IDW's Read Only Memories Comic Review
- WRITER
- Mary Kenney, Sina Grace, Caleb Goellner
- Artist
- Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou, Stefano Simeone
- Letterer
- Christa Miesner
- Cover Artist
- Aaron Hammerstrom
- Publisher
- IDW
- Price
- 17.99
- Release Date
- 2021-09-28
- Colorist
- Stefano Simeone
Cyberpunk started as a type of science fiction that highlighted the plight of disenfranchised communities within a dark high-tech future where rampant poverty forced people to take unbelievable risks, producing some of fiction's greatest anti-heroes. Works like William Gibson's Neuromancer and 2000AD's Judge Dredd helped prove how entertaining and thought-provoking the sub-genre can be. Now, in the days of Ghost in the Shell perfume and the critically panned Cyberpunk 2077, it can sometimes seem like the once subversive genre has lost its edge. Luckily, game developer Midboss's 2015 game 2064: Read Only Memories takes the genre back to its fun but challenging roots. Fittingly, IDW's Read Only Memories comic by Sina Grace and Stefano Simeone takes the story in bold, new directions.
"Valentine's Day," the main story in IDW's Read Only Memories, takes place between the events of the original game and its forthcoming sequel, Neurodiver. The comic's story follows former Neo-San Francisco police officer Lexi Rivers as she makes a new life for herself, working as a private investigator in Santa Cruz. When a robot named Heddy shows up on her doorstep asking for help finding their missing boyfriend, Lexi assumes it will be a standard, dull case. However, the idea of a robot and a human falling in love piques her interest and she needs the money, so she accepts. As Lexi digs deeper into the case, she finds herself sneaking into cult parties and looking into a bizarre conspiracy that raises serious questions about the nature of human consciousness.
In IDW's Read Only Memories, Sina Grace presents a world-weary version of Lexi that feels immediately familiar to fans of the original game but is just as charming to new fans. Grace uses Lexi's tongue-in-cheek narration to add humor to this grim version of the future. All of the characters, even the robots, are brimming with personality that appears to exist in defiance of the classist, violent dystopia they inhabit. Grace has crafted a story that gives readers a tour of the wealthiest neighborhoods of Santa Cruz and its underworld that culminates in the unsavory places where the two intersect. As compelling as the central mystery is, Grace's writing shines best when Lexi compares her cynical ideas about love with her romantic robotic employer's. The argument for love and kindness in the face of a future where most relationships are transactional is beautiful in itself. The fact that it is coming from an artificial intelligence raises some fascinating questions about identity and the nature of humanity.
Stefano Simeone's art provides the perfect backdrop for Read Only Memories' ideas. Simeone conjures the tone and spirit of the game but adds his singular style. Simeone's visions of Neo-San Francisco and Santa Cruz are gorgeous and haunting. A majority of the comic is told using bold, neon pink, and a subtle array of blue. This simple color palette washes everything in a retrofuturistic glow that matches the book's tone perfectly. Simeone does an impressive job of drawing the robot characters emotively without anthropomorphizing them, which makes Heddy's character particularly endearing.
This trade paperback edition of Read Only Memories also includes the four backup stories that appeared at the end of each issue. Written by Mary Kenney and Caleb Goellner, they feature funny callbacks to the game. While none of them tell particularly groundbreaking stories, they are fun gags whose inclusion is evidence of the playful nature of the collection. In particular, Christina-Antoinette Neofotistou's pixel art is a delight.
Read Only Memories is an excellent companion to the game that inspired it. Readers who are unfamiliar with the video game will still find a smart, exciting, and self-contained cyberpunk story. Sina Grace and Stefano Simeone draw from their source material while adding something new and interesting to Midboss' world.