Writer: Jamie Delano
Art: Jeremy Rock
Colour: Greg Waller
Publisher: Avatar Press
Science fiction has long been a vehicle for social and political commentary, and even in the current climate of cynicism, borne in part out of a widening coverage of global violence and scandal, it must be mighty difficult to come up with an approach that feels completely fresh. It is no real surprise, then, that Jamie Delano’s new Avatar series, Narcopolis, immediately raises comparisons with other genre pieces across a variety of media (1984 and Total Recall springs immediately to mind, but there are a number of other influences that appear throughout.) So, here we are in yet another “all is well in the new worlds order, but unfortunately that means that we have to blow some people up” – hmm, perhaps not so science-fiction any more…
However, if the Narcopolis environment doesn’t come across as purely original, the quality of pacing and the overall delivery is strong enough to act as a more than credible counter-balance.
Issue 1 kicks off with a fairly standard voice-over device, most likely from a government media broadcast, which frames the political and social setting of the book; essentially, ‘Big Brother’ (or in this case, TRUTH) is watching vigilantly over the population of Narcopolis, to ensure everyone’s continued safety and their freedom to indulge in recreational pursuits – which in this case appears to consist of drugs, sex, or dug-induced sex. This is all framed as being for the betterment of society, but of course this is a means for pacifying and therefore controlling the general population.
In this context, we are introduced to Gray Neighbor, a cleaner for EradiCare. He appears to be a straight-forward and unremarkable – albeit sceptical – member of society, but his lack of spending on socially acceptable pleasure and his fondness for books has alerted the authorities to his potential as a revolutionary agent for BadEvil, an apparent terrorist-anarchist organisation existing beyond the city walls. Female TRUST Agent Azure Love is dispatched to investigate, but it is not until a supposed threat (‘malignant emotions’) is identified in one of Gray’s fellow residents that he is ‘arrested’ for further evaluation. With the help (well, sacrifice) of his pet bird BiteTheHand, Gray manages to escape, only to cross paths with Love in a hospital stairwell. The two begin a relationship, and at this point Love suggests that Gray uses his skills and awareness to better effect in the employment of TRUTH, which he quickly agrees to; with her help, he becomes an agent of the state, ready to fight the threat of BadEvil – but what game are these two playing?
While the dialogue, full of future-culture references, takes a bit of getting used to (at least it is consistent), there are some lovely turns of pace throughout; with no captions relating to time, date, or location, there are a number of apparent shifts in time and state, but these are all handled so smoothly that they are not at all jarring, just other pieces of the puzzle to be stored away for later reference, enhancing the air of intrigue and mystery.
This book looks really great, and perfectly in tone with the plot and atmosphere Delano is crafting; the storytelling is crisp and clear, and the scenes are slick and stylish, while not at all flashy. There are a fair few ‘adult’ scenes throughout, if mainly on the periphery of the shot, but at no point does this come across as gratuitous. In fact, it doesn’t even come across as shocking, which, within the boundaries of this particular story, adds an extra layer of gravitas to the book as a whole.
The real strength of Narcopolis is in the intrigue of the characters rather than the origins of the current world order – there is clearly much more to Gray than is immediately obvious, an everyday worker with a rebellious streak and a heroic nature, who manoeuvres himself into the TRUTH organisation with casual ease. And there is surely an ulterior motive for Love too; how these are revealed and play out could well prove to be the real crux of this adventure.
The atmosphere and tone of Narcopolis pulls no punches, and yet the storytelling as a whole is subtle, but no less powerful for it. I’m still not entirely sure of the direction this tale will take, even after two issues; the third act is likely to be a key one, and I hope it doesn’t disappoint. But there are certainly enough possibilities and interesting set-ups going on here to make me want to find out.
7/10
