The announcement of Exploit made us stop and reread the description twice because this one feels dangerously close to reality.

Exploit #1
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Writers: Tim Leong, Laura Hudson
Artist: Emiliana Pinna
Colorist: Rebecca Good
Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic
Release date: March 4, 2026

We are not familiar with the creative team yet, but the premise alone was enough to hook us. Exploit is a four issue technothriller that leans into journalism, digital paranoia, and the uncomfortable power imbalance between media, tech, and billionaires. The fact that it is written by people with real newsroom experience immediately makes it more intriguing and gives the story a sense of authenticity.

The series follows Kirby, a journalism intern who finally gets her moment when she uncovers a major secret about a powerful tech figure and publishes it. What follows spirals far beyond anything she expected, pulling her, her isolated roommate, and a struggling magazine staff into a violent and chaotic fallout. It sounds like a story about truth having consequences, especially when the people you expose have unlimited money and influence.

What really sold us is the tone. Exploit is described as having a pop punk energy with roots in 90s zine culture, which makes it feel rebellious, loud, and a little messy in a way we appreciate. That mix of DIY rage, surveillance anxiety, and collapsing media institutions feels very now and honestly a bit too relatable.

Exploit is set to release on March 4, 2026, and even going in mostly blind, this feels like the kind of series that could surprise us in a big way. It sounds angry, current, and fueled by lived experience, which is often where the most interesting stories come from.