Title: Tokyo Ghost, Vol 1: The Atomic Garden
Author: Rick Remender & Sean Murphy (Illustrator)
Publication Date: March 9th, 2016
Synopsis: The Isles of Los Angeles 2089: humanity is addicted to technology. Getting a virtual buzz is the only thing left to live for, and gangsters run it all. Who do these gangsters turn to when they need their rule enforced? Constables Led Dent and Debbie Decay are about to be given a job that will force them out of the familiar squalor of LA and into the last tech-less country on Earth: The Garden Nation of Tokyo.
Collects TOKYO GHOST #1-5.
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Review: I'm always looking for new comics to read, and this one sounded like it would be a real winner. Humanity addicted to technology (this sounds more like real life than I care to admit...), gangsters, and Tokyo being the last tech-less country on Earth? This sounds like a sci-fi comic right up my alley. Especially with that art on the cover - it looks dark and gritty, and pretty much everything I want in a good sci-fi comic!
Unfortunately, the art was about the only thing I enjoyed in Tokyo Ghost. It was everything I hoped it would be. The lines and colors match with the tone of the story perfectly, and I found myself wanting to just look at all of the drawings more than I wanted to read the actual story. I had to force myself to slow down and figure out what was going on. Once Led and Debbie make it to the Garden Nation of Tokyo, the artwork becomes less harsh and much brighter, and I loved seeing all of the plant life and the people after seeing the tech-obsessed squalor of LA.
The story, on the other hand, did not grip me nearly as much as I hoped it would. At times, the story moves along pretty quickly and was easy to follow. Other times, there were paragraphs of text down the side of the pages, and I had no interest in reading it. I think most of it was background information or explaining what happened over the passage of time, but I just felt that it was clunky and unnecessary and took me out of the story. I think one or two of those types of sections would have been find, but there were just way too many for my tastes.
I'm not really sure who I would recommend this comic too, since I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. There is quite a bit of graphic nudity and violence, so this is not something I would give to a child; it's definitely for a more mature audience (maybe even 18+). I'll definitely be looking for more of Sean Murphy's work, since I loved the artwork so much, but I won't be continuing to read this series. 2/5.
--Ashley
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