Why am I passionate about this?

I am a lifelong reader of science fiction and fantasy from all eras, coming from a family that was obsessed with both science and speculative fiction. I am the co-creator of Forbidden Futures magazine, the world’s only full color, fully illustrated genre fiction periodical, and I have been writing and publishing science fiction and horror comics, art, and stories for over four decades. I have contributed to the worlds of Star Wars, Aliens VS Predator, Dungeons and Dragons, DC and MARVEL comics, and The Wheel Of Time. I am an instructor teaching fantasy illustration, comics, and graphic novel writing at The Academy of Art University in San Francisco.


I wrote

Book cover of The Earthlings

What is my book about?

Ever wonder what happens after the aliens invade, conquer us, and then leave us behind to fend for ourselves… Mike…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Dawn

Mike Dubisch Why did I love this book?

This series imagines that the earth has already been destroyed by human beings when an alien species arrives and manages to bring a small group of humans back from the verge of death.

The hook is, these aliens have revived humans in order to merge with them genetically—That is, to become a third gender in human biology, essential to human mating and reproduction.

I loved this series because it imagines a universe and a future so different from anything we’ve experienced, and yet explores and deconstructs the most basic of human behaviors.

By Octavia E. Butler,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked Dawn as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'One of the most significant literary artists of the twentieth century' JUNOT DIAZ

'Octavia Butler was playing out our very real possibilities as humans. I think she can help each of us to do the same' GLORIA STEINEM

One woman is called upon to reconstruct humanity in this hopeful, thought-provoking novel by the bestselling, award-winning author. For readers of Margaret Atwood, Toni Morrison and Ursula K. Le Guin.

When Lilith lyapo wakes in a small white room with no doors or windows, she remembers a devastating war, and a husband and child long lost to her.

She finds herself living…


Book cover of The Face of the Waters

Mike Dubisch Why did I love this book?

In this book the people and families of a human penal colony on a water-covered alien world are driven from their homes and into open waters after offending the indigenous alien species.

Out in the planet-wide ocean on a flotilla of ships, they encounter bizarre creatures and odd experiences. As the community falls apart, individuals come together, but ultimately, they will find that the planet itself is guiding them towards total unity.

This book will make you consider the bond between all living creatures, the need for forgiveness and progress forward, and succumbing to what is inevitable.

By Robert Silverberg,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Face of the Waters as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"This is hard sci-fi done right." -Publishers Weekly (starred review). "One of the enduring classics of science fiction." -George R.R. Martin

Deep in the future, natives of the planet Hydros, an ocean planet whose inhabitants live on artificial floating islands, force the entire human population of the island of Sorve into exile, leaving the outcasts to ponder their fate, their past, and the true purpose of humanity.

After a human offense against the natives of Hydros, the human population of the island of Sorve are ordered to leave. Forbidden on all other islands, in a flotilla of ships they seek…


Book cover of Singularity

Mike Dubisch Why did I love this book?

Twin boys arrive at their late uncle’s cabin ahead of their parents and make a remarkable discovery: When their dog gets into the metal lined one room outbuilding on the property, the boys discover the animal long dead inside, and they realize that, while in the sparce little room, time moves much faster.

When the two brothers, already at odds, begin a rivalry over the neighbor girl, one twin decides to spend a night in the room, a decision that will change their lives forever.

This is one of those stories that stays with you, and makes you ask what you would have done in the same situation as the characters in the book. Add to that a dash of cosmic horror, the fear of the unknown creeping up on you while you question the nature of time and the definition of self.

By William Sleator,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Singularity as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

Identical twins Barry and Harry Krasner are house-sitting at their great-uncle's Midwest farm.  It's peaceful at first, but soon they realize there's something about the farmhouse that makes locals stay far away.  The twins are sure that the locked shed out back is their reason why – but what they find there is more shocking than anything they could have imagined.


Book cover of Scum of the Earth

Mike Dubisch Why did I love this book?

In this novel, human beings have been nearly wiped out and scattered throughout the galaxy when a drug derived from our unusual binary brains becomes the most sought-after recreational narcotic in the universe. 

One human woman and her ragtag crew might be able to save the human race—so long as she can keep straight which reality is real: the one where she plays the hero, or the one where she’s the victim.

A wild, neo-pulp ride through a world like Star Wars crossed with the underground ZAP! Comix, the ending will punch you in the gut and remind you why we flee to fictional worlds.

By Cody Goodfellow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Scum of the Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THEY CAME TO RAID... THEY STAYED TO GET LAID!

For centuries, alien drug-runners plundered the Earth, harvesting organs and freebasing fear. Few drugs could match the potency of humanity's dysfunctional two-stroke brains, so the Intergalactic Enforcement Force burned it down.

Now, the last scattered, ragtag pockets of humanity strewn across a hundred backwater worlds are the most sought-after cash crop in the universe, and their only hope lies in the unsteady, oversexed hands of a pirate crew of intergalactic trash under the command of a devious cutthroat nymphomaniac known as Callista Chrome.

But to save the unworthy human race, Callista…


Book cover of A Maze of Death

Mike Dubisch Why did I love this book?

This story imagines a human colony on an alien world that is both terrifying and surreal. 

One by one the colonists meet strange fates or murder each other, until they all wake up to discover the entire sequence of events was a virtual reality—a diversion designed to occupy them while awaiting an unlikely rescue from otherwise certain doom. However, elements from the virtual reality escape into the waking world, leading to salvation for at least one of the voyagers.

This book will keep you guessing right up to the end, and beyond, making the reader consider what is real, what is religion, and what do we want most out of life.

By Philip K Dick,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Maze of Death as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From Hugo Award–winning author Philip K. Dick, A Maze of Death is a sci-fi murder mystery set on a mysterious planet where colonists experience unexplained shifts in reality and perception.

Delmak-O is a dangerous planet. Though there are only fourteen citizens, no one can trust anyone else and death can strike at any moment. The planet is vast and largely unexplored, populated mostly by gelatinous cube-shaped beings that give cryptic advice in the form of anagrams. Deities can be spoken to directly via a series of prayer amplifiers and transmitters, but they may not be happy about it.

And the…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of The Earthlings

What is my book about?

Ever wonder what happens after the aliens invade, conquer us, and then leave us behind to fend for ourselves… Mike Dubisch has envisioned that Forbidden Future in his illustrated novelette The Earthlings!

Abandoned by their gods! Forsaken by their overseers! Discover a world where humanity has been bioengineered by alien gods into a diverse array of new races, ranging from the minuscule to the colossal, in The Earthlings! When the alien overseers vanished one fateful morning, the humans were left to confront a daunting new reality. Experience a thrilling adventure in this gripping illustrated novelette by Mike Dubisch!

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Book cover of What You Made Me Do

Barbara Gayle Austin Author Of What You Made Me Do

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What is my book about?

Willem and Jurriaan have a miserable childhood thanks to their cruel, controlling mother—Louisa Veldkamp, a world-renowned pianist. Dad turns a blind eye. One day, Louisa vanishes without a trace during a family vacation.

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What is this book about?

An expectant mother gets more than she bargained for when she marries into a seemingly perfect family in this gripping debut novel–a must read for fans of A. J. Finn and B. A. Paris.

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