Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Book Review: Blade Runner 2019 volume 1


Return to the original rain-soaked dystopic world of Los Angeles, 2019. A hardboiled future noir world of renegade Replicants, deadly femme fatales, Spinners and bloody, violent death!

There's a new Blade Runner in town, and she's out for blood. Replicant blood. When a rich industrialist's wife and young daughter go missing, seemingly the victims of a Replicant kidnapping, Blade Runner Ash is called in to rescue them before they end up on a slab or worse. As Ash's investigation deepens she uncovers a shocking secret that could very well end up costing her her life.

Winner of the 2020 SCRIBE AWARD for best Graphic Novel, this critically acclaimed graphic novel, is the official sequel to the cult classic 1982 science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott. Co-written by Michael Green, the Academy Award nominated screenwriter of Logan, Blade Runner 2049, and Murder on the Orient Express.

It was first published in November of 2019. Titan Books provided me a galley for review.

I go a long way back with Blade Runner. When the first movie came out in the summer of 1982, I picked up the re-release of Phillip K. Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? from which the film was based. I was truly fascinated by the future that was laid out in the book. Ridley Scott's film took that story to a whole other level and still stands as a touchstone in the sci-fi genre. So, this franchise has a long history and a high level of expectation.

Blade Runner 2019 volume 1: Los Angeles collects the first four issue of this comic series. In those four issues, it sets up the story of Ash and her latest investigation. The story moves as a quick pace with plenty of action. I was fully engrossed in the story. While this first volume does end in a bit of a cliffhanger, it is a very logical breaking point which still leaves the reader wanting to know where the story will go next.

The artwork by Andres Guinaldo and Marco Lesko is absolutely fantastic. In a franchise that comes from cinematographic roots, they manage to capture the style elements from the film world and build upon them. Their ability to tell stories in this sequential medium shines through, and as an old-school comic book fan that is very important to me. A solid story beautifully illustrated is all I can ever ask for in my graphic novels.

I highly recommend this series and look forward to reading more of it.

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