Blade Runner 2029 #7

Blade Runner 2029 #7

Titan Comics 2021

Written by Mike Johnson

Illustrated by Andres Guinaldo

Coloured by Marco Lesko

Lettered by Jim Campbell

Can Ash save Los Angeles from Yotun’s fanatical army?

A relentless band of super-human Replicants is out to kill Ash. Will she be able to protect the ones she loves?

I really like seeing the backstory of Ash being explored here. How she ended up being a detective and what she did before that happened and how she’s always had this sassy attitude has been a joy to see unfold. It is always nice to see those events that shape who a person will become as well as the fact that she’s had this back brace long before becoming a cop. Then to see how things are in the present and how her attitude is one that really sets her apart from her contemporaries regardless of whom they might be showing that while some things change the more others stay the same and her drive, passion and determination are among those. Now that Ash has been remade as a Replicant and that process has been interrupted I am more anxious than ever to see how the uncomplete process both changed and didn’t change who she is.

I am a huge fan of 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 we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter continue to shine a spotlight on their personalities. The pacing is excellent and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story, both past and present, we are pulled into this deeper and deeper still almost becoming an accomplice after the fact.

How this is being structured and how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen are magnificently rendered. How we see the layers being explored and whether they are in the past or present, how they affect the main story or swirl around it, they add some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved exceptionally well.

I am a huge fan of the interiors here. The linework that we see with its varying weights and techniques being utilised to create this quality of detail work that we see throughout the book is amazing. I would like to see backgrounds being utilised in every panel because when they are utilised they enhance and expand the moments beautifully. How we see them work within the composition of the panels bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is fabulous. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a great eye for understanding how colour works.

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With Ash going after Freysa to save her from Yotun and telling the others not to follow, which in my experience is usually the cue to actually follow her and not tell her you are doing that, so she will end up at the heart of the action is something I look forward to seeing. The way that we see this amount of complexity and intricacies in the writing has this way of making it hard to separate yourself from the story and at this level of storytelling you find a new appreciation for what Mike is able to do. There is some extraordinary writing and intense characterisation wrapped up in these outstanding interiors all of which makes this one of the most influential science fiction stories.