Arcadia #1
Writer: Alex Paknadel
Artist: Eric Scott Pfeiffer
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Release Date: May 6, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99
It’s pretty rare to find a comic that wears its influences so apparently and still comes across as unique but, this first issue of Arcadia from Boom! does just that.
Set in a world where the majority of humanity exists, more or less, digitally via upload, and, the remaining 150 million or so “real” humans left are living in constant danger, this introductory issue gives us a lot to chew on but doesn’t suffocate us.
It reads like The Matrix without all of the cumbersome religious allusions and imagery but, it doesn’t shy away from lofty questions about existence either. Arcadia exists somewhere in that little niche between overbearing and poetic and, it’s all the best for it. Especially so, for a first issue.
I love a world that just throws jargon and images at you and expects you to keep up. I truly do. Arcadia does just that, the narrative and dialogue lend themselves to sink or swim and nowhere in-between. It might be off-putting to some but, others (like me) will be amazed by how quickly a unique world is established without hand holding.
However, it might be too much too fast. With as much information as we’re given here, it seems like every little detail will either become incredibly important or fall by the wayside and, it’s hard to tell which is which. The same goes, for the art, which lacks some clarity especially early on in the book as to exactly what is happening or what the reader needs to pay attention to and retain.
Maybe, if we had the processing power of Arcadia, we would be able to hold onto all of it but here, it’s a little too much despite the excellent concept and execution of most of it.
There’s some missteps but ultimately, readers should be able to forgive them simply because Arcadia tries really hard to throw us into something big and bold and, for the most part, succeeds.
Artist: Eric Scott Pfeiffer
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Release Date: May 6, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99
It’s pretty rare to find a comic that wears its influences so apparently and still comes across as unique but, this first issue of Arcadia from Boom! does just that.
Set in a world where the majority of humanity exists, more or less, digitally via upload, and, the remaining 150 million or so “real” humans left are living in constant danger, this introductory issue gives us a lot to chew on but doesn’t suffocate us.
It reads like The Matrix without all of the cumbersome religious allusions and imagery but, it doesn’t shy away from lofty questions about existence either. Arcadia exists somewhere in that little niche between overbearing and poetic and, it’s all the best for it. Especially so, for a first issue.
I love a world that just throws jargon and images at you and expects you to keep up. I truly do. Arcadia does just that, the narrative and dialogue lend themselves to sink or swim and nowhere in-between. It might be off-putting to some but, others (like me) will be amazed by how quickly a unique world is established without hand holding.
However, it might be too much too fast. With as much information as we’re given here, it seems like every little detail will either become incredibly important or fall by the wayside and, it’s hard to tell which is which. The same goes, for the art, which lacks some clarity especially early on in the book as to exactly what is happening or what the reader needs to pay attention to and retain.
Maybe, if we had the processing power of Arcadia, we would be able to hold onto all of it but here, it’s a little too much despite the excellent concept and execution of most of it.
There’s some missteps but ultimately, readers should be able to forgive them simply because Arcadia tries really hard to throw us into something big and bold and, for the most part, succeeds.
A Look Inside
