Unknown, a new comic series premiering in February from Image Comics, is the work of writer and artist Duncan Rouleau, who calls the story,

an autobiography with a “few” embellishments. The story comes from my strongly held belief that I came up with the sardonic method of ending sentences with the word “NOT!” waaay before others started saying it. I’ve had similar situations arise over the years (like my invention of jazz and the Hot Pocket) yet I still remain unsung for those diamonds as well. This got me thinking – what if a guy (like me) did come up with grand notions and someone was able to steal them before he could establish his claim? He wouldn’t be any the wiser and what he would chalk up to unfortunate timing in the zeitgeist would, in fact, be the wholesale robbery of his destiny.

Talking about the book at Comic Book Resources, Rouleau has the perfect answer to explain what made him create the series now:

I wanted to do it before someone else did.

The Great Unknown launches in February next year.

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=19293">Men On Action: Duncan Rouleau Dives Into "Great Unknown" [Comic Book Resources]

The new series — just one of many announced by Image Comics and Rouleau's studio, Man of Action (creators of Cartoon Network's hugely successful Ben 10) during last weekend's Baltimore Comic-Con — centers around a "directionless genius" who discovers that someone is literally stealing thoughts from out of his head... and decides to track down the culprit. Rouleau explained what the story is really about:

The big theme of the story is 'What defines you? The ideas in your head or the actions you take?' It’s also about piracy — intellectual piracy. And privacy. With the technological age we’re in, our humanity is being redefined and made public — ripped apart, cut up and posted on the internet. How long will it be before people go right into our minds to get that information directly — without our consent? I think that technology is only about five years away.

While we're not convinced by his Fringe-esque take on where mindreading science is right now, we're definitely looking forward to this existential whodunnit-and-what-does-who-really-mean-anyway when it premieres in comic stores next year.

Man of Action: Four New Comic Projects With Image [Comic Book Resources]