Welcome to Kloud 9!​ Kal and Cosmo are teen boys in love. It should be simple—except that Cosmo’s an alien deserter on the run from an intergalactic peacekeeping force! Kloud 9: The Star Soldier is the Top Shelf YA sci-fi debut graphic novel from author ​AJ O. Mason and illustrator ​Dominic Bustamante, releasing July 7, 2026. Kloud 9: The Star Soldier follows teenager Kal, an Earthling without much purpose in life. Cosmot’urr Col Al’neyr, or Cosmo for short, is an alien struggling to find his place in the galaxy. Sparks fly when the two meet—but when Cosmo’s past catches up with him, Kal is forced to make a choice: remain on Earth or follow his crush into the great unknown. Easy choice, right? Now they just have to navigate the dangers of outer space, a megalomaniac pseudoparent, and their growing feelings for each other. Yeah. It’s complicated.

Kloud 9: The Star Soldier will be available wherever books are sold, as a full-color softcover graphic novel (ISBN: 978-1-60309-594-5) as well as a digital edition, on July 7, 2026, for a list price of $19.99.