Old City Blues 1

Old City Blues #1

by Giannis Milonogiannis, Rebecca Taylor (Editor)

The year is 2048. Southeastern Europe. Built on the ruins of the country once known as Greece, New Athens is a city crawling with life€”low-life, that is. From mech smugglers and drug dealers, to corrupt politicians and all-too-powerful corporations, the city is at the mercy of high-tech criminals. And it€™s up to Solano, Thermidor, and the rest of the New Athens Special Police to keep the city in order. When the cybernetically augmented founder of a tech corporation called Hayashi is found murdered, it seems to be just another case of cyborg persecution. But Hayashi Corporation€™s strange response to the incident raises suspicion in Solano and the Special Police. The mystery they unravel will lead them straight into the wasteland of the Old City.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Mystery

120 pages, Hardcover

First published July 12, 2011

Reviews

[Jamil · Rating 3 out of 5]

not only is the physicality (texture & heft) of this book quite pleasing, but it reads like it was drawn over late nights by a 15 year old kid, a fan of AKIRA & William Gibson novels, armed only with a ball point pen, so in other words, very nearly the best thing ever.

[Shaun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Old city blues is what you would get if you took AD Police Files, Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner and dropped them in a blender. It's cyberpunk in its quintessential form. Old City Blues doesn't break any new ground in the genre, but it takes all the best parts of what's already out there and hangs them on a new narrative. Milanogianis' art really mixes well with the atmosphere of the book, borrowing bits from the manga that obviously inspired it, but stepping forth as its own unique style.

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's Greek cyberpunk! Which sounds cooler than what we actually get. So old Athens got flooded, and a Japanese megacorp flew in to save and rebuild the city into a Blade Runner-worthy sprawling metropolis, called New Athens. I wish there was more 'greekness' here, beyond the intro pages and the city's name.. but that could also be a comment on globalisation, I suppose.

What follows is a murder investigation into said megacorp, which posits some interesting questions about transhumanism, and then never does anything with them.

This is where the writing fails, I think - the whole focus shifts to action and combat (including mechs), and when there is dialogue it's pretty rote, bordering on the silly.

I like the art, quite scratchy but effective in picturing the cyberpunk future. There's some nice bits of design here.

There's also a short story that has the same problems - almost manga-like focus on mech combat (really, does every police investigation need these 'mobile guns'..? Seems costly and impractical), and little story to speak of. (There is a weird thing where our policeman protagonist is surprised his perp is a woman, going so far that his mech-pilot partner teases him about it.. really?)

[Sezer Turgay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Konusu sel sonrasi yikilan Yunanistani şirketler yeniden insa ediyor (mecha,teknoloji sirketleri) japon bi sirketin kurucusu öldürülüyor bu kapaktaki polis arkadaş Solano' da katili ariyor tabi şirketlerin kirli işlerine rast geliyor ve olaylar büyüyor.

Çok sketchy çizimleri olsa da Prophet serisinden tanıdığım Giannis abiyi seviyorum ben.Kendi tarzında Pluto,Akira benzeri bir hikaye anlatmaya çalışmış baya beğendim.Tek eksisi yarım kalmış olması ama kim belir devamı gelir belki.

[Phil · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this one was a miss for me. I like the noir-ish tone to the book and having the story set in Athens. It is set in the future and contains some sci-fi elements. The CEO of a robotics company is found dead and this police group investigates.

The detective subgenre can be a lot of fun to read. This one felt boring to me though. The main character didn't grab my attention and I never felt like it mattered what he was doing or what was happening in his world. There is a push to paint this corporation as evil and then nothing really comes of it.

I didn't care for the art much either. The lack of color wasn't a problem, but the illustrations themselves weren't terribly exciting. The story really could have been set anywhere in this future world. It reminded me more of an anime than something set on the European continent.

