What is Drugs and Wires?

The year is 1995.

Grunge and alt-rock dominate the airwaves. Floppy disks are still the storage medium of choice. The mainstream media can’t shut up about this amazing new thing called the “Information Superhighway.” And in the shadows of glittering megacities, a loose alliance of cyber-anarchists, techno-pagans, and razorgirls is waging covert war against power-hungry corporations, sinister governments, and injustice and corruption in all of its forms.

This is not their story.

No, this is the story of Dan, pissy misanthrope and recovering VR junkie, now condemned to a dead-end job delivering sketchy packages in a post-Soviet urban hellhole.

This is the story of Lin, a cybernetics installer who treats concepts like “anesthesia” and “disinfectant” as annoying inconveniences, and likes to soundtrack life-altering surgeries with Cannibal Corpse.

And above all, this is the story of what happens when the future that never was meets the past that we occasionally poke fun at on VH1. Welcome to Drugs and Wires.

No, seriously, what is Drugs and Wires?

Drugs and Wires is an ongoing webcomic created by Mary Safro aka Cryo (original premise, art, writing, drug research) and Io Black (writing, editing, plot development). It doubles up as a sequel to Dreamspace, a trilogy of motion comics published between 2013 and 2014.

As of 2022 Mary works on scripting and sketching with Io Black providing some additional material, Michael Sexton does final inks and colors.

So, do I have to have read Dreamspace to understand this comic?

Nope. While Drugs and Wires picks up after the conclusion of Dreamspace, it’s ultimately intended to stand on its own. But if you haven’t read Dreamspace yet, why not take a few minutes to check it out? Word of warning: The comic features some flashing animation.

Who should read Drugs and Wires?

Fans of old-school cyberpunk, over-the-top human misery, dubious ’90s nostalgia, outdated technology, dark humor, and entertainment you don’t have to pay for.

Who shouldn’t read Drugs and Wires?

This comic is not recommended to any reader likely to be offended by unapologetic drug use, body horror, questionable medical practices, existential angst, or unflattering portrayals of Slavic banana republics. In other words, proceed at your own risk.

I’m caught up with Drugs & Wires and I want more!

Great news - D&Wverse has produced a few spin-offs over the years.

If you’ve read Dreamspace, you might enjoy short strips and one-panel throwaways Mary worked on back in the olden days - though most of them aren’t canon by now.

We’ve also released Blue Pill Arcade, a 100+ page D&W prequel based in 1993 and centered around Dan and Eve’s relationship and early VR scene in general.

Finally there’s Dates & Wires, a visual novel/disaster dating sim where you can attempt to date Stradania’s least eligible bachelors and learn a bit of extra lore in the process.

Of course there’s also our Discord where you can hang with other readers and discuss latest updates.

How do I support you?

Drugs & Wires relies on its community and any help is appreciated! If you like our comic, helps us grow – make sure you tell your friends and followers. You can support us directly by buying D&W merch and pledging on Patreon. Patreon’s a big one as it directly affects how many updates and extra material we can produce. Even $1 makes a difference (and higher pledges get you things like early updates, WIPs, access to other content and commentary.) You can also send one-time donations through Ko-Fi!