Analog – A Cyber-Dystopian Noir – Volume One – Death by Algorithm (2018)

Writer – Gerry Dugan 

Artist – David O’Sullivan 

I am in the process of cleaning out old emails from my Gmail account. I get a lot of emails from online comic stores. Before moving them to the trash folder, I’ve been making a list of comics to add to my reading list.  As a fan of Gerry Dugan’s work at Marvel Comics, this series went at the top immediately. 

In December 2020, the Great Unplugging occurred which led to the end of the Internet and the spilling of secrets stored in the cloud. Four years later, Jack McGinnis is a paper jockey, a courier that is paid to get top secret information from one person to another, by any means necessary. 

Written in 2018 with a look to the year 2024, some of the plot points in this volume draw upon some of the fears that are starting to manifest themselves in the real world today. A mogul that is looking to transform the world being courted by Russia. The rise of artificial intelligence and humanity’s reaction to it. Rising tensions among the human race and the escalation of hate and violence – a powder keg ready to explode. As I was reading these issues, I was shocked to see how right on the nose Mr. Duggan was with some of his prophecies. 

Duggan does a phenomenal job mixing genres like dime store detectives and elements of crime noir thrust into a futuristic setting. It’s like if Sam Spade was dropped into the world of Blade Runner. David O’Sullivan helps Duggan bring this world to life and I enjoyed taking my time seeing how the world has changed. My favorite part was in Issue Four when Jack travels to Japan to drop off a briefcase and meets his contact, Hideki. Imagine if the Tokyo of today went back to its original roots and you’ll get an idea of the updated landscapes of the once and future city of tomorrow. 

Analog, like any good mystery book or novel, has many twists and turns you never see coming. As soon as you get accustomed to the direction the story is going, the rug is pulled out from underneath you and you get sent for a ride head over heels. 

Sadly, Analog only ran ten issues. After reading so many horror and horror adjacent comics during the month of October, this was a really good palate cleanser. There are rumblings that this series will be making the leap to live action but I’m not sure if that is still the plan or if it iscurrently in developmental hell. 

If you are looking for something to read over the holiday break (which will be here before you know it), both volumes are available on Hoopla. If you feel like taking a break from yet another screen, check your local library for availability.