[Diz · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is pretty interesting, but of uneven quality at times. The story is a bit bland, and it doesn't really offer anything new if you have read cyberpunk manga like "Ghost in the Shell" or "Appleseed" before. The lettering is sloppy and hard to read at times.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kinetic, frenetic, and chaotic, Giannis Milonogiannis’ “Old City Blues” is a high-octane mash-up of gritty crime noir and cyberpunk-y manga. Everything about “Old City Blues” can be summarized with one word: speed. The story rushes headlong from set piece to set piece, Milonogiannis’ drawing style is loaded with speed lines and sketchy blurs of action, and even his lettering has a sloppy and spontaneous feel. While the plot is fairly paint-by-numbers (a hard-boiled cop tries to solve a murder that points to a far-reaching corporate conspiracy), Milonogiannis’ enthusiasm is infectious, elevating “Old City Blues” to more than just a generic sci-fi comic made by a kid raised on too much “Beverly Hills Cop,” “Akira,” and “Blade Runner.” It’s the kind of passion project that deserves more support in a comics scene dominated by big business, coincidentally (?) the very same villains of “Old City Blues.”

[Anthony Calisto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling

I love it when I see read a comic or nov that has so much heart put into it and so much originality. The creator has massive amounts of talent and blends his artistic vision perfectly with clear inspiration from Ghost In The Shell and Blade Runner. To think this was just a web comic and to see how far its come is amazing. I highly recommend this comic with anyone with a fresh taste in both the cyberpunk genre and in visual art.

[Greg S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing and art reminds me of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira. I guess it can all be traced back to Moebius in the 70s.

interesting story. MCs are police officers. There’s some family drama.
It has good pacing and good panel work. Nice use of the splash page

in a panel or two, It dips into the idea of complacency of the police in oppressive systems but then shrugs and moves on.



Edit: For future reference
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a...

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just okay. It is basically a rip-off of Ghost in the Shell, Dominion: Tank Police, Patlabor, and Akira. But the problem is that all of those properties do a better job at world-building and storytelling than this one. The writing here is fairly pedestrian, slightly saved by the Masamune Shiro-inspired art style. Somewhat enjoyable as a minor, derivative distraction.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

With simply stunning artwork and intriguing storylines, Old City Blues presents a cybernetic world of crime, mystery, thrills and action. The rhythm and pacing of Milonogiannis' panels is a true joy, featuring great technique (linework, shading, shadows, expressions…) and a visual style that adds so much to his vision of New Athens. This visual novel is a must read for cyberpunk fans.

[Rockito · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good pacing and narrative and Giannis has a great style to himself, but I found this to be pretty standard stuff. Not bad but nothing new, it's like the author did drawings of Blade Runner, GITS, Bubblegum Crisis, etc, and then made a few more to tie-them together into a story.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cyberpunk must read

[Jin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool. Feels a little too like Metal Gear Solid.

[Cid · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is basically Akira meets Ghost in the Shell so good but nothing new. The style of drawing also influenced by the two but still very good “photography”. 3.7

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this, what if a sequential artist armed with a pen and paper and made a good but cliched story for you, this is the result.

A good sci-fi story, imagine Blade Runner mixed with Ghost In The Shell, in a post-disaster Greece, where big corporations transformed a small remaining land into New Athens. I do not know why no one made a big deal of the similarities of the female character to the main character of GITS manga/anime.

I like how these big companies are tech companies 'cause the most dominant industry today is tech, even though the main plot is somewhat mediocre, I still appreciate the storytelling. This is one of many reasons I like Archaia as publisher, creating quality books and not overhyping them. The hardcover is really nice, and the interior art might not be of my taste but it is a good sequential art.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta intrigante surpresa chega-nos da Grécia. Confesso a minha ignorância total da banda desenhada grega, e não estava nada à espera de ler algo que mistura FC cyberpunk, teorias da singularidade e estilo manga num futurismo sem limites. No mundo de Old City Blues toda a Grécia foi reconstruída como megalópole hipermoderna por uma corporação ciber-tecnológica japonesa após uma catástrofe natural. Resta apenas a cidade de Atenas como zona esquecida, cidade de ruínas abandonadas envolta pelas torres modernas e vias rápidas onde circulam veículos avançados. Transhumanismo, cyborgs, mechas e caçadas policiais convivem neste curioso album desenhado num estilo inspirado no manga mas com um cunho livre expresso num traçado expressivo.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I tried Old City Blues on the recommendation of a few people and I'm basically glad I did. While the art style is not what I normally prefer, it suited the rough gritty surroundings. The setting felt like a cross of Blade Runner and Pluto with an odd dash of Appleseed for the mecha. I do wish the Old City had been fleshed out more so it felt like Athens ruins, rather than just generic ruins. One mild annoyance is how Thermidor, the female detective, is treated initially by her Mobile Guns partner. That's only the real blemish and it doesn't distract from my overall enjoyment of the book. Archaia, as usual, put together a beautiful edition.

