I.D.

by Emma Ríos

A dystopian tale that analyzes the conflict between perception and identity through the struggle of three people who consider a 'body transplant' as a solution to their lives.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book

80 pages, Paperback

First published June 28, 2016

About the author

Emma Ríos Maneiro is a Spanish cartoonist and illustrator.
Rios was born in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Spain in 1976 and early in her life developed an interest in drawing. She graduated in Architecture from the University of A Coruña.
Ríos worked as an architect for some years, while being active in the Spanish independent comics and fanzine scene. In particular, she self-publishing her comic book APB (A Prueba de Balas) (meaning: 'bulletproof') through the collective Polaqia.
In 2007 Ríos left her job as an architect to become a full-time comic book artist. Since then she has worked for various mainstream American publishers, such as Boom! Studios, Marvel, DC and Image Comics. At Image she co-created the series Mirror with Hwei Lim and Pretty Deadly with writer Kelly Sue DeConnick. The latter comic book earned her an Eisner award for Best cover in 2020.

Reviews

[Irena BookDustMagic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Going into this story I had no expectations.
Graphic Novels are not what I read on regular basis, so I don't feel like an expert when it comes to reviewing them, but I still feel like I can tell what I liked and what I disliked in an acceptable way.

I.D. is a dystopian story told in a format of graphic novel.
I say it is a dystopian because that is what is said in the synopsis, but if you ask me, I say it is a futuristic story.
You see, there is no „new world order“ (or in case there is, we didn't have a chance to see it), but the story is set in the future where the technology is so advanced that people can change their body to someone else's.

I liked how from the scientistic perspective it was described how it is possible to transplate your brain into another body and with the brain your personality, memories and yourself complitely.

The story follows only three characters: Noa, Miguel and Charlotte. They all seemed interesting enough, but yet I wish we got the chance to get to know them better and to get attached to them or just to understand their reasons behid their actions.

The art work is done solidly and I really like how it was all done in red color.

My main problem with this novel is that is was just too short.
80 pages was not enough, and I wish this was not a standalone (or that it was, but only longer) but at least 3 volumes long story in which we'd got to see characters' lives before they decided to go under the procedure, and how they accustomed to their new bodies and what kind of life they'd live after the surgery.
I feel like most of the story we had to imagine in our heads instead of reading it in this work.

I have to phrase that the part that showed opponents of the exchanging body procedures really impressed me.
Also, I like the open ending but as I already said, I think this would make a better series instead of standalone.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story with some really interesting potential, asking the question: What if you don’t like your body? Old people, disabled people, trans people (in some respects?), people who want to be thinner or heavier, and so on. And another question: How is your identity in some sense connected to your body? If you change bodies, are you a different person?

So obviously transplanting is a thing, increasingly, and I seem to recall whole-body transplanting IS being discussed, researched. So Rios makes a pretty short book (80 pages) about three people, Noa, Miguel and Charlotte, who may want to do this. The focus in such sci fi stories usually gives short shrift to the science, but here Rios does some detailed and well-researched analysis into the neuroscience, touching on some of the ethical issues, but giving short shrift to the individual stories. I guess you’d call this a dystopian tale.

The art is all red and pink, (it’s set on Mars, the Red Planet, get it?!) a little too dark, sometimes hard to decipher, though in general the actual drawing is well done. I found it interesting, I liked it, I really did, but it’s not as humanly memorable as I would have liked. I liked the people; I just wanted to know more of their stories. The three of them all want to transplants for different reasons, and those reasons are interesting, but I wanted to know more. They all connect with each other, in pretty interesting ways.

Whoa, just saw this in Cathy’s review, so borrowed it. Body transplant plans in China:

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/12/wo...

[Magrat Ajostiernos · Rating 4 out of 5]

La historia merece unas 3 estrellitas pero ese dibujazo lo eleva a 4 sin duda.
Me ha gustado aunque da pena que se quedara en un relato tan cortito, daba para muchísimo más, jo.

[Anusha Narasimhan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept combining science and a bit of psychology. I liked the reasons behind the three people's choice to change their body. Though the book is set in the future, all the three reasons hold good in today's world.

The art is rendered beautifully. The comic is pleasing in shades of red and pink. The story possibly takes place in Mars and that makes the red colour scheme apt.

The execution could have been better. I still like the idea and the art. Hence, giving this 3 stars.

Note: I received a free copy of the book from the publisher. