THOUGHT BUBBLE MONTH 2026! Last year at Broken Frontier we looked at the collection of Viraj Joshi’s Eliza – The Ghost in Every Machine, a compilation of strips exploring complex scientific and technological questions in an accessible way. The Eliza of the title was our point of reference character – a kind of elemental spirit of technology and innovation who embodies ideas of of human advancement.
Joshi’s most recent Eliza publication is Tomorrowander in which Eliza takes us on a speculative tour of potential future civilisations. In this new one-shot we are also introduced to her sibling, Avanti the spirit of progress, and how the pair have become detached as the dystopian consequences of technological development and forward movement continues to have a deleterious effect on society.
As you would imagine, Tomorrowander is a highly topical and relevant piece of comics. It touches on AI and it does not avoid the environmental impact of our wider obsession with tech. A strip on planned obsolescence, for example, spotlights the possibility of the last ever phone upgrade and how an entirely possible mobile you did not have to dispose of would reap inevitable ecological benefits.
The highlight of Tomorrowander, though, is Joshi examining and critiquing possible futures, as depicted in pop culture and the wider media. A Jetsons-style ‘Mid-Century Futurism’ or the realities of a ‘Cyberpunk’ world in the first instance, or what will happen if climate change goes unchecked or corporations have their way in the latter. It’s insightful and fascinating, throwing up points you may not have thought of and underlining Joshi’s “futures designer” status.
This is not at all lacking in hope though. Joshi also posits optimistic futures and how we could work for the betterment of humanity. Sophisticated cartooning, an intuitive sense of design, and an ability to communicate complicated concepts in an easily digestible manner make Joshi’s work, and Tomorrowander in particular, a remarkable use of the medium.
Viraj Joshi (W/A) • Self-published, £8.00
Review by Andy Oliver
Eliza – The Ghost in Every Machine/Viraj Joshi is at Table B33b in the Redshirt Hall at Thought Bubble.
Thought Bubble 2026 runs from November 9th-15th with the convention weekend taking place on the 14th-15th. More details on the Thought Bubble site here.
Read all our Thought Bubble 2026 coverage so far in one place here.
Poster art by Núria Tamarit
