Writer: Ales Kot
Artist: Andre Lima Araujo
Colors: Chris O’Halloran
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Andre Lima Araujo
Publisher: Image Comics
“Men like you have taken their future from them. They are getting ready to steal it back”
After a two-year absence from comics, Ales Kot returns with Andre Lima Araujo for their creator owned title, Generation Gone, which deals with government surveillance and superpowers being introduced into the world. The story follows three young hackers as they practice breaking through D.A.R.P.A.’s security firewall before attempting a big score. To their surprise, they find something more valuable than they could have ever imagined.
Kot wastes no time, beginning the dialogue on the front cover of the book. Turning to the front page reveals a couple, Nick and Elena, staring at the stars, and having a “heart-to-void where a heart should be” talk. Elena is a young girl in love, but Nick is quickly established as a narcissist, bordering on sociopathy. As horrible of a conversation as it is, the dialogue is written in a loose, realistic way that we don’t see in comics often.
The main story jumps between the couple, their friend Baldwin, and a D.A.R.P.A. scientist, Mr. Akio, who’s working on a code that can rewrite human DNA. When the government tries to shut down Akio’s project he takes drastic action to ensure his work isn’t taken from him.
Araujo’s art is incredible throughout. Everything from anatomy to perspective and panel progression is spot on. While there’s nothing wrong with the art, I was waiting to see some of the stuff he’s known for, like highly-detailed, mechanized characters and sprawling metropolises.
Starting an unknown property at a higher price point is a risk, but I think the double-sized 50-page issue pays off. Many creator-owned titles seem to struggle with getting their story rolling in the normal 20-30 page format, but this issue lays it all out for us nicely. This chapter is mostly set-up, but we do get some action towards the end, promising a more dynamic second issue.
Overall: 7/10
New England born and raised, it didn’t take long for Adam Kubert’s “Wolverine” covers, early 90’s Image Comics and Marvel trading card sets to infect my brain. Consuming all things comic, video game, and cartoon-related, I’ve always had the drive to create worlds of my own, becoming a digital designer, a music producer/performer and a flourishing writer. Some of my earlier work can be found at smartassortments.com
