COMIC REVIEW - Blade Runner: Tokyo Nexus: Die in Peace Vol. 1
While your mileage may vary on the many, many spinoffs of Blade Runner, there are so many to choose from that you're likely to find one you like. Comics, anime, games of all sorts, and so much more explore the world of the classic cyberpunk movie. The Tokyo Nexus comic book series, set in 2015, follows two veterans of Kalanthia as they become detectives in Tokyo. Their latest job, finding a missing woman, leads them into a battle between Tyrell and the Cheshire company.
Our heroes are the human Mead (we see what you did there) and the Replicant Stix: two very close friends, with the former considering the latter to be more celebratory of life than many humans she knows. While searching for the missing woman, Stix finds himself blamed for some major deaths throughout Tokyo, clearly committed by a Replicant.
The deaths attract the attention of Rurika, a Blade Runner who insinuates herself into the life of Mead and insists that Stix—and indeed Replicants in general—can't be trusted. The trail leads to Cheshire, a company accused of making bootleg Replicants. And their methods are particularly heinous, especially for people like Mead who do empathize with Replicants.
Die in Peace is just the beginning of the story of Tokyo Nexus, which spans 12 issues across three volumes. These first four issues are as engaging to read as they are gorgeous to look at, with a variety of artists finding common ground in a neon-soaked alternate Tokyo. Nor do you need to be a Blade Runner expert to enjoy Tokyo Nexus. Even if you know nothing about what happened on Kalanthia (or Calantha, depending on what you've seen), Mead and Stix carry the story with their chemistry and the story itself is a strong whodunnit. This is also the first outing for Cheshire, throwing Tyrell's Blade Runners a whole other problem to deal with.
The back of the volume, as is the case with Titan Comics releases in general, features all sorts of bonuses. Alternate cover art, works in progress, previews, and much more follow the story proper. That's the great thing about Titan Comics: the strong story and gorgeous art would be enough, but the extras make the books even better.
Die in Peace hits the ground running and will pull you into the world of Tokyo Nexus—and the wider world of Blade Runner in general. It's a must-read for fans of the setting, with potentially broad-reaching consequences on the horizon.
BLADE RUNNER: Tokyo Nexus Vol. 1: Die in Peace is available now.
About the Author
0 comments