Bad Influence is a new manga-style sci-fi series from Webtoon. Created as a collaboration between HiHi Studios (co-founded by streamer Valkyrae and Range Media’s Kai Gayoso) and start-up Otherly Productions, Bad Influence follows a woman named Nel who rebels against the oppressive regime ruling over her dystopian home. As the series makes its debut on Webtoon, IGN can exclusively debut the entire first issue for your reading pleasure.
Check out the slideshow gallery below to read Bad Influence #1:
Bad Influence is drawn by artist Jor Ros and co-written by Orson James and Roman Calais. Here's Webtoon's official summary of Bad Influence:
In Bad Influence, the city of Weisshorn is a surveillance city, where life is a never-ending parade–literally. Mascots smile from every screen, propaganda loops in cheery jingles, and the people are kept docile by distraction. At the center of it all is Oswald, a charismatic dictator with a showman’s flair and a deep need to control the story everyone lives inside.
The series follows the adventures of Nel — a hot-headed and haunted young woman, who isn’t buying the dream sold to the masses. Nel joins a rebel gang to take the system down. But the deeper she digs, the weirder it gets. She unearths glitches, ghosts, and truths that no one wants uncovered. Reality’s falling apart. And Nel might be next.
“BAD INFLUENCE is about a reluctant rebel fighting back against the system,” said James in a statement. “Weisshorn is a broad-smiling dystopia where control is asserted through entertainment. The system doesn't just rule with fear — it distracts, dazzles, and scripts your life through spectacle. If everyone’s smiling, how bad can it be? It’s the surveillance state dressed up as a theme park.”
“Nel’s rebellion is an act of self-discovery,” added Calais. “Nel isn’t just fighting the regime — she’s trying to figure out who she is beneath the roles she’s been forced into. Life in Weisshorn is a mess of lies and trauma, and Nel’s ready to break out. But she’s not the chosen one. She feels lost, confused. Nel carries herself like a fighter, but behind that is a young woman patching over the cracks of doubt and insecurity with stubbornness and sheer will. And, in this world, holding it together might be the most radical act of all.”
The first three chapters of the series are now available as part of the Webtoon Originals program, with new chapters to follow each Thursday.
In other comic book news, the Phillipe Labaune Gallery is showcasing the work of Paul Pope, and DC has revealed the many variant covers for September's Batman #1 relaunch.
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