A new world is born in pain – a review of the comic “Blade Runner 2029”, vol. 2

We had to wait a year for the next volume, but it’s finally here! The story is set ten years after the events of the first comic. This time, however, Michael Green, co-writer of Blade Runner 2049 , is not responsible for the script . Does that mean it’s worse? Here’s Blade Runner 2029 , published by Egmont.

 

Your sacrifice is what I am ready for

The Polish edition of Blade Runner 2029 contains, like the previous volume, 12 issues that make up 3 volumes. The author of the script this time is only Mike Johnson, while Michael Green ( Blade Runner 2049 , Logan ) is a creative consultant. Andrés Guinaldo and Marco Lesko are again responsible for the graphic design.

Pursued in connection with the alleged kidnapping of the daughter of a wealthy industrialist, Aahna “Ash” Ashina has cleared her name and is once again a detective and Blade Runner for the Los Angeles Police Department. He’s working on a routine case and is on the trail of a replicant that escaped twelve years earlier, but since these robots are purposely designed for a short lifespan, that shouldn’t be possible. More disturbing, however, is that more and more new “androdups” are popping up in the city, even though the production of new replicants has long been banned. As Ash digs deeper, a plot threatening the city she’s sworn to protect and the people she loves unfolds with sinister consequences.

Volume 1, The Encounter , takes place three years after the events of the Blade Runner 2019 finale . Mike Johnson is taking up writing again, and he’s doing quite well thanks to his work on the previous volume. Ash’s interesting and dangerous relationship, puzzling mystery and convincing villain – a cult leader with whom you can sympathize, are sure to be a good start to a new story.

Echoes , because this is the title of volume 2, is basically a breath of fresh air. A cult attack to build a new world order leaves Los Angeles defenseless. Ash is held captive by Yotun, the architect of tragedy and, by the way, the only replicant to ever escape our heroine. It’s a convincing action-driven storyline in which Johnson introduces some interesting moral and ethical dilemmas. On the one hand, we have a former blade runner who now uses her skills to free replicants from captivity. On the other is Yotun, who prolongs his life by blood transfusions of his followers and also strives for robotic freedom. So it seems that these two characters are on the same side, but are they really?

The last volume, Salvation , takes a more detective side to written history than ever before. Ash wonders why Yotun sent his best “man” to try and rob a crypt. It was owned by a woman who paid a lot to keep the tomb closed forever. But what exactly is in it? There are no valuables in it. Only books, files and documents. Why does Yotun need them?

The neon glow is breathtaking

Andrés Guinaldo maintains the essence of the neo-noir setting in Blade Runner 2029 . It’s full of dirt, as befits the miserable streets of Los Angeles, through which the glow of neon lights and bright lights of the city’s underground shine through, well rendered by the colors of Marco Lesko. As I read through the pages, I had the impression that I was hearing the soundtrack from the original 1982 film in the background.

Guinaldo is brilliant at building a sense of atmosphere. It even focuses on depicting the hustle and bustle of people, whether in a crowded police station garage or an illegal nightclub. The future looks bright, but only for the privileged upper class, not the less fortunate who try to survive in stalls or on the many construction sites in Los Angeles. The twinkling lights of skyscrapers and food stalls highlight the strange and mesmerizing beauty of the city at night.

The artistic team of Guinaldo and Lesko has developed a certain style, the quality of which is getting better from page to page, from notebook to notebook. Guinaldo’s attention to detail and Lesko’s ability to build tension and atmosphere reinforce Johnson’s script.

It is an extraordinary story…

What is most impressive about the Blade Runner series is the heavy emphasis on creativity. Johnson develops culture and socio-political dynamics in a juicy thriller, while Lesko and Guinaldo prove that their work deserves to be called art.

So we have the rich opting for restricting the rights of the replicants – because of their own xenophobia, which at the same time does not prevent them from employing the same artificial people as their servants. We see a gilded bedroom so large that the bed is climbed up a flight of stairs, the door a mere speck in the distance. Nothing but a golden floor fills the space between them. Here is a tangible metaphor of what has always been true in the Blade Runner universe, i.e. humans are the rulers and replicants are slaves. However, this is not only the psychology of crowds, but also of individuals. The main character herself faces the question of whose side to take – both for psychological and physical reasons. On the one hand, she has a mechanical spine, an implant that makes her not entirely human, and on the other, she has a lover who is a replicant. The job made Ash realize that there was no fundamental difference between humans and replicants. The same happened to Deckard in the film.

Another plus is that there is room in the script for a topic that was previously out of reach – the biology of replicants. The revolutionaries are led by an individual who inexplicably lived a few more years than he should have. His further life is prolonged. He owes this to blood transfusions from his loyal followers, androids of the previous generation.

I definitely have a hard time finding anything bad to say about Blade Runner 2029. Only the ending of the volume may seem a bit disappointing. The finale of the conflict between Yotun and Ash did not seem as great or as momentous as the machinations of which the antagonist is guilty. All that planning, all maneuvering, and immense secrecy resulted in a “villain” with big ideas that failed when it was time to execute them. Ultimately, Yotun turned out to be a character with great potential, which he could not use, and his only achievement was to blow up the dam. From a hero and visionary, he has become a demagogue who thinks he is the “chosen one” and the “healer”, but in fact he is a cynic and a creature so afraid of death that he is willing to do anything to help him delay the inevitable.

Whether we like the Blade Runner convention or not, Volume 2 is still an excellent thriller. The creative team of Johnson, Guinaldo and Lesko continues to exceed expectations, delivering a consistently good story leading up to Blade Runner 2039 . I just hope that the time until the premiere of the next part will pass very soon.