Hologram. It’s such a sci-fi word; one that gestures toward alien ways of communicating and existing. “The Surface” from Image Comics takes this concept and mines it, positing that our universe may have a much stranger sibling.
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Langdon FossWhat would happen if Moebius and District 9 had a baby? Maybe THE SURFACE! Welcome to Africa. Ebola is no longer a problem. The West and the East are moving in—and three hacker lovers are searching Tanzania for the place that can change everything: THE SURFACE! The first issue of a mind-bending action SF epic drawn by the esteemed LANGDON FOSS (Get Jiro!, Winter Soldier) and colored by the Eisner-winning JORDIE BELLAIRE (everything)! THE SURFACE!
Ales Kot is probably the most frustrating writer in comics today, and I don’t say that lightly. His books are dense, packed with science and philosophy and hallucinations, and they self-reference almost constantly. Saying he’s a love-or-hate kind of creator is over-simplifying the issue; in my experience, you never read the same Ales Kot book twice, and you never come out of one quite satisfied.
None of this preamble is meant to undermine Langdon Foss’s work on the issue, by the way; it’s just that Ales Kot’s writing is so writerly, so consistently drawing attention to itself, that it’s something you have to square yourself with before delving into the aesthetics, the texture of the book.
I mean, the story itself is interspersed by interviews with an “elusive author” – very clearly Kot himself, very clearly discussing this book right here, his various anxieties about it. We’re talking pages full of text in an aesthetic medium; and alongside the other peripheral matter, they can feel a little pushy, like the book is trying to explain itself to you before you actually finish it.
That said, the plot itself is actually pretty easy to boil down, and the solicit gives you what you need to know. What’s surprising, along the way, is how well it hangs together – the narration by an unknown, omniscient voice, the intense intellectual discussions between the characters. Together they paint a believable picture of a social media-dominated future; where sharing is the default, and privacy is a matter of consciously opting out.
The characters themselves – the hackers on the hunt for a different plane of existence – don’t endear themselves to us right off the bat. They’re fairly self-confident beings, with Foss’s portrayal leaning into their youth and their vigor. But their faces have a lot of lines in them; let’s-get-thinky lines, and while they make the faces difficult to scan for emotion, they do have the effect of negating any tendencies toward conventional beauty. In that respect, they feel like real people, even though their goal is an unusual one.
We’re seldom in one environment long enough to get immersed, but Foss neatly sidesteps that problem by making a few of the larger panels really count. An early look at an apartment has so much detail in it – teeny tiny cups and plates in the background, some cracks in a windowpane – that you feel certain you’re learning everything you need to know about this setting in particular. On the grander side of things, a wide view of future-Tanzania is admirably weird, with organic-looking, sculptural skyscrapers drawing the eye up and out. But you haven’t seen weird until you’ve hit the last page, where surreal juxtapositions are punched up by a well-developed sense of fun.
Fun – now that’s not a word I thought I’d be using to describe this issue. But the intricacy of the art within its constrictions leaves some room for the stuff. Jordie Bellaire’s colours don’t hurt either. They spook us a little during the early pages, hitting on a shade of blue and a shade of red that are alarming together, and then stack themselves into various, vibrant palettes in order to differentiate the short scenes. And when you get to the last page, I think you’ll agree that pale pink was a solid choice for the flying sperm.
The first issue of “The Surface” adds up to a big ol’ heap of ideas with – and this is integral – a thread of narrative coherence just strong enough to hold it all together. This thread isn’t what will have people coming back for a second issue, though; the appeal here is largely the ideas and the art, in isolation from one another. That’s not an ideal combination, but it does have its own flavour and charisma. Established Langdon Foss or Ales Kot fans will certainly get their jollies here; and those who have been skeptical of the latter may find themselves pleasantly surprised.
Final Verdict: 7.5 – Weird but weighty; there’s something to this one.
