost? A clone? A simulation? In his own time, Carp pondered all of these scenarios through his fiction - and now, as he treks from Studio City to Venice Beach and onward into the paranoid sprawl of 21st-century Los Angeles, he will be called to investigate his greatest mystery yet: himself. From Edgar Award nominee and Philip K. Dick Award winner Ben H. Winters (EC's Cruel Universe, The Last Policeman trilogy) and rising star Leomacs (EC's Epitaphs from the Abyss, Ghostlore) comes a uniquely fascinating and hilariously deranged excursion into the metatextual nexus, where existence and oblivion, past and future, genius and madness, and glitter and grim reality all meet just beyond Hollywood Boulevard.

Writer: Ben H. Winters

Artist: Leomacs

Colorist: Luca Bertele

Letterer: Becca Carey

WHAT IS IT?

This 104 page hardcover collects all three-issues of the Benjamin series released by Oni Press last year. It tells the story of a famous science fiction writer who wakes up in a hotel room with no idea how he got there. His name is Benjamin J. Carp, and he quickly realizes that decades have passed since his last memory. Worse, the last thing he remembers was his own death.

All that could be a tough thing to process, but luckily Carp quickly concludes that as a "man of consequence" it makes perfect sense that has been returned to life for an unknown but cosmically important reason. Carp then sets out to discover what the reason for his resurrection is. In this he is assisted by his new friend Marcus, a hotel employee who takes an interest in this odd man claiming to be a dead writer.

WHAT WORKS?

Ben H. Winters set out to write a story that riffed on the life and ideas of Philip K. Dick, and succeeded in channeling some of the legendary author's most celebrated qualities...as well as some of his most frustrating ones! Dick's books question the nature of reality itself, and rarely provide simple or direct answers. So too with BENJAMIN

The relationship between Benjamin and Marcus is entertaining and authentic. Their journey to discover Carp's reason for returning works because we buy into their unlikely friendship, and watching the two of them uncover the puzzle together is deeply satisfying.

The art by Leomacs, Bertele and Carey is a perfect fit. They give Benjamin's world a grounded and slightly seedy facade, but then are able to deftly pull off the trippy visuals and mood shifts needed when the story gets weird. (Spoiler alert: the story does get weird.)

WHAT DOESN'T WORK?

The story itself is a home run. As a fan of high-concept sci-fi this was a joy to read. I have no notes at all. If I have to nitpick, I would admit that in a hardcover edition I would like to get a bit of additional material (other than some variant covers). Maybe an article by Winters talking about his favorite classic SF stories? Or some additional insight into how the idea for this comic came about?

WHY SHOULD I READ IT?

People who enjoy the trippy and philosophical SF of the 60s and 70s will probably have a good time reading BENJAMIN as well. Its fast-paced, mostly non-violent, and messes with your mind in the way good science fiction should.

HOW DO I BUY IT?

Click one of these:

Simon & Schuster Website: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Benjamin/Ben-H-Winters/9798894880204

Find a Local Comic Shop: https://www.comicshoplocator.com/