BURN is a new six-part mini-series coming out of Arcana Comics. It centers around a young boy called Burn who has been torn apart by a machine sentient called Shoftiel, and he continues to live because they are now fused together in a desperate act to save themselves. Previously, Burn was just an innocent boy who unfortunately came across Shoftiel who was programmed to kill all human life, and an accident happened that changed them forever. Another artificial intelligence mecha is coming after Shoftiel to investigate why he shut down for a brief period of time, and it's not likely to be long before he tracks Burn and Shofitel down! Shofitel and the new mecha Puriel are both acting on their father Cerebus' orders.
Burn is a confused boy, trying to get away from the menace that haunts him at every corner. He is trapped inside his own subconscious, and is struggling for control over Shoftiel, who is still carrying out his orders, which includes annihilating anyone that gets in his way. Burn is joined together with Shoftiel now, and the horrific realisation of what he is now scares him so much that he pushes the limits to regain control. The scientist who created the first artificial intelligence that spawned the war between man and mecha, Dr Anders Carnegie has more of an appearance in this issue. So far, I really don't know very much about him except his work as a scientist and his obvious love for his daughter Aeya but as the father of artificial intelligence, he may yet play a vital role in this series. I've noticed the machines call each other "Brother" and "Father", so they have a sense of family, and are working together.
As expected from the previous issue, Camilla d'Errico pulled off another amazing job as the artist. A lot of cross-hatching is used in shading certain places, much like how they shade in manga. I enjoyed the added effect of the cross-hatching shading as it added extra depth and detail to the artwork. The scenes where Burn realises the reality of what is happening around him are one of the most dramatic scenes. There are similiarites to manga art but it's laid out as a comic, and feels very much like a comic.
This issue will certainly have an emotional impact on the reader. Burn's plight is obviously meant to provoke us emotionally, and make us feel sympathy for his unfortunate situation. The ending of this issue leaves the reader wondering what will happen to Dr Carnegie and his daughter as well as Burn. The artwork goes really well with the story, and although the story is slow-paced, there's still a fair bit of action with lots of dialogue. This title has more information at the Arcana Comics website - http://www.arcanacomics.com/ |
