TIM DISNEY IN CONVERSATION WITH TOBY SELLS: THE A.R.C.

Join us as we welcome TIM DISNEY in conversation with TOBY SELLS on SATURDAY, AUGUST 29 at 6:00 PM to celebrate the release of his new graphic novel THE A.R.C.: A VIRUS THAT KILLS YOU WHEN YOU LIE

ABOUT THE BOOK:

A satirical sci-fi graphic novel about a virus that kills when you lie -- in a world built on lies.

A lethal new virus is wreaking havoc across the globe, but this time hand sanitizer isn't going to fix it.

It begins at the Concordia Center in the Amazon, where global elites have gathered for the Global Reinvestment For Tomorrow Conference (GRFT), promising to solve climate change once and for all.

Very little problem-solving occurs before the GRFTers are infected with Amazonian Recombinant Cytoneuropathy -- the A.R.C. virus.

The virus is wildly contagious, undetectable in its dormant phase, and 100% lethal. The kicker? It's activated by lying. The GRFTers board their private jets and spread it worldwide. Chaos ensues.

The story plays out on a "sustainable" cruise ship called The Veritas, where an unlikely crew -- a single mom and her teenage daughter, a born-again preacher, a grizzled Norwegian ship captain -- must learn to survive in a world where every word could be your last. As they stumble, confess, and reach for something like honesty, the A.R.C. asks: is truth a destination or a direction?

Perfect for fans of: Don't Look Up, Contagion, The Liar Game, Y: The Last Man, and Black Mirror.

PRAISE FOR THE A.R.C.:

The A.R.C. is some of the best satire you will find. It's smart, funny and ruthless. No prisoners are taken. It's also physically stunning. I am angry that I was not invited to participate in the making of this book, but it's clear that the artists knew exactly what there doing. This work appears now when we need it, in the tradition of MAD, National Lampoon and Ramparts, it is humor for thinking people. And for folks like me, too.
-Percival Everett - Pulitzer Prize Winning Author

"Bitterly funny and staunchly anti-bullshit, a tale of truth, injustice, and a decidedly American Way. " 
- Cory Doctorow , author of " Enshittification " and " Red Team Blues ."

"The A.R.C. is a sharp, funny, and beautifully drawn satire about our age of disinformation, and what it's doing to our politics, our planet, and our souls. I laughed, winced, and nodded all at once." 
- Rutger Bregman , historian and author of " Utopia for Realists", "Humankind" and "Moral Ambition"

"Have you ever seen an epic disaster parable with the heart of a children's story, the wit of a political satire, the bloodlust of a zombie movie, and the visionary madness of a fever dream? Me neither. Kudos to The A.R.C. for fearlessly mixing genres and tones, facts and fiction, in a blend that has no right to work, but absolutely does." 
- Alessandro Camon - Oscar nominated screenwriter and playwright, The Messenger, Time Alone, Scintilla

"Visually stunning, sharply satirical, and somehow hilarious, horrifying and hopeful all at once, The A.R.C. is the essential graphic novel for our times". 
- John Carlos Frey - 6 time Emmy Award winning Journalist

--Full of wit, satire, and brilliant anger focused right on the sources of climate change. 
- James Thornton - Environmentalist/Attorney/Author/Poet, Founding CEO of Client Earth

"Worst mistake was reading my brother's book. Second worst was agreeing in advance to write a blurb for it. Whatever...." 
- Abigail Disney - Filmaker/Activist

"The A.R.C. is a ferocious, globe-spanning graphic novel that takes aim at the parasites of the modern world--billionaires strip-mining the planet, sanctimonious pastors, phony country singers, hustling young douchebags on the make, and bigots, beefheads, and boors of every imaginable stripe. Tim Disney and JC Lacek skewer capitalist exploitation, climate catastrophe, the commercialization of everyday life, and the hollow theatrics of performative do-gooderism with equal parts rage, dark humor, and clarity of purpose. The massively talented Vincent Jolas Dubourg's artwork is a revelation on every page: kinetic, inventive, and endlessly surprising, bursting with motion and visual ideas that elevate the satire into something visceral and alive. The A.R.C. doesn't comfort or flatter--it attacks, exposes, and exhilarates. It is angry and ambitious work, unafraid to name names."

- Tom Lutz - Founding editor-in-chief and publisher of the Los Angeles Review of Books, award-winning author

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Tim Disney has produced, written, or directed multiple award-winning feature films and documentaries, which have appeared at Sundance, Telluride, SXSW, and other festivals. From 1990-1997 he served as Chairman and CEO of Virtual World Entertainment, an early pioneer of VR-based entertainment systems.  He remains an active investor in media and technology. In the not-for-profit sector he has served as trustee or advisor to multiple institutions, including Southern California Institute of Architecture, California Institute of the Arts, The Museum of Contemporary Art, and The World Resources Institute. He currently serves as Co-Director and Curator of the community art space 2413 Hyperion. Tim lives on a hill in Los Angeles with a tortoise and a teenage human.
 

ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER:

Toby Sells is a Memphis-based journalist, filmmaker, and creator of State & Beale, a media project exploring the people, places, history, food, music, and culture that make Tennessee remarkable. He is the news editor of the Memphis Flyer and is now developing a new statewide public television series about his beloved Tennessee.