Image Comics 2017
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Andre Lima Araujo
Coloured by Chris O’Halloran
Lettered by Clayton Cowles
America, 2020. Three young hackers with nothing to lose. A secretive scientist with a plan. One final job. What happens when you're poor, angry, and get superpowers you never asked for? Skins + Unbreakable = GENERATION GONE, sort of— if you also include multiple trips to the sun, weird black goo, a breakup fight inside a nuclear factory, love, hate, anger, loss...and survival. GENERATION GONE is for every kid struggling out there. It's about what it means to be young in the USA, 2017.
There’s one thing i’m always certain of when I read a book by Ales and that’s it’s going to be thought provoking and somewhat controversial. Honestly it’s one of the reasons I enjoy reading his work. I might not always agree with his commentary but it’s always presented in a way that is intelligent, interesting and leaves you feeling. Feeling what?, that's up to you as an individual.
So we start off with two characters conversing and I had no idea where this was going to go. Almost immediately I got the sense that Elena was very insecure and felt that being with Nick gave her some sort of validation even if he was a complete and utter piece of ass. His attitude left me irate and again this what I mean though when I talk about Ales as a writer he makes you feel. Also that it took quite some time for me to understand where the book was actually was a huge bonus. I kept reading, paying close attention to what was happening and all the while I was never correct in my assumptions of what was going to happen next.
Andre and Chris do some really nice work on the interiors. I like the style Andre brings to this. The linework has this unique edginess to it that feels almost scratchy and incomplete but at the same time is strong and expressive. The angles and perspective we see in the panels throughout the page layouts are well done. Normally I advocate more use of backgrounds but the minimalist use in play here is better for the story. It adds this air about what’s going on that feels more mysterious to me.
The characters we see have very different and distinct personalities and while we can empathise with them it’s not hard to find those that you like, want to root for and those you want to see fall flat on their faces. The secretive scientist, Akio, is so obviously up to something behind the backs of everyone, even after “coming clean” on a side project he’s been working on and the military guy who “has to be in full control” lend another side to the story. While it’s not quite an us versus them thing it’s definitely something and what we see makes us want to see more.
The pacing, story development and the characterisation here left me wanting more by the end of the issue. Ales keeps challenging himself and his work keeps getting better and more intense with each new project. The various threads weaving in and out of each storyline with each character keep intersecting so that they will always be connected whether they like it or not and I can’t wait to see what happens when it all becomes too much for them.
Daring, innovative and extremely well executed this will engage your senses and leave you feeling many things. So sit back, relax and go with the ride it promises to be more interesting than anything on tv!