Blade Runner 2029 #6

Blade Runner 2029 #6

Titan Comics 2021

Written by Mike Johnson

Illustrated by Andres Guinaldo

Coloured by Marco Lesko

Lettered by Jim Campbell

A fanatical army of super-human replicants have laid siege to L.A.

Now it is up to Detective Ash to retire cult leader Yotun before he destroys both her, and the city she loves.

Last issue Ash was taken and by Yotun who planned a cruel twist of fate for her by turning her into a replicant, taking away her reliance upon technology in her back. It is both a blessing and a curse because replicants are feared and distrusted and Ash being who she is, well it’s just something that would push her over the edge and give Yotun the control over her he so desperately wants to exert. It is no joke but then again it was never meant to be one. The intensity and the manipulation that we see on such a level as this is almost unheard of outside of nighttime soap operas and that we see it done in such a masterful way is extremely impressive. For me this is the only part of the franchise that I have been paying attention to, both comic books series’, as it really manages to bring you into this world with exceptional ease.

I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter fleshing them out more and more like people that we know or can relate to. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we’re pulled in even deeper still into what is occurring.

I am rather enjoying the way that we see this being structured and how the layers continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. The way we see these events unfold has this natural and authentic feel to them and are so well portrayed as they add this great depth, dimension and complexity to the storytelling. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved incredibly well.

The interiors here are bloody gorgeous! The linework is exquisitely rendered and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create this level & quality of detail work that we see is astonishingly well rendered. The way that we see backgrounds being utilised to enhance and expand the moments as well as how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story is magnificently presented. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a brilliant eye for storytelling. The colour work is equally as bloody brilliant to see. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work demonstrate this amazing eye for how colour works and how to maximise its effects.

​

This is really one of the more interesting and intriguing stories that is currently on stands. It has that action/adventure mixed with this horror/thriller kind of vibe going on that is both creepy as all get out and yet infinitely more fascinating with every turn of the page. Yes it is a science fiction story at its finest with the subsets that take it places that veer as far from the expected as you can possibly get and that’s what keeps the reader coming back for more time and time again. The writing is absolutely amazing and the characterisation is completely on point and with this level of work on the interiors sets this head and shoulders above the crowd.