“You Are Obsolete” #1 isn’t really a comic. It’s the first third of a decent horror film that sets up all the fun violent bits for later, packaged as a twenty-one page comic book.
Written by Matthew KlicksteinCover by Andy Clarke
Illustrated by Evgeny Bornyakov
Colored by Marissa Louise
Lettered by Simon Bowland
A disgraced journalist is called to cover a mysterious story on an isolated European island. As she investigates, she discovers the children have taken control and are somehow killing off all adults by their 40th birthdays. Now, she must discover the truth behind the killings while staying on the good side of the children’s harsh leader…or she’s next.
YOU ARE OBSOLETE is an spine-tingling thriller that evokes the eerie naturalism of 1970s hor-ror films with a modern deadly digital twist. Written by Mathew Klickstein (Sony Pic-tures’ Against the Dark, Slimed!, Springfield Confidential, Selling Nostalgia) and drawn Evgeniy Bornakov (DESCENDENT).
“You Are Obsolete” #1 is a story about a gang of murderous children who have taken over an incredibly isolated Baltic town, and seem to have an unhealthy fascination with technology and killing any adult when they turn forty years old.
Writer Matthew Klickstein understands that good horror contains three things: some sort of social or behavioral commentary, a terrifying mystery, and a main character who is somehow flawed and must use the trails and tribulations of the story to experience some sort of personal growth or change.
“You Are Obsolete” #1 has all three of these things and manages them reasonably well and with varying degrees of finesse and originality. The comic seems to have something to say about generational conflicts between young and old people, and while it’s a good idea that provides plenty of opportunity for conflict and drama, the idea of a gang of murderous children running a town has been done before with books like Children of the Corn. Still, this comic does provide an interesting twist on this particular subgenre of horror and does just enough to pique audience interest for what might be coming next.
As for the main character, Lyla Wilton is the perfect audience surrogate to experience and unravel this mystery. Her background as a disgraced reporter provides her with believable motivation and a skill set that allows her to be inquisitive while making believable decisions. There is a very real sense that the comic is doing a great job of avoiding the dumb cheerleader stereotype and having its main character do stupid things for the sake of moving the plot forward.
However, while Klickstein has turned “You Are Obsolete” #1 into a good opening to a horror movie, he really hasn’t turned it into a good opening for a horror comic. Klickstein makes a baffling choice to include a large amount of clunky and awkward exposition throughout the comic in the form of a typed confession from Lyla, which makes the story feel like it was written by someone creating their first comic book. Also, while the story is well paced and knows where to end its first issue, it opts for a very slow burn that might be a turn off for some readers. While it will be interesting to see what happens next, it would also be perfectly understandable if people just waited for the whole story to be published and buy the collected edition.
While the writing in “You Are Obsolete” #1 opts to get all of the boring details out of the way and promises that the comic will be worth reading in a couple of months, the art and colors are what make the comic worth reading right now. Artist Evgeny Bornyakov’s greatest strength is how he draws people. His characters are incredibly expressive, and while they smile and laugh about how everything is normal and there is nothing to be afraid of, the smiles seem a little too forced and the laughter feels like it’s a little too loud and excessive, almost like they’re afraid that someone is watching them. There is a very real sense that the facade of normalcy is becoming too difficult to bear, and that everyone in the town is a hair’s breath away from snapping. It all brings the comes together to ratchet up the tension and put the reader in a state of uneasiness.
Continued belowWhile Bornyakov provides a sense of creeping horror through great character work, the setting is drawn to look like an ordinary Eastern European town, which wouldn’t come off as threatening if it wasn’t for colorist Lauren Affe. The color palate enhances the story by giving the children and adults their own unique look. Every time the adults are on the page, the colors appear faded and tired, while the children are often bathed a harsh and unnatural blue light from their phone screens. It’s a fantastic bit of visual storytelling that subliminally enhances the comic at a subconscious level.
“You Are Obsolete” #1 has a lot of great talent behind it, which has all come together to create a good story and a decent comic book. It’s a story that has an interesting modern twist on the gang of murderous children horror trope and has an engaging and believable main character that is very easy to relate to and root for. However, while the artwork and coloring are fantastic, the book feels like it’s written by someone who doesn’t really have a keen grasp of how comic books work and how they differ from other forms of artistic expression like novels or movies. It’s a book that requires a bit of patience from its readers, but appears to be setting up something much more interesting down the line.
Final Verdict: 6.9-It’s well paced with good art and just enough creepy imagery and ideas to make it interesting, but it would probably be better to wait for the trade paperback.
