Head Trip
I was pretty excited to get a hold of this issue considering where we left off with Dr. Loren in the last one. If you’re a little fuzzy on the matter, he’s been captured by the military after he stole some tech from them that allowed him to create a device that can read surface thoughts. After making the device, he leaves the base and decides to test it out-in a bar setting. Why? To see which woman would be more receptive to being to being hit on. : / What better, benign way to do some field testing, huh?
The story picks up with him, assumingly passed out for whatever reason, caught up in a very gripping fantasy of seeing one of the weapons he helped developed being tested on an innocent civilian. Given the potentially very graphic implementation, it was a relief that Rahsan Ekedal’s art was only in black and white as adding color to it may have made it sickening. The whole mood of the fantasy is one of horrific awe and helplessness as there’s nothing we can do to save said civilian from his fate. Thankfully, the art is tasteful when depicting his demise and by that I mean it’s not excessive and very clean. For better or for worse, the close up on the guy’s eye is very well-rendered and clearly indicates a mixture of surprise and horror. I spend a lot of time on this opening scene because it really draws you in and further expresses just how much the main character takes to heart how his inventions and improvements are potentially, and most likely put to use. He doesn’t just imagine them killing people, but he inserts himself into the scene, and by doing so gives himself a more active, direct role rather than just saying “I’m just a design guy.” This perspective is much more obvious and seriously undertaken than it was in the first issue and while it’s a nice change, it is a downer of sorts. This crops up again in this issue so it may be a turn off to some readers who want more of a fun read. If this is what you want this issue is not for you. That’s not to say that there isn’t any humor or more light hearted moments to be had, but rather that the overall feel of the book is rather grave.
In a similar vein, there is a lot of stereotypical military bluster in this issue as well and, while expected, it does help to lighten the aforementioned grim mood. My only minor gripe with the issue is one that extends from the last, and that is how Sejic, Loren’s despondent and responsible partner/roommate, ends up getting the shaft again because of Loren’s actions. I also want to like his character more as he seems more likeable, overall, out of the two, but we don’t know much about him, except that he’s married and has nice looking eyebrows. It would be nice to see him and Loren spend more time together so we could really see how the two characters both complement, and annoy each other. Sejic seems like a foil to Loren but we don’t know this for sure, at least not yet.
The rest of the book deals with Dr. Loren’s plan for escaping the facility that he’s being housed in, and we get a further glimpse into how both Hawking’s (the author) and Loren’s mind work. We get to see crumbs that have been left out for us with the implied promise that we’ll get to see the grand buffet from which they fell in coming issues.
Once again, at the very end of the issue, we’re given more personal input from the writer as well as links and quick summaries of the real life basis of some of the technology and concepts covered in this issue. I love little things like this as it’s always nice to see a creator’s personal touch in one of their projects. Furthermore, this, once again, reminded me of the fairly direct influence that comic readers have with creators and how we have a lot of potential influence over the medium that we love. Thanks to Quasiconundrum’s blog, I reminisced about it this morning while getting ready for class. For decades, letter columns and the like have given creators and publishers much needed input and feedback from readers that have helped to steer the industry-A Death in the Family being, perhaps the most common known example of just how much power fans can wield. So, we should use it respectfully, responsibly, and to the betterment of the medium, whatever that means. I’d have to say that this issue is pretty solid even though we do kind of get lost in Loren’s head for most of it. 3.5/5.