kukushka's review
2.0
I liked this story exactly as much as I like steampunk, because that's all there really is going on. The protagonist is Blanky McBlankface married to Longsuffering McBlankface. They have one child together, named Pathos Manpain McBlankface.
The authoritarian state that they live in is every authoritarian state you've ever seen, complete with the autocrat isolated in his literal tower. It even goes full Star Wars and suddenly brings out "the Empire" about 2/3rds of the way through, after having referred to the power structure as "the Greys" up until that point. What Empire, you may ask? Who knows. All we have is a single city with some unknown danger outside its walls.
The artwork is tone perfect - being competent but without much character. Facial expressions are "realistic", which makes them look wooden and dead-eyed.
I did like the plot idea of becoming an accidental undercover spy, though. It gives McBlankface quite a shock to realize that the guards don't live all that much better than he does. I also liked that there are resistance allies on the inside who seek him out and make his subterfuge possible, which in terms traps him in their plotting. There's a lot of potential there for a reluctant hero to get sucked in way deeper than he ever wanted. And maybe the series will explore that further and redeem itself.
As it is, though, I appreciate the aesthetic, but this story just lacks substance.
The authoritarian state that they live in is every authoritarian state you've ever seen, complete with the autocrat isolated in his literal tower. It even goes full Star Wars and suddenly brings out "the Empire" about 2/3rds of the way through, after having referred to the power structure as "the Greys" up until that point. What Empire, you may ask? Who knows. All we have is a single city with some unknown danger outside its walls.
The artwork is tone perfect - being competent but without much character. Facial expressions are "realistic", which makes them look wooden and dead-eyed.
I did like the plot idea of becoming an accidental undercover spy, though. It gives McBlankface quite a shock to realize that the guards don't live all that much better than he does. I also liked that there are resistance allies on the inside who seek him out and make his subterfuge possible, which in terms traps him in their plotting. There's a lot of potential there for a reluctant hero to get sucked in way deeper than he ever wanted. And maybe the series will explore that further and redeem itself.
As it is, though, I appreciate the aesthetic, but this story just lacks substance.
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