As a child I watched the Prisoner - I hasten to add that these were repeats as the show originally aired many years before I was invented. Anyhow, full disclosure - while I liked it , I totally didn’t get it. There was a man called number 6 (but he doesn’t like being called that), He’s a prisoner and he mostly shouts at number 2, looks unsuccessfully for number 1 and almost escapes most weeks before that bubble gets him.
With the gift of hindsight I now understand that a lot of subtleties I missed the time were around trust, or the lack of it surrounding everyone - perhaps even yourself and with Alex Automatic, a new spy themed adventure written by Fraser Campbell I finally have the chance to follow one of these twisting tales of intrigue the first time around.
Alex Automatic, the titular hero of the story is a secret agent enhanced with a number of gadgets and other robotic implants to create a deadly undercover agent without equal, the only problem being that he’s also having some trouble with his grip on reality.
As we progress through the story the reader is left with a need to constantly question the goings on we’re subjected to the shifting perspective of the beleaguered spy as the mystery unfolds. This story telling mechanic is greatly enhanced by the artwork and lettering of James Corcoran, David B Cooper & Colin Bell. Visuals distort and shift between panels, characters appearances shift and change for the reader at the same time as they do for Alex and we’re left trying to establish fact from fantasy.
Needless to say it’s a compelling read that has a good balance of mystery, invitation for the reader to speculate and actual resolution (albeit at times answers with a question mark)
The world the team have created for Alex Automatic is an incredibly rich one with a wealth of characters, be they real or imaginary shown only briefly we draw out both a great strength of the book but also my key area of criticism, and it’s rare that I say this but - I’d like them to have been able to draw it out more!
This of course it is a feature of the medium the story is being delivered in that drives its pacing. One shot publications can only be so long for reasons of practicality and an ongoing series without the benefits of a large publisher paying the bills comes with additional risks. I for one would love to see what this team could do with an ongoing series where uncertainty can stretch for longer and we can delve deeper into backstory of the various characters, without the need for a resolution before the issue ends.
The short stay in Alex Automatic’s world remains a thrilling throughout and beautifully presented through artwork which captures the spy genre flawlessly, and one I’d gladly return to for more intrigue, assassination and existential crisis in a heartbeat.
You can purchase Alex Automatic from the Cabal Comics Website or follow writer Fraser Campbell @FraserC69 for more news on Alex Automatic and his other projects, word is that 2017 is already looking busy for new material (Yes - Including more Alex Automatic)
