“Alex + Ada” is a story set in the not too distant future of floating computer screens and little robots that serve your coffee. We’re given a quiet moment to settle into the story, up until when we get to the morning’s news. Something about a virus being unleashed upon a warehouse of robots and the robots killing humans. Overnight, that company’s stock plummets and a new company emerges as the world’s most trusted tech leader.
We continue to follow Alex on his way to work and we see life-sized robots walking alongside their human masters. In the distance, there’s a protestor with a sign pleading for robot rights. We next find Alex at his office chatting telepathically with a friend. Just a little social networking through an implant in one’s head. Alex is still bummed out over his breakup of seven months ago. Isn’t there something that could cheer him up?
That something will, undoubtedly, be Ada but we only get a hint of that in this first issue which is just fine. The art by Jonathan Luna (GIRLS, THE SWORD) has a free and easy quality as if it came out of a sketchbook. It is an instinctive and simple style that is fun to look at and conveys more emotion than some more realistic art. Luna’s story, with script by Sarah Vaughn (Sparkshooter), seems to share a similar light quality. Luna appears to be very comfortable with a story full of quiet moments, at least for now. Vaughn has an agile touch with dialogue that is truly conversational. There’s a scene between Alex and his grandmother that could have easily just been filler but it’s actually fun and gives a little more substance to what happens next.
An unlikely pairing of human and android. Yep, that’s where we’re headed. No doubt, this won’t be the first story exploring the various possibilities between humans and A-I. However, there’s potential here for something refreshing. I will set the bar high and hope for something as good as the recent movie, “Robot & Frank,” which stars Frank Langella, as Frank, and Peter Sarsgaard as the voice of Robot. In this movie, also set in the near future, Frank is a man who is adrift, much like Alex in this comic. Frank Langella is a very admirable actor. Always the lady’s man, he’s matured to perfection. Here, he plays a retired jewel thief who has a robot forced upon him by family for his own good, to look after him. Little by little, Frank warms up to Robot. He refuses to give him a proper name. Ultimately, Frank and Robot come to an understanding and that’s when the plot thickens.
In the case of this comic, things look very promising indeed, considering we have Ada, a very mysterious and sexy android; plus, we have a possible robot rebellion lurking in the background.
“Alex + Ada #1” releases November 6. Visit our friends at Image Comics here.
