Scan barcode
A review by neilrcoulter
Blade Runner 2019: Vol. 1: Los Angeles by Michael Green, Mike Johnson
5.0
This is a great return to the world of the original Blade Runner film. The art is stylish, expanding the horizons just enough. In particular, I liked the idea of the border crossing, which suggests quite a lot but leaves plenty of mystery. I wondered if that scene was a nod to Denis Villeneuve and Sicario. I also like the main character, who is not simply another Deckard. She has her own interesting history and struggles, which make her see the same world in a slightly different way.
The main plot—Ash's investigation into the disappearance of Selwyn's wife and daughter—is intriguing and fits right into the film stories. Everything we learn about Tyrell feels exactly like what he would've been up to at that time. I appreciate the Michael Green's restraint in not allowing this story to intrude into the movie. He demonstrates confidence that this world is big enough for a lot of stories to be happening simultaneously, and we don't need explicit references to the movies to validate the graphic novel's version of the world.
The difficulty of Blade Runner in book form is finding the right amount of narration. Obviously the original film struggled with that balance, too, in the changes from the theatrical release to the final cut. Blade Runner is such a primarily visual story that it's challenging to have it told to me in a lot of words. (And yes, I know it was based on a short novel, but the movie became so much more than what the source material suggested that I regard it as visual storytelling more than a book adaptation.) For me, the graphic novel is right on the edge—sometimes the narration felt almost too much; but in general it's fine.
The end of this volume holds out the same tease the we've had in the movies: Will we ever see the off-world colonies? I'm very interested to continue reading and see what happens next!
The main plot—Ash's investigation into the disappearance of Selwyn's wife and daughter—is intriguing and fits right into the film stories. Everything we learn about Tyrell feels exactly like what he would've been up to at that time. I appreciate the Michael Green's restraint in not allowing this story to intrude into the movie. He demonstrates confidence that this world is big enough for a lot of stories to be happening simultaneously, and we don't need explicit references to the movies to validate the graphic novel's version of the world.
The difficulty of Blade Runner in book form is finding the right amount of narration. Obviously the original film struggled with that balance, too, in the changes from the theatrical release to the final cut. Blade Runner is such a primarily visual story that it's challenging to have it told to me in a lot of words. (And yes, I know it was based on a short novel, but the movie became so much more than what the source material suggested that I regard it as visual storytelling more than a book adaptation.) For me, the graphic novel is right on the edge—sometimes the narration felt almost too much; but in general it's fine.
The end of this volume holds out the same tease the we've had in the movies: Will we ever see the off-world colonies? I'm very interested to continue reading and see what happens next!