An illustrated SF story with skillful worldbuilding that raises intriguing ethical questions.
An alternate-history graphic novel, written by London and illustrated by Mostert, tells the story of an unlikely pair of cops investigating a complicated first case together.
In the 1980s, tech billionaires built Exit City, an “artificial island city-state” in international waters off the coast of California. Its lack of regulation quickly turned it into a hotbed for corruption and unethical experimentation. Curmudgeonly, straitlaced Exit City police Det. McCormick is partnered with loose cannon Eve Miller, much to his dismay; their very first case together is bewildering. The crime scene includes a shredded car with two dead bodies inside, but there’s no CCTV footage to be found—which, to McCormick, makes it feel more like an “operational strike” than a random killing. Miller quickly notices some eccentricities about her new colleague; for example, he talks to his inner coat pocket. She does some digging and learns that he used to be Black Ops; after a mission went wrong, he saved his team members’ neural chips, which lets him converse with their “recorded minds.” As the killing spree continues and bodies pile up—all related to one suspicious building—Miller and McCormick use their expertise to pursue separate threads of the mystery, which reveals a widespread conspiracy. London and Mostert conjure a fast-paced, immersive plot with strong worldbuilding. The narrative explains the complicated inner workings of Exit City and its ultramodern tech succinctly and engagingly, drawing readers in without getting too far into the weeds. The illustration style is well suited to the genre, but some spreads are more effective than others. The images of a killer’s murderous rampage are gory, for instance, but could have used some adjustment; when a man’s head is ripped apart in a cloud of blood, with eyeballs floating in the air, for example, it lands closer to silly than macabre. Miller and McCormick’s relationship follows a path that will be familiar to anyone who’s seen a cop drama with reluctant partners, but it still feels fresh in the context of the futuristic plot, which ably sets up further installments.
An illustrated SF story with skillful worldbuilding that raises intriguing ethical questions.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781545816974
Page Count: 88
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth.
Superman confronts racism and learns to accept himself with the help of new friends.
In this graphic-novel adaptation of the 1940s storyline entitled “The Clan of the Fiery Cross” from The Adventures of Superman radio show, readers are reintroduced to the hero who regularly saves the day but is unsure of himself and his origins. The story also focuses on Roberta Lee, a young Chinese girl. She and her family have just moved from Chinatown to Metropolis proper, and mixed feelings abound. Jimmy Olsen, Lois Lane’s colleague from the Daily Planet, takes a larger role here, befriending his new neighbors, the Lees. An altercation following racial slurs directed at Roberta’s brother after he joins the local baseball team escalates into an act of terrorism by the Klan of the Fiery Kross. What starts off as a run-of-the-mill superhero story then becomes a nuanced and personal exploration of the immigrant experience and blatant and internalized racism. Other main characters are White, but Black police inspector William Henderson fights his own battles against prejudice. Clean lines, less-saturated coloring, and character designs reminiscent of vintage comics help set the tone of this period piece while the varied panel cuts and action scenes give it a more modern sensibility. Cantonese dialogue is indicated through red speech bubbles; alien speech is in green.
A clever and timely conversation on reclaiming identity and acknowledging one’s full worth. (author’s note, bibliography) (Graphic fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77950-421-0
Page Count: 240
Publisher: DC
Review Posted Online: Feb. 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Immensely enjoyable.
The debut graphic novel from Mohamed presents a modern Egypt full of magical realism where wishes have been industrialized and heavily regulated.
The story opens with a televised public service announcement from the General Committee of Wish Supervision and Licensing about the dangers of “third-class wishes”—wishes that come in soda cans and tend to backfire on wishers who aren’t specific enough (like a wish to lose weight resulting in limbs falling from the wisher’s body). Thus begins a brilliant play among magic, the mundane, and bureaucracy that centers around a newsstand kiosk where a devout Muslim is trying to unload the three “first-class wishes” (contained in elegant glass bottles and properly licensed by the government) that have come into his possession, since he believes his religion forbids him to use them. As he gradually unloads the first-class wishes on a poor, regretful widow (who then runs afoul of authorities determined to manipulate her out of her valuable commodity) and a university student who seeks a possibly magical solution to their mental health crisis (but struggles with whether a wish to always be happy might have unintended consequences), interstitials give infographic histories of wishes, showing how the Western wish-industrial complex has exploited the countries where wishes are mined (largely in the Middle East). The book is exceptionally imaginative while also being wonderfully grounded in touching human relationships, existential quandaries, and familiar geopolitical and socio-economic dynamics. Mohamed’s art balances perfectly between cartoon and realism, powerfully conveying emotions, and her strong, clean lines gorgeously depict everything from an anguished face to an ornate bottle. Charts and graphs nicely break up the reading experience while also concisely building this larger world of everyday wishes. Mohamed has a great sense of humor, which comes out in footnotes and casual asides throughout.
Immensely enjoyable.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-524-74841-8
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Pantheon
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
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