[Damon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing really innovative happening here plot-wise, but the artwork is pretty fantastic. Standard "cop uncovers a conspiracy that threatens to engulf us all!!!" storyline, but it seems like it fizzles out a bit, leaving you sort of "So... um... huh. Okay." Still, entertaining enough, and it looks really nice, though I'll say that... something about the artwork - the tonal range, or the layouts, or the kinetic style - something can leave it feeling a bit muddled on the page at points. Overall nice stuff, though.

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Refreshing good ol' cyberpunk story, just like way back when. Of course the book is clearly under the influence of Appleseed and GITS but so what? I really liked these books and I enjoyed being grapped into this kind of atmosphere again.
The scratchy look of the art might not be appreciated by all but personnally I liked it, coupled with a very dynamic stotytelling. Don't be deceived, Milonogiannis clearly masters his pencilling and is a promising talent to follow in the years to come (the guy was barely 20 when he drew the whole book!)

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me Old City Blues' dystopian future seems very influenced by Appleseed, but I liked the main and one short story here more than I do Appleseed. Maybe it is because this is pretty much a straightforward dystopian police story. We do not get a lot of character development, and if there is a second volume I would like to see some. The mystery surrounding the Hayashi Corporation was pretty obvious for the most part, but getting to the end of the story was enjoyable.

[P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the robo sci-fi feel combined with the sketchy, almost editorial cartoon style of the art. It was on the edge of too sketchy but never went over. And I love that it was set in Greece. That was fresh. What else--the spirited trade offs didn't seem rote. I wanted to feel like I was deeper into the world, though. See more inhabitants other than special forces or police or corrupt cyborgs.

[TJ Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cyber-punk murder-mystery story set in New Athens in the year 2048. Masterfully great story-telling. Occasionally, you can find an indie gem and this was one of them. I tend to follow comic authors to whatever franchise they go to and now I'll be watching what the future holds for Milonogiannis.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This reminded me of Ghost in the Shell in a lot of ways, and all of them good. I'll have to see if I can find the comic online so I can continue reading the rest of the story-if there's more story to read. A fast page tuner with a great story, I would definitely suggest this to anyone who has an interest in cyberpunk or is a fan of Ghost in the Shell.

[Allie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fives stars for art, two stars for story and dialogue. I love Milonogiannis' art to pieces, but he really shines when he's paired with an experienced writer like Brandon Graham. Given that Milonogiannis is only 25 (!) though, I look forward to seeing him refine his storytelling techniques in further volumes of OCB.

[William Hanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this 2.5 stars if it was an option. I really like the gritty artwork, action, and story idea. But I really don't like the canned dialog (way too many cliches). It's all a matter of what the reader looks for in an action/suspense comic book.
Oh, and I love the afterword. As a person who once wanted to be a graphic novel writer, I connected with the author's personal story.

[Mike Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast read, much like manga. It is a good mix of Blade Runner, Silent Möbius, and Ghost in the Shell. I enjoyed the art and the storytelling. The roughness of the inking lent itself well to the story. It was an unusual direction for a mech heavy comic but well executed.

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story with a ho-hum ending, greatly enlivened by some kinetic scribbly art halfway between Otomo and Paul Pope. Some of the panels descend into chaos, and a few of the hand-lettered speech balloons take some parsing, but this is a visually beautiful read.

[nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

hm..
not the kind of drawing style I enjoy, some of the panels are really cluttered and confusing.
as for the story, I feel it's not well developed, certain things are hinted at but not elaborated, no character development.. the fact that it's set in the future doesn't add to the story at all

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the story was not super gripping for me I did enjoy it alot because it definitely has some flavorings of my favorite Sci-fi particularly, ghost in the shell and William gibson's nueromancer. Really neat and energetic artwork too.