Aftershock Comics Review: Bad Reception 1-3
"Bad Reception" by Aftershock Comics is SO GOOD that I wrote 2.5 pages on the first three issues. Therefore, I'm posting my review as its own entry.
Bad Reception
Issues: 1-3
Rating: 5/5 stars
Issue 1
This is not the kind of comic I’d give a 5/5 stars on off the bat, but this is fantastic. While the artistic style isn’t my favorite, the layout, colors, and visualizations made up for that. The panels span both pages on each spread (save for the single first and last pages), beginning with a Tech Talk where text bubbles are on a black background spattered with blood, and ending with an insane foreshadowing of where this would lead.
As if there weren’t hints throughout.
Then on the inner pages, the pans are spread in rows, usually three but sometimes four. The upper 2 or 3 rows focus on the main storyline while the lower row is the B-plot, with a blood red sky, a forest, and the stalking of a deer. Except I’m positive the plots will merge, and the stalker in the bottom row’s panels will come for our protagonists.
The A-plot is quite intriguing...and SO TRUE. “As an interconnected global village, we have to ask ourselves, are we designing these systems to align themselves with the basic moral principles that govern a person’s behavior in the real world? Or are we creating systems without any safeguards to encourage behavior that is stripped of any ethical value simply to create more profits for the platform?” - Blaise Bordeaux-Davis, page 3.
Blaise is the author of # Hashtag: Off the Grid, and is planning an off-the-grid wedding with actor, singer, and the most followed person on social media--Gaia. It’s against the grain and yet forces them and their friends (and followers) to realize that selfies are “the f*ing autotune of photography” (Aaron, page 19)...and we have become so attached to our phones that we now have a phobia of being away from them for even 24 hours.
I love the premise of this, the reality of it, and the dark feelings of doom that permeate the pages.
Issue 2
The panels here are more traditional, which actually makes me a bit sad (though with reading it on the computer, it’s easier this way). Still, it doesn’t detract from the story because we are at the wedding. And, despite the fact that being off the grid means that a social media opportunity has been “wasted,” guests are enjoying themselves and mingling. Of course, since they’re all famous in some way, they try to one-up each other.
I hate that aspect of “Hollywood” and media influencers.
And, to be fair, there’s enough alcohol that the more they drink, the more they forget about their phones. Well, mostly at least. Then there are some like Anastasia who is truly having a conniption and her pettiness is astoundingly awful.
Gaia’s best friend is as awesome as I expected her to be from issue 1, and Jurek is most certainly a character. But we can really see how Gaia and Blaise love each other, and how their friends (and not just colleagues, like Liz) truly care for them.
I like the reminder that pictures make us immortal...and make us want to be better representatives of ourselves.
The scene with Gavin in the darkroom is nauseating. I figured it wasn't Gavin snapping pics at the reception, but I did not expect that. The change in color tone and in the paneling--for some of the frames are cropped out, like we are looking at film--is perfect though.
What visually carries over from issue1 is the fact that one page is dedicated to promoting one of Gaia's works. It breaks the story, breaks the mindset...and while I wouldn't normally like it, it works for this kind of story. It also offers a way to mentally set change too.
It bothers me that Liz somehow snuck a phone in. I guess it's realistic, but it would have been all the better IMO if security had wanded and/or frisked everyone.
Gaia’s father is an utter jerk.
Issue 3
It’s great that Anastasia sees the benefit in not having a phone. It’s truly amazing the change that people feel after less than 24 hours without certain technology. At first it’s very stressful, but then it’s calming.
More people die, some from the killer and others....well, the killer is blamed but it’s not him (or her). The killer brands people with the # sign. Blaise determines that it directly relates to their social media accounts, and how many followers each of the guests has. I am sure that it also pertains to Blaise’s book, seeing as he and Gaia are the main targets.
The patterns Blaise finds are interesting and also disturbing. I am happy for people like Damaris who deleted their accounts beforehand!
At this point, I am blaming Maurizio, since he took the phones to lock in a safe, but they are found in a smashed state by Liz and Tommy.
I hate Liz.
I am also more terrified of buzzsaws now. That was an intense scene.
