#ArtOfTheDay: 'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future' by Duncan Fegredo & Jacob Phillips

'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future' by Duncan Fegredo & Jacob Phillips.

Cover art for the 'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future' graphic novel, written by Duncan Jones & Alex de Campi and illustrated by various artists and colourists, published May 2020 through Kickstarter by Z2 Comics.

Graphic Novel Review: 'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future' by Duncan Jones, Alex de Campi & Various Artists

'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future', from the minds of Duncan Jones, Alex de Campi and a whole host of awesome comics artists that includes; Dylan Teague, Glenn Fabry, Duncan Fegredo, LRNZ, Eduardo Ocaña, André Araújo, Simon Bisley, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Tonci Zonjic,  Pia Guerra, James Stokoe,  RM Guéra, Chris Weston, Rufus Dayglo, Annie Wu, David Lopez, and Christian Ward, plus colourists Matt Wilson, Nayoung Kim, Chris O’Halloran, Adam Brown, Jacob Phillips, Raúl Arnaiz, Giulia Brusco, Sergey Nazarov, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Lettering by Alex, is a cyberpunk road trip set in the near-future.

Madi Preston, is a cybernetically augmented mercenary, part of J-Squad, a merc special ops unit that freelances their unique ability to be remote controlled by specialists while in the field. But when their latest mission ends with the death of one their crew, Madi decides she’s had enough. But in order to pay back the debt she still owes, she takes an off-the-books job, and when the piece of tech she’s supposed to steal turns out to be a child, and she suddenly blacks out... she finds herself on the run from everyone she’s ever known.

I'm a big fan of Duncan Jones' movies, with this being the third and final story set in the same 'Cinematic Universe' as his 'Moon' and 'Mute' movies (the 'Mooniverse'), the graphic novel takes the familiar elements and themes from those movies, especially from 'Mute' I feel, and adds a dash of 'Blade Runner (2049)', 'Ghost in The Shell' and CD Projekt Red's recent 'Cyberpunk 2077' video game, blending everything together and reworking it into a brand new story, that was a joy to read!

Originally a screenplay, 'Madi' is a 260 page graphic novel, that was funded through a Kickstarter campaign (with exclusive hardcover art by Yuko Shimizu and softcover art by Duncan Fegredo & Jacob Phillips), and is published through Z2 Comics.

The pacing of the story definitely felt like it could have been movie instead of a graphic novel. The story kept me engaged all the way through, with its action packed intro, and all the way through to its exciting conclusion. Even when the story slows the pacing down, there's still more than enough to keep you interested in wanting to find out what happens in the end. The excellent group of characters, especially the main three of Madi, Ted and Dean as they embark on the road trip trying to outrun their pursuers, really helps draw you into the story and root for them.

As good as the story is, the main talking point of 'Madi' is the artwork, with a venerable who's who of the comic industry working on the pages throughout the graphic novel. But with the amount of artists involved, you might think that the clash of differing art styles when transitioning from scene to scene would be jarring and take you out of the story. Not so for me. It looked like the story was carefully divided up in a way to minimise this. And it works really well, with the change in artist helping with the shift in tone of what is happening to the story on the page.

I really enjoyed 'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future'. It's lively and energetic, with a hard as nails BAMF female lead kicking ass from start to finish. A graphic novel that is a spectacular feast for the eyes in a beast of a book!

Available from Z2 Comics, Forbidden Planet, Waterstones, and all good comic and book stores.

#CoolArt: 'Moon' 10th Anniversary prints through AllCity Media

'Moon' 10th anniversary edition variant prints of the original movie poster, available through AllCity Media

24" x 36" 5 colour litho print on 240gsm art paper, in 'Moon Blue', 'Silver Metallic, and 'Lunar Industries Orange' editions of 100 for £50 each.

On sale now from the AllCity Media website.

'Moon Blue' Edition

'Metallic Silver' Edition

'Lunar Industries Orange' Edition

Movie Review: 'Mute'

Duncan Jones is back with 'Mute', a passion project that has taken several years to come to fruition, and is now there for all to see thanks to Netflix.

Set in a near future Berlin, 'Mute' sees nightclub bartender Leo, played by Alexander Skarsgård, mute from an almost fatal boating accident when he was a boy, searching for his girlfriend Naadirah (Seyneb Saleh), who suddenly goes missing. Along the way he crosses paths with the sleazy Cactus Bill (Paul Rudd) and Duck (Justin Theroux), two surgeons, one AWOL from the US military and now working for the mob, fixing up the local heavies, until he can skip out of Germany with his daughter, and the other legit with his own practice, working with prosthetics and implants but having his own dark secrets. Things soon take a dark and twisted turn as the plot progresses.

It's a slow burn of a film. But I prefer that than for a film to reveal it's hand and give the game away too soon. It keeps the tension wound up tight, and the tension is certainly tight here, as Leo pieces together the clues to his girlfriend's disappearance, and finding himself having to negotiate with shady characters in the seedy underworld of Berlin.

I really enjoyed the dark, tech noir elements, and the almost future setting is very reminiscent of the original 'Blade Runner' and the series 'Altered Carbon', which is also on Netflix. The neon lighting of the clubs and streets giving most scenes a cold almost dystopian look, and the dank, urban locations capture the mood of the film and serve as part of the character of the film, making it a very convincingly lived in city, and it's the people that populate the city that move the story.

I was really impressed with the main cast. Alexander Skarsgård manages to convey his frustrations and despair very well despite not saying a word, and he also brings his physicality to the role too. But it's Rudd and Theroux that are the standouts. Both playing characters that you wouldn't normally expect them to play, and their looks, Rudd donning a handlebar moustache and Theroux in an almost Owen Wilson style wig, being in total contrast too and helping with the disbelief. The more Rudd and Theroux are on screen, the more they seem to be pushed to the front at the expense of Skarsgård. Hints about the background of their characters are threaded into the plot, and by the end, everything is entwined. 

'Mute' is also set in the same cinematic universe as Duncan Jones' debut film 'Moon', although it is very different thematically - so don't expect something similar, and watch out for some of the Easter eggs that are scattered through out; Lunar Industries logos, a mention of Gerty and Sam Bell etc. The soundtrack from Clint Mansell, who also scored 'Moon', is back as well for a return to the 'Mooniverse'.

'Mute' is a dark, gritty, sometimes brutal and downbeat noir thriller set in a sleazy near future that can be bleak and somewhat depressing at times. It may not be for everyone but the star turns from the main cast kept me engrossed and wanting to find out how everything turns out in the end. Worth a watch!

#CoolArt: 'Mute' by Paolo Rivera

'Mute' by Paolo Rivera

'Mute', directed by Duncan Jones, premieres Friday February 23 on Netflix.