What I'm reading: DEEP BLUE #1

One perk of attending conventions is you can find things your local shop doesn't have. At Wizard Con LA I found Mythic Publication's premiere title "DEEP BLUE"

This tale of the last surviving human in a robot dominated world is a collaboration of Bragi Shut and Lewis Fenton's well thought out plots, Shut's sharp writing style and Roc Upchurch's complementary art style. It's rare to see as first venture this well balanced; if not for the credits I would think it was the work of a single writer/artist.

Roc and Bragi

The subject of the story Benjamen Dobbs was a wage slave who literally slept through the robot revolution. Details on why he is the lone survivor are left for later. What see is are the details of his existence as the machines test subject in excruciating detail. The machine in charge literally and figuratively of dissecting Dobbs has an unusual desire to find answers to questions that have plagued humans throughout their existence; what is the soul, where dose it reside and how dose it relate to sentience. A Cartesian automaton would be bad enough but this machine believes he is a robotics wounder kin eemployed at Dobbs' work site. This incongruity has lead Dobbs to believe the his inquisitor is playing head games the likes of which is the discovery of a human finger nail, not his own.

I could draw parallels to Terminator or I, Robot but that glosses over the subtle underlying story.

Dobbs' captivity leads to larger questions. Why has the inquisitor not corrected the error of Dobbs' identity? There are trillions of data bytes on human anatomy that cover the subject in great detail; what use is a living biological specimen? Dobbs has escaped on several occasions only to be caught and returned to his cell. Shouldn't he be under constant guard? These are into plot holes but but part of puzzle that is yet to be reviled.

How can I be sure ?

The inquisitor has Dobbs under constant surveillance. The implication is that he is part of a larger experiment that is only being hinted at. Also the fingernail seems to have been deliberately planted. The inquisitor seems to want Dobbs to search for the owner of the mystery body part.

Lastly we have "Vinny" a large subplot to the story.A law enforcement robot who 'escorts' Dobbs to and from his sessions. Having been given a name and engaged in conversations with Dobbs suggests he'll have a larger role in the future. A friendly mech is understandable if Dobbs is to have any chance at survival.

Mythic Publications is in negotiations for distribution of 'Deep BLUE" and should have it in you local store soon. I recommend you keep an I out for It.

Web site coming soon www.mythic-comics.com