The panels in this issue are a mixture of those in issues 1 and 2, and there is no full-page ad on Gaia’s work. At the end though is an ad for Blaise’s book.
Bad Reception
Issues: 1-3
Rating: 5/5 stars
Issue 1
This is not the kind of comic I’d give a 5/5 stars on off the bat, but this is fantastic. While the artistic style isn’t my favorite, the layout, colors, and visualizations made up for that. The panels span both pages on each spread (save for the single first and last pages), beginning with a Tech Talk where text bubbles are on a black background spattered with blood, and ending with an insane foreshadowing of where this would lead.
As if there weren’t hints throughout.
Then on the inner pages, the pans are spread in rows, usually three but sometimes four. The upper 2 or 3 rows focus on the main storyline while the lower row is the B-plot, with a blood red sky, a forest, and the stalking of a deer. Except I’m positive the plots will merge, and the stalker in the bottom row’s panels will come for our protagonists.
The A-plot is quite intriguing...and SO TRUE. “As an interconnected global village, we have to ask ourselves, are we designing these systems to align themselves with the basic moral principles that govern a person’s behavior in the real world? Or are we creating systems without any safeguards to encourage behavior that is stripped of any ethical value simply to create more profits for the platform?” - Blaise Bordeaux-Davis, page 3.
Blaise is the author of # Hashtag: Off the Grid, and is planning an off-the-grid wedding with actor, singer, and the most followed person on social media--Gaia. It’s against the grain and yet forces them and their friends (and followers) to realize that selfies are “the f*ing autotune of photography” (Aaron, page 19)...and we have become so attached to our phones that we now have a phobia of being away from them for even 24 hours.
I love the premise of this, the reality of it, and the dark feelings of doom that permeate the pages.
Issue 2
The panels here are more traditional, which actually makes me a bit sad (though with reading it on the computer, it’s easier this way). Still, it doesn’t detract from the story because we are at the wedding. And, despite the fact that being off the grid means that a social media opportunity has been “wasted,” guests are enjoying themselves and mingling. Of course, since they’re all famous in some way, they try to one-up each other.
I hate that aspect of “Hollywood” and media influencers.
And, to be fair, there’s enough alcohol that the more they drink, the more they forget about their phones. Well, mostly at least. Then there are some like Anastasia who is truly having a conniption and her pettiness is astoundingly awful.
Gaia’s best friend is as awesome as I expected her to be from issue 1, and Jurek is most certainly a character. But we can really see how Gaia and Blaise love each other, and how their friends (and not just colleagues, like Liz) truly care for them.
I like the reminder that pictures make us immortal...and make us want to be better representatives of ourselves.
The scene with Gavin in the darkroom is nauseating. I figured it wasn't Gavin snapping pics at the reception, but I did not expect that. The change in color tone and in the paneling--for some of the frames are cropped out, like we are looking at film--is perfect though.
What visually carries over from issue1 is the fact that one page is dedicated to promoting one of Gaia's works. It breaks the story, breaks the mindset...and while I wouldn't normally like it, it works for this kind of story. It also offers a way to mentally set change too.
It bothers me that Liz somehow snuck a phone in. I guess it's realistic, but it would have been all the better IMO if security had wanded and/or frisked everyone.
Gaia’s father is an utter jerk.
Issue 3
It’s great that Anastasia sees the benefit in not having a phone. It’s truly amazing the change that people feel after less than 24 hours without certain technology. At first it’s very stressful, but then it’s calming.
More people die, some from the killer and others....well, the killer is blamed but it’s not him (or her). The killer brands people with the # sign. Blaise determines that it directly relates to their social media accounts, and how many followers each of the guests has. I am sure that it also pertains to Blaise’s book, seeing as he and Gaia are the main targets.
The patterns Blaise finds are interesting and also disturbing. I am happy for people like Damaris who deleted their accounts beforehand!
At this point, I am blaming Maurizio, since he took the phones to lock in a safe, but they are found in a smashed state by Liz and Tommy.
I hate Liz.
I am also more terrified of buzzsaws now. That was an intense scene.
The panels in this issue are a mixture of those in issues 1 and 2, and there is no full-page ad on Gaia’s work. At the end though is an ad for Blaise’s book.