Out of all the alternative histories in fantasy and sci-fi, steampunk is arguably one of the most recognizable because, well, there’s usually an overabundance of steam in places where it doesn't belong. Writers Josh Blaylock and Travis Hymel could have added to the heavily saturated steampunk genre when creating their own series, but instead decided to invent their own in ArkWorld by Devil’s Due Publishing. Called Archeopunk, the genre borrows a formula similar to steampunk’s, except rather than characters from the distant past or future utilizing steam as their main source of energy, people from a world similar to ancient Egypt are blessed with futuristic technology.
For example, the people in ArkWorld still believe in Gods (though the Gods have apparently abandoned them), have Egyptian names, wear ancient Egyptian-styled jewelry, call adults their elders and attend to cats with unnaturally pointy ears and massive, protruding fangs like bobcats. But these same people use technology that would not be out of place in a sci-fi comic, though most of their designs are deeply rooted in ancient Egyptian culture, like pyramid-shaped alarm clocks, an electricity power system called the Pyramid System, so-called comms that look like ATMs but display Egyptian runes, old Egyptian-styled temples that can float in mid-air, and flying vessels (though half the world apparently still travels in wooden boats).
And while the natives still build pyramids, they have technology that can shape tons of rock into perfect cubes and lift them with so-called resonance pucks and (floating) monitors. Oh, and there are cellphones in addition to weapons called E-Rods that first must be charged in the ground before they can shoot out deadly streams of electricity.
Much like the confusing amalgamation of unrelated elements that make up this world, a litany of seemingly unrelated events transpires in ArkWorld's debut issue. First, a construction worker from modern times falls into a pit filled with ancient ruins. Next, an ancient Egyptian man wakes up in a futuristic room from what appears to be a tomb but might actually be some sort of stasis pod. Then, an adult from an average family meets his girlfriend’s mother before getting caught up in the middle of some massive conspiracy: His girlfriend is captured and her mother is possibly killed over some “codes.” Meanwhile, there’s a saboteur of an unknown operation taking place in the present day.
Convoluted storylines aside, it appears as though ArkWorld's is the first of its kind to combine the world of the ancient Egyptians with sci-fi, much like how only a few video games have truly taken advantage of the many compelling stories and fascinating creatures from Egyptian mythology. And, no, the fact that Marvel made X-Men's Cyclops a descendant of the Egyptian pharaohs does not count.