If you enjoyed To Terra, or are simply curious about the Magnificent 49ers’ work, you’ll want to check out the Vertical website. Their dedicated team of web ninjas just posted a spiffy-looking new page for Keiko Takemiya’s three-volume Andromeda Stories. The site is a no-frills affair featuring cover art, a brief excerpt from volume one, and this pithy summary:

Andromeda Stories is a fantasy tale that invokes The Matrix and The Dark Crystal. It examines themes of man versus machine, and the inescapable grip of destiny.

The preview is both gorgeous and ridiculous–in a good way. I’ve never before seen a representation of the Big Bang at which cherubs were present (perhaps that mural was relegated to a more obscure corner of the Sistine Chapel?), but Takemiya makes it seem utterly natural. She even stamps her imprimatur on a fantasy-planet landscape, populating it with sand dragons and cute teens in Bedouin tribal costumes. Boy, do I love Takemiya.

Volume one hits stores on September 11th, with volumes two and three shipping in December 2007 and March 2008, respectively.