Meet The Kinetix - a team of unlikely tweenage heroes. When they discover the mysterious glowing orb hidden beneath their school, these sixth graders discover they've been chosen to defend Earth from the evil overlord, Gravitron. No pressure. Now, Joules, Bobby, Rosario, and Daryl must balance homework, crushes, bullies and saving the world. Together, they'll uncover hidden strengths, face their fears, and learn that being different isn't a weakness... it's what makes them super. Bursting with humor, heart, and high-powered adventure, this full-color graphic novel is perfect for fans of The Last Kids on Earth, Epic Zero, and The Goonies. Because every kid deserves a hero they can see themselves in. Austin Basis (Author) is an actor, writer, producer, and artist from Brooklyn, NY. He also advocates for children with Type 1 Diabetes as a Celebrity Ambassador and Los Angeles Board Member for Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF). After graduating The Actors Studio Drama School with an MFA, Austin became a lifetime member of The Actors Studio. He relocated to Los Angeles in 2005 as his career became more successful. Most notably, Austin was a major recurring character on the final season of the Emmy-winning series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. He made a home on The CW with shows like People's Choice Award-winning Beauty and the Beast, Life Unexpected and Supernatural. He also starred in the Warner Bros. web series GHOSTFACERS. Other TV credits include Curb Your Enthusiasm, Grey's Anatomy, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Homeland, How To Get Away With Murder, LAW & ORDER: Criminal Intent, and Lucifer, among others. His major film credits include J. Edgar, Daruma, The Other End of the Line, My Sassy Girl, American Zombie, Boxboarders!, Dorian Blues, and the upcoming film MIMICS (Feb. 2026). Austin met Dave Maulbeck and Josh Taub doing improv at the N.Y. Comedy Club. They went on to co-create and perform in a weekly improv/sketch show called Mmm...Comedy. They've since collaborated on multiple projects leading up to The KINETIX - one of which was a children's book called Zoo's On First. Austin is also a published poet and has a collection of poems and drawings called An Actor Without an Audience: Poetry for Artists, Lovers and Everymen released in 2011. www.AustinBasis.com Dave Maulbeck is a multi-hyphenate artist - an actor, writer, illustrator, and producer. A storyteller whose work spans stage, screen, and page, Dave is thrilled to bring his background in performance and visual art together in The Kinetix and The Glowing Orb of Gorthon alongside longtime collaborators Josh Taub and Austin Basis. Diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade, the story of The Kinetix is a deeply personal one for Dave-an exploration of empowerment, identity, and finding strength in what makes us different. As an actor, Dave has appeared on Law & Order: SVU, HBO's The Flight Attendant, the feature film A Complete Unknown, and in numerous independent films and national commercials. Onstage, he's been a fixture at Vivid Stage in New Jersey, where he serves as Director of Improv and leads the company's multimedia projects, including podcasts, web series, and feature films. As an illustrator, Dave is known for emotional, character-driven artwork that explores imagination, humor, and human connection. In addition to The Kinetix, he illustrated the children's book Zoo's On First and continues to develop projects that merge his love of drawing, performance, and storytelling. Dave lives in South Orange, New Jersey, with his wife, Maribeth, and their two children. See more of his work at DaveMaulbeck.com. Josh Taub broke into TV production at the FUSE network in 2002, and quickly worked his way up the ranks to producer - writing scripts and overseeing broadcasted segments. It wasn't long before Josh co-founded his first production company in 2005, and sold the mockumentary-style TV show, "The P.A.", as a third-party production to, none other than, FUSE. In 2007, Josh founded Run Amuck Productions, which produced the mini-pilot, "Living The Dream", featuring well-known comedian Robert Kelly, and the full-length documentary feature film, "Bernadette" - about a beautiful and amazing young woman living with a degenerative muscle disorder called Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. Josh has since worked as senior copywriter for Taubwriter.com, and co-produced a number of projects with his mates, Dave Maulbeck and Austin Basis, under Behind the Bag! Productions. In addition to the projects listed above, the three have collaborated on "The People's Republic of Improv", "The Bathroom Manager", and "Bernie's Wonder Years", among others, and have been in talks with studios and networks about several of these projects.