Empty Zone - Volume One: Conversations with the Dead (Image)
One hundred years in the future Earth is recovering from a long period of blackout caused by massive solar flares. Due to the chaos caused by the death of all electronics, technology has only marginally advanced over the last century.
Corinne is an ex-soldier plagued by regret, bad dreams, nightmares. Afflicted by visions of her fallen comrades, drink and drugs provide a temporary reprieve to her psychological pain. Corinne is a data courier; the only secure way to transfer important data in this future is to do so physically - electronic means are too vulnerable. Her unique nanomachine enhancements afford the ability to transfer data from other 'mules' to herself simply via touch; an ability highly prized by the black market. Corinne's nightmares become all too real when she encounters a mechanically reanimated corpse, seemingly possessed by the soul of one of her former comrades. The ghosts of her dead friends deliver a message to Corinne's data core that turns her onto the path to redemption.
Empty Zone is a gory exploration of guilt in a dark dystopian sci-fi future, cleverly entwined with supernatural themes. The distinct art style helps bring across the bleakness of both the characters and the world (though that is not to say it isn't colourful) while visually emphasising the moments of violence. If you are a fan of Deus Ex, Blade Runner or Cyberpunk in general, this is well worth picking up.
Disenchanted - Volume One (Avatar)
Where do the glamoured go when mankind forgets about them? Goblins, Faeries, Leprechauns, Boggarts, Brownies and Kobolds; all end up in Vermintown. A sprawling, bustling metropolis constructed from cans, bottles, cardboard packets and pipes. Driven from their ancestral homelands by the Vastfolk's (mankind's) relentless expansion into and destruction of forests and woodlands, many fey folk have migrated to Vermintown on promises of an easy life away from the old ways. In the slums of Vermintown the ancient traditional ways of magic have given way to vice, violence, drugs and sleaze.
Stote, newly elected as Wayfinder (community leader) struggles to provide for his two sons, Fig and Tael, following the death of his wife. Born into Vermintown, Fig and Stote have never known life in the outside world, learning about their people's traditions from the elders Tibitha and Noro (who have themselves now become cynical). Stote's troubles can only worsen when Fig is lured away into working for the Spinners gang, the gang responsible for distributing the dangerous new drug 'Whine' onto the streets of Vermintown.
Disenchanted is an interesting re imagining of the fairytale mythos, bringing them into the modern age and successfully mirroring a range of real world issues and themes. Identity, drug abuse, gangs, racism, poverty and family are all explored here. Under the outlandish setting is a story that could just as easily work in a more mundane setting; the magic and fantastic elements simply build on the solid narrative foundation.
As an aside, the setting of Vermintown would make a fantastic Necromunda-esque gang centric wargame. The opportunity to build some terrain out of old bean cans and cola bottles is really quite unique. Playing games between the Vermintown Police and street gangs would be fun to play and would definitely look unique! Sometime in the future I'd like to attempt at turning this setting into a game.
I Hate Fairyland - Volume One: Madly Ever After (Image)
I Hate Fairyland is what you get if you take an axe to Alice in Wonderland. Fairyland is a fantastic realm, full of cuddly creatures, talking stars and colourful landscapes, ruled over by the friendly, caring Queen Cloudia. Fairyland readily accepted a little girl named Gertrude as their guest.
Fairyland wasn't ready for Gertrude.
What started as a simple fun adventure (that should have taken a couple of days at most) to find the magical key that would lead Gertrude back home again has turned into a 27 year long nightmare (both for Gertrude and the inhabitants of Fairyland). Gertrude now murders her way across Fairyland, violently dealing with anything blocking her path towards her goal of finding the key. Queen Cloudia has finally had enough of Gertrude terrorising Fairyland and now desperately seeks an answer to the child's rampage.
Fairyland is a funny, witty and colourful distortion of all the fairy-tale and fantasy tropes we know and love. The visual gags are plentiful and clever, many panels contain humorous background elements or are just so overtly gory as to be funny. The change of Gertrude's guide, Larrigon Wentsworth III (or Larry to his friends), from a bright eyed enthusiastic fairy to a chain smoking depressed wreck is tragically amusing.
If there's one thing I've learnt about Fairyland, it's that you really don't want to be a narrator.
Tokyo Ghost - Volume One: Atomic Garden (Image)
Debbie Decay and Led Dent are Constables (private corporate enforcers) in Los Angeles, 2089. Nano-tech is omnipresent; almost the entire populace is addicted to technology. The 'Net is beamed directly into people's heads: adverts, shows, video games, pornography, even spam is all transmitted through their 'nano-pacs'. Pumped up on mind altering chemicals, many become entirely oblivious to the world around them, forgetting the violence, decay and hedonism surrounding them, lost in an artificial cyber reality.
Debbie, like her father was, is one of the few tech-free individuals - free to see the world for what it really is. Having witnessed her partner Led fall deeper and deeper into tech addiction, she is determined to bring back the man she once knew. When the pair are sent to Tokyo by Mr Flak of FlakPlanet to disable the EMP device shielding the city (to enable the subsequent plunder of its resources) they discover a utopia. Tokyo is overgrown, its inhabitants returned to the old ways of Bushido, living free of technology, respecting the earth rather than exploiting it. Living among this community Led begins to recover his identity, rekindling his relationship with Debbie. Inevitably such a paradise cannot last - the world they left will always catch up with them.
Tokyo Ghost is a poignant allegory to the modern development of 'screen addiction' our society is currently undergoing, if taken to an extreme. Many of us are indeed addicted to our smart phones, computers and tablets, spending hours per day glued to a screen feeding our brains with extraneous garbage. Comparison can be made to the Pixar film 'WALL-E', both share share some similar themes; criticism of capitalism, addiction to and reliance upon technology and the loss of humanity as a result. Both narratives deal with recovering from such addiction and the rediscovery of the outside world.
I just compared a hyper violent dystopian mature science fiction comic to a Pixar movie. You don't get to do that very often!
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