The new era of Vertigo rolls on with “New Romancer” #1 by Peter Milligan and Brett Parson. “New Romancer” #1 is easily the most charming of the new Vertigo books and will reach a group of readers that Vertigo hasn’t really spoken to before. Read on for our review but be warned there are some spoilers within.
Written by Peter Milligan
Illustrated Brett Parson
Fired from a cushy job in Silicon Valley, Lexy becomes a coder for New Romancer, an Internet-dating app that’s seen better days. To create fake profiles, she plunders characteristics from history’s most notorious lovers. Using little-known writings by Ada Lovelace, the world’s first computer programmer, Lexy pushes the boundaries of coding and accidentally unleashes history’s greatest lover: Lord Byron. Online dating meets courtly love in this paranormal rom-com by Vertigo veteran writer Peter Milligan and rising art-star Brett Parson (Tank Girl)..
I am a fan of the romance genre when it’s done right. Comic books have a long history with the genre dating back to the 1940’s with titles like “Young Romance”, “Millie The Model” and “Young Love”. These titles were popular for a long time but romance has since fallen out of style and it’s pretty sad given how much fun and honest they can be because everyone falls in love at least once. “New Romancer” looks to bring some of that back while doing the things modern comics do.
“New Romancer” #1 introduces us to Alexia “Lexy” Ryan, a young woman with a great talent for computer programming. At one point Lexy had a great job with a company called Incubator (think Apple and Google) but after being fired, she now works for New Romancer, a dating app that needs work. Lexy has an idea to use a new algorithm that matches people up with people they may not have thought about dating before but it also uses history’s greatest romancers as profiles on the site with Lexy’s favorite being Lord Byron. The catch is that she stole this technology from Incubator and is now using it for her project. Things aren’t great but they get even worse when Lord Byron makes his way to the present through a huge technological mixup with Lexy and the stolen technology.
“New Romancer” #1 is an absolute joy because it’s got a great sense of humor and a lovely and modern protagonist in Lexy. Milligan writes a young woman that’s easily to not only like but also relate to. Milligan writes Lexy as someone who doesn’t have her life together but definitely doesn’t dwell on that and makes the best of what she’s got. She’s also a hopeless romantic who hasn’t ever really been in love, unless you count her obsession with the work of Lord Byron, who lived hundreds of years ago. Milligan approaches her love of literature in a very reasonable way without her losing her modernity. I really enjoyed how the two worlds were brought together.
In a world like ours, full of new technological advances every day, it’s really easy to lose parts of the past. Lexy is written as wonderfully energetic, passionate and charming and her reactions to things are just perfect. This part of “New Romancer” #1 works because of the incredibly expressive and dynamic art by Brett Parson. “New Romancer” is fairly over the top and doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s a romantic comedy that presents something a little familiar but blends fantasy with reality in a believable way. It wears it’s romantic influences on it’s sleeve but it has an ongoing storyline and will build on itself. The dialogue is sharp and there are some moments that truly make you laugh out loud. I have to admit, I haven’t read a lot of Milligan’s writing but what I have read hasn’t been this honestly funny. Lexy’s first meeting with Lord Byron and her internal monologues are witty and flat out funny.
I was not familiar with Brett Parson’s work before picking this up but I am absolutely a fan of him now. Parson’s work in “New Romancer” #1 is simply gorgeous. If I’m being totally honest, much of my love for this issue is because of how it looks. You can see some influence from Bruce Timm or even Rob Guillory in these pages. The style is cartoony but with a lot of structure. Character models are deep and complex, the expressions are exaggerated but only slightly. Parson’s lines are damn near perfect and the heavy inking gives the issue the right amount of boldness. There are some slight flashbacks in the early part of the issue and these transitions aren’t perfect but there’s enough change in the designs of the worlds to make them feel different. The present is much more modern and cleaner, with the fashion of the characters feeling more punk rock and bold. The past isn’t the romanticized version we’re used to see in movies, instead Parson goes with something a little more grungier and dirty to make Lord Byron’s death have a little more impact. The one flashback that doesn’t work is the slight origin story. This feels a bit thrown in and there’s really not feeling of the past that comes from it. Lexy is far younger but it feels like this could have happened yesterday as it doesn’t stand out nearly enough as it needs to.
Continued belowParson does his own coloring and it’s always a joy when an artist is so in the zone that they know exactly what their work needs. The colors are bright all the way through which perfectly captures the bright, lighthearted tone of the writing. The shadowing is used effectively when we’re taken to Incubator for a few pages. There’s a ominous feeling when we’re there and it’s quite effective.
“New Romancer” #1 does have a few problems though. It tries to pack a lot into it’s pages which is normally something I enjoy but it was just a little too much. We get a sort of origin story, a lot of new characters and the only one we really get to know is Lexy. It’s important to be attached to her right away but there’s no true connection for us and the people she works with. There are a lot of fast transitions that don’t all add up but this is something that can easily be worked out. Vertigo has something here that they haven’t ever really had. This is a cute book with a light sense of humor and an art style that will pull in those who may have never read a Vertigo book.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – A wonderful new addition to the legendary Vertigo stable.
