A life can change in the blink of an eye.
Creative Staff:
Story: Zac Thompson
Art: Jen Hickman
Colors: Jen Hickman
Letterer: Simon Bowland
What They Say:
Catrin Vander, a lonely video producer, buys an Artificial Intelligence partner that’s meant to bond for life. After ten years together, her holographic wife suddenly disconnects without a warning. The breakup drives Catrin to the point of near insanity. She’s alone for the first time in years and reeling from a loss she can’t comprehend.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With Zac Thompson having done a few series with AfterShock Comics so far that definitely were interesting and challenging,. His latest series is one that’s completely up my alley in the same way that the film Her was while working its own different approach. This is a dialogue-heavy opening installment in all the right ways as we get into the heart of the relationship. And Jen Hickman is able to draw it out wonderfully. I adored a bunch of their prior work and especially their time on the fantastic Moth & Whisper series from this publisher. That book was a visual delight and I see Hickman working something similar here to a degree.
The premise gives us a near-future world where you’re able to purchase and grow a life-partner for yourself, something that Catrin does as she’s been unable to find that someone special. We see how easy it was to just go and buy the base product and then bring it to life with conversation and inputs about what you’re looking for, as the person of your dreams is realized before you. For Catrin, Rhino is the embodiment of who she wants to spend her life with and is excited by this new path forward. And it’s one that looks like it worked for a lot of years but has now fallen apart in the tenth year. We see how close the two were early on and through the problems in the present, we understand how Rhion ended up taking on some work herself so that she was fully realized and made her own friends as well. But as time went on, and as Rhion got busier, Catrin felt more and more on the outside.
What the series explores in its opening issue is definitely interesting. Catrin is definitely highly dependent on Rhion for stability in her life while Rhion isn’t human and has a different way of processing things. It’s a familiar refrain where Catrin is a single person while Rhion can interesting with thousands of others at the same time, and has discovered her own love of a hundred plus other people as well. Even if she says she loves Catrin the most, it’s going to ring hollow for most people with how they’re wired. Watching the relationship from start to finish in the opening issue works really well and has me very curious to see where it goes from here as there’s a lot to like with what’s presented. It has familiar ideas but the execution is solidly done.
In Summary:
I have some pretty high expectations for this series because this is a concept that I like a lot and it has two really strong talents working on it. Thompson knows how to write a good verbose script and dialogue it which he’s done here in setting the foundations. Hickman’s an incredibly talented artist that can really work some great layout ideas and simply excels when it comes to character designs with how they bring them to life. The pairing is ideal, the material is spot on, and all the potential is there. This is one series I’m very excited for that starts off just right for me.
Grade: A-
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: AfterShock Comics | ComiXology | Kindle
Release Date: September 2nd, 2020
MSRP: $4.99
