|
CBG SATELLITES
The ADD Blog by Alan David Doane
|
 PLEASE SUPPORT COMIC BOOK GALAXY BY VISITING OUR SPONSORS
The Surrogates #1
The idea in this book is Virtual Self. Humans in the future have
hooked their minds up to androids that live their life for them.
They're better looking and never have to worry about health problems.
The world can now indulge in all types of pleasure and never worry
about the consequences. The real people are safe in their houses
telling these "surrogate" bodies what to do and what to feel. There's
no danger…until some weird looking baddie starts killing off these
androids while telling them to live.
So begins a crime story set in 2054, with Detectives Harvey Greer and
Pete Ford on the case (I liked the idea that all cops have to have
surrogates for protection). If this was just a police procedural with
the sci-fi twist it would perhaps be a fun read but really nothing
more. Venditti creates some great banter between the cops as they try
to solve the mystery of who is "killing" these surrogates. Wisely
Vendetti tries to have The Surrogates be much more than that.
There's a great scene where Greer is talking to his wife about having
a surrogate-free night together, although the idea sounds preposterous
to her. The killer (and we get a reveal of who is possibly behind all
the destruction) with his or her order of "live" is setting his or
herself up as a crusader against a world where there isn't any danger
or risks anymore. Perhaps that means there isn't anyone really living.
We've had plenty of stories about a lone freedom fighter up against an
oppressive society, but The Surrogates never casts anyone as a
hero and, by the first issue at least, hasn't let the narrative come
down on any one side of the debate. It's that smart ambiguity that
makes the book thought provoking.
The back of the book has features pin-ups from Duncan Fegredo, Ben
Templesmith and Becky Cloonan. After seeing the artwork of Weldele,
all the artists seem appropriate. Weldele is an artist in that same
vein of employing a very loose and sketchy feel to everything. This
makes for great atmospherics in such scenes as the rainy opening or
when the cops are reviewing the surrogates' last recordings. There
were some parts where I worried if the anatomy and facial
constructions were becoming too much a part of this loose style and
not enough of a counter-balance to it. It's not a huge problem but it
does tell us that Weldele has a lot of potential he hasn't totally
lived up to yet.
The Surrogates is a new book with new talent and while that
does mean the new talent hasn't worked all the kinks out yet, both
Weldele and Venditti are telling us that they have something exciting
here and could be well worth the attention.
-- Ian Brill
Send review copies to:
|
The appeal of science fiction, at least the appeal to me and maybe a
few others, has been that you can come upon this neat little
crossroads between imagination and thoughtful commentary on society. A
great sci-fi movie or novel can be impressive on the surface with a
glimpse of what life in the future might be like (hint: you can never
go wrong with flying cars). Yet underneath all that flash of the new
can be real ideas that speak towards a society as immediate as our
own. After all, no matter what century (or planet or alien spaceship)
you find yourself in, the human race has to deal with the same old
shit. It's the mix of human drama and a visionary outlook that can
lead to a great story. After reading the first issue of The
Surrogates I'm thinking that Venditti and Weldele just might be on
their way to such greatness.