KILL OR BE KILLED: AWA & Vertigo’s Latest Tech-Horror One-Shot Forces a Terrible Choice
Peter Tieryas and Mike Choi explore the sinister side of social media in the next chilling entry of “The Future of Fear” collection.
Just when you thought your feed was safe again, AWA and Roy Lee’s Vertigo Entertainment are preparing to haunt your notifications with a new horror tale for the digital age. KILL OR BE KILLED, a pulse-pounding illustrated novella from acclaimed author Peter Tieryas and visionary artist Mike Choi, lands in comic shops and on digital platforms August 20, 2025—and it’s already one of the most terrifying concepts we’ve seen this year.
Part of AWA’s expanding Future of Fear collection, this one-shot takes aim at the modern hellscape of social media and artificial intelligence. The premise is devastatingly simple: you receive a mysterious message threatening the lives of your loved ones. The only way to save them? Kill a complete stranger… and livestream it.
If that premise just made your skin crawl, you’re not alone. The world of KILL OR BE KILLED imagines a near-future nightmare in which an anonymous figure dubbed The Friendship Killer turns people into unwilling participants in a sick game that spreads like a viral chain letter—from one innocent victim to the next.
“This story was inspired by our dependence on technology and the increasingly blurry lines between what’s real and artificial,” said Tieryas, who has worked in both gaming and big tech. “I wanted to explore how easily these tools, created to connect us, can be twisted into something dark and dangerous.”
Those themes come to life through Choi’s haunting visuals. A veteran of titles like X-Force and AWA’s own MOTHS, Choi renders a world both familiar and disturbingly off-kilter—where every screen could be a threat and every friend request might spell death.
“KILL OR BE KILLED burrows under your skin by making you ask what you’d do in the same situation,” said Axel Alonso, AWA’s Chief Creative Officer. “That’s the hallmark of great horror: it doesn’t just scare you—it lingers, it unsettles, it makes you think.”
The 48-page novella combines fast-paced prose with gritty, cinematic art and sharp social commentary. Fans of Black Mirror, The Ring, or the anxiety-ridden storytelling of Unfriended will find themselves right at home—and deeply uncomfortable.
Following the buzz around February’s debut title LOOK OUT, KILL OR BE KILLED continues the Future of Fearanthology, a cross-platform horror initiative from AWA and Vertigo Entertainment that’s already spawning screen adaptations. Projects from this collection are currently in development for film and TV, with KILL OR BE KILLED a prime candidate for the next horror obsession.
KILL OR BE KILLED will be available August 20, 2025, in comic shops and digital retailers everywhere. For those brave enough to answer the call, the rules are simple: kill, stream… or die.
Follow AWA Studios and Vertigo Entertainment on social media for updates—and keep one eye on your inbox. You never know when The Friendship Killer might reach out next.
