A superhero origin story, or a dark cautionary tale of disillusioned youth? Maybe both? Read on for our review of Image Comic’s “Generation Gone” #1, which contains mild spoilers
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Andre Lima Araujo
Colored by Chris O’Halloran
Lettered by Clayton Cowles
Designed by Tom MullerAmerica, 2020. Three young hackers with nothing to lose. A secretive scientist with a plan. One final job. What happens when you’re poor, angry, and get super powers you never asked for? Skins + Unbreakable = GENERATION GONE, sort of- if you also include multiple trips to the sun, weird black goo, a breakup fight inside a nuclear factory, love, hate, anger, loss…and survival. GENERATION GONE is for every kid struggling out there. It’s about what it means to be young in the USA, 2017.
There are the familiar tropes of a superhero origin story in “Generation Gone” #1: shadowy government organizations; science gone wrong; teens struggling with everyday drama, trying to make a difference. What Ales Kot presents, however, is more than a superhero origin. For one, the world in which our protagonists inhabit is not a black and white one; Great Power does not necessarily equal Great Responsibility. There’s also no one here with truly altruistic motives of justice or exploration or the betterment of mankind. Our ‘heroes’ are modern day bank robbers, gathered around laptops, playing chicken with government firewalls to hone their skills before one last life-changing ‘heist.’ Their opposition: a scientist working for said government, monitoring their every move, selecting them as candidates for an experiment that’s already been forbidden by his superiors.
There’s a complexity of character here that should be familiar to fans of Kot’s previous work, with a depth that adds layers to both the narrative and the players. You’re not sure if you should even like any of the cast: Nick is instantly dislikeable, replying to his girlfriend’s casual declaration of love with “…cool, but do you have to say it all the time?” That’s the very first thing he says, but even he’s not an outright villain. He’s manipulative and selfish, but he’s also real, Kot doing well in one (granted over-sized) issue to flesh his characters out. Elena, who Nick is with, has the most selfless of all the motivations – paying for her mom’s cancer treatment – but is still willing to commit serious crimes to get what she wants and needs. Filling out the group is Baldwin, a disciplined, committed character whose motivations aren’t totally explored, but whose focus is the strongest of the group. Their silent observer, known only as Mr. Akio, may be the most complex of all the characters. He develops weapons for the Government, but secretly works on an experiment called ‘Utopia,’ which sounds altruistic, but his methods involve cruel and invasive exposure to unknown power for his chosen candidates.
Andre Lima Araujo’s art is clean and detailed in a way that allows the characters to be expressive. There’s a section in the middle of “Generation Gone” #1 where Kot pulls back completely, removing any script entirely and allowing Araujo’s line-work to tell the story. It’s a smart choice, as the art can more than handle the exploration of the characters that this section is dedicated to. One by one we see how the three friends are when they’re on their own, what they do every day when they’re not with each other. It’s a section that could easily be filled with inner monologs but it really doesn’t need it. Under a lesser, perhaps more abstract artist it would need the support, but Araujo’s crisp, realistic approach allows the story to be explored in a much more intimate way.
For the most part, Araujo sticks with wide panels, breaking into squares when the pacing requires, opening up to full pages only at the beginning and the end. Not only does this control the flow of the narrative and the speed of the story, but sets up a subconscious feeling of control, of normality that can – and is – exploited later on. Similarly, Chris O’Halloran’s colors are subtle and realistic for the most part, employing shade and tone frequently to betray the inner emotions of the characters, but this too leads you subconsciously into a comfortable rhythm. All of this leads to a final scene that tears that out from under you, slicing the panels across the page and drenching the characters in unnatural colors as the unthinkable happens. Kot and the team flip the whole world on its head at the last moment and introduces an unreal twist to what has so far been a standard tale of cyber crime.
Continued belowIt’s unclear at this early stage what the message of the “Generation Gone” is. The government’s dismissal of an experiment called ‘Utopia’ in favor of more weaponry certainly makes an unsubtle point about priorities, but it’s hardly a new idea. Similarly, there’s a slightly cringey mention of ‘Millennials’ and how the previous generation ruined the world so much that the younger population are employing increasingly more desperate means to fix it, which isn’t wrong, it’s just not bringing anything new to the conversation. There’s the start of an interesting exploration of science versus magic, and the understanding that code is the foundation of all things, but much like the previous ideas, they’re not fully unpacked in this debut issue.
Rather than bear the burden of being pigeonholed – be it into a superhero origin story, or a political/social/cultural allegory about the disillusioned youth of America – “Generation Gone” #1 uses those concepts as the backdrop for a detailed setup of its main cast. It’s clear from this issue that those ideas are there, but the real exploration of its themes is yet to come. Instead, Kot and the team craft an extended look at the motivations and the personalities of its characters, creating an absorbing, unpredictable and ultimately satisfying debut issue. By the end of the book, you realize you’re not reading what you thought you were, and that makes the rest of the series moving forward an exciting unknown.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – An absorbing start that promises an unpredictable series to come.
