Rising art star Rafael Grampá is bringing two comics to Dark Horse, with a new six-issue mini-series, Furry Water, and a new edition of Mesmo Delivery, his first solo book.

Furry Water is written with Daniel Pellizzari, a known SF author in their native Brazil. They describe the series as a saga of adventure and family honor set in a world where most of the population has been killed by “Furry Water,” a deadly rain. The story is set 70 years after the plague hit, and the survivors remain ignorant about the cause of the devastation.

Against this backdrop, we meet the Nobunagas, a family of outlaws who are leading an insurrection against an oppressive regime. Four brothers and a sister are searching for the fifth brother, who may or may not exist and who holds the secret of Furry Water and humankind’s future salvation.

Grampá and Pellizzari knew each other in Brazil, and when Dark Horse editor Sierra Hahn suggested Grampá pitch a series idea, he decided to team up with the writer to develop an idea he’d had for a while. Although Mesmo Delivery (originally published by AdHouse) got him a lot of attention, he knew he needed to create a longer series.

The names of the Nobunaga family are Kazuo, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Jackie, and they’re searching for the missing one, Michael. Grampá laughs that they had planned this little pop culture in-joke long before current events made it even more pointed, but according to Grampá “even though everyone will think we’re cashing in, I wanted to keep it in.”

The duo say the story will be very different from the usual bleak post-Apocalyptic Mad Max tale. “It’s an anti-Mad Max,” says Grampá. “Everyone is very fashion conscious and wants to be as beautiful as possible.” The story will also include layers of political, religious and family drama. “It’s a book for Richard Dawkins,” joked Pellizzari, referring to the noted atheist author. “It’s about how humans create religions and create gods.”

Furry Water is planned as a 6-issue mini series for now, but if it does well, Grampá and Pellizzari have ideas for two prequels.