No, it’s not based on the Frederick Pohl novel.
Creative Staff:
Story and Art: André Lima Araújo
Colors: Arsia Rozegar
Letters: Tom Williams
What They Say:
The highly-anticipated Final Cut of the hit web-comics experience!
From artist/writer André Lima Araújo (Avengers AI, Ultimate FF, Age of Apocalypse) comes this high-octane dystopian thriller in which technology rules with a heavy hand, cyborg strike teams are commonplace, and the lines between man and machine grow hazier every day.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
In 2012, the Chinese multinational biotech corporation Jiquiren located a compound of labs, factories, and housing in an unsettled area of Portugal. Renamed Olissipo City by the Portugese government, this urban sprawl houses close to five million, as well as branches of other companies trying to get their foothold into the area.
This is nothing new. Mega corporations rule the world in this new status quo. Nations and states still exist, but the corporations stand as the driving force behind progress and change. Cities spring up around these corporations, making every urbanized area little more than a camp town.
It’s not quite a dystopia, but it’s certainly not paradise, either. Technology has advanced to the point where androids and off-world travel appear commonplace, and there exists a section of the police force at least partially dedicated to hunting down rogue androids. In Olissipo City, this section is called the Special Operations Force. It’s managed by a woman named Elsa Carvalho, and the field team is led by Rodrigo Borgonna.
The team is called to a crime scene. A group of cyborgs sporting military-grade tech got into a shootout with a rogue android. Several bystanders were caught in the crossfire and the android slipped away. Now the SDF and what’s left of the cyborg task force hunt the same android, and it could tear Olissipo City apart.
At least, that’s what I think. While the comic does a solid job of establishing the basic situation and the world, I’m not entirely sure what the story is just yet. That’s always an issue with episodic fiction. Because we digest it in chunks, we don’t always see the entire story until it’s over. There are enough clues to hint at what the story might be, but anything I’d write would be pure conjecture.
As I said, what the comic does well is establish the world and the scenario. The worldbuilding in this work is excellent, aided by Araújo’s vibrant art and Rozegar’s colors. There is a definite manga influence on Araújo’s art, but it’s more of an old-school influence. To my eye, most modern manga looks the same, but Araújo’s style harkens back to Masamune Shiro and Katsuhiro Otomo and even some western artists such as Frank Miller and Geoff Darrow. It fits the world and the story, although I worry that it might inspire comparisons, which I’m not certain Man Plus can survive at this point.
Maybe it’s because I’ve consumed too many dystopian and quasi-dystopian stories, but I was surprised at how light and bright this comic was. Perhaps it has something to do with being set in Portugal, given that it’s close right there by the Mediterranean, but whatever the reason, it gives this work a visual style unique to the genre.
Ultimately, this is a solid first issue that’s a little too heavy on the worldbuilding and a little too light on story. There’s enough on both fronts to keep me interested, but given the hype surrounding the title, I don’t really see what the fuss is about. I’m sure that will change once I’ve delved deeper into the story.
In Summary:
Too much worldbuilding and too little story, that’s the long and short of Man Plus. Considering that comic creators like Mark Waid, Jonathan Hickman, Rick Remender, Kieron Gillen, and Sam Humphries have heaped praise on it, I’m sure that the work will be better when taken as a whole. I’ll definitely stick around for the other issues, but I can’t pretend that it’s the comic alone that’s making me come back for more. If these creators that I admire see something great in here, I want to see it, too. Right now, though, Dr. Josh gives this a….
Grade: B
Age Rating: N/A
Released By: Titan Comics
Release Date: 20 January 2016
MSRP: $3.99
