A taut, visually rich series starter that promises exhilarating SF thrills to come.
In this graphic novel set in the near future, an agent confronts a rogue artificial intelligence with the aid of another, equally unstable AI.
When a passenger on an Atlanta bus falls ill with an unknown disease, Hippocrates, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s AI, reroutes the vehicle to a hospital. However, it goes well beyond its programming when it effectively imprisons the riders and cuts off their communications. The Rapid Response Artificial Intelligence Division (R.A.I.D.) sends an assault squad on a mission to obliterate Hippocrates, which demands to be connected to another AI. Soon, R.A.I.D. Special Agent Frank Savage shows up with an AI called Pandora, which once seduced Frank in a virtual reality setting and currently resides in a glowing, quarantined box. AIs aren’t allowed to communicate with one another, as they could form a superintelligence. However, if Frank, acting as a go-between, can keep the AIs separate while managing Hippocrates’ continuing demands, he may reach a peaceful resolution. Writer Sable’s deceptively simple narrative blends an intriguing cast with engaging backstories; there’s Frederic Roehm, who created a VR called Elysium and who would rather see Hippocrates “boxed” than destroyed. There are also brief, informative flashbacks covering Frank’s recruitment into R.A.I.D. and his involvement with a project that went belly up. Haun’s artwork sublimely depicts a world of huge screens, uncanny VR, bursts of action, and distinctive characters; Pandora appears to a linked Frank as a voluptuous redheaded woman, and Hippocrates’ talking head, appearing on various monitors, often looks unnerving and maniacal. As this is the first volume in a series, many questions linger, including details about an especially cool, mysterious character—although several clues point to who it is.
A taut, visually rich series starter that promises exhilarating SF thrills to come.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9781545821664
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Mad Cave Studios
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life.
Wondrous visitors encounter a desperate pocket of humanity.
Lori, a white orphaned teen who’s finally been adopted after bouncing around various foster homes, awakens to discover that nearly everyone has disappeared. The rapture? Maybe. She runs into her classmate Annette, who has brown skin and curly black hair, and they partner up to scavenge for food. The pair tries to evade several threats, such as the large Wolves and a gang called The Dogs. Supernatural Giants arrive, seemingly from space, speaking an impenetrable language of “musical chiming and weird bass-rhythms.” Lori and Annette then meet Beatrice, an older white woman who shares important observations about the Giants and Wolves. The tone of the story then subtly shifts from post-apocalyptic desperation to one that’s somewhat playful. After a certain point, a visual element that appears early on takes on clear significance and meaning in the context of the story at large, offering a subversively humorous twist for readers to consider and a creative element that deviates from other alien invasion narratives. Hans’ artwork and paneling fill each scene with wonders. An interaction with a giant sees the red, violet, and pink figure standing against a bright, otherworldly white-and-blue backdrop with dark contours. Elsewhere, Lori and Annette pause at night as they behold ominous shadows, their foggy breath forming clouds, and they hear a “KRRNCH” sound. The quick-moving plot wraps everything up neatly.
Lush visuals bring this thoughtfully constructed tale to life. (character designs) (Graphic science fiction. 14-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781534387072
Page Count: 104
Publisher: Image Comics
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
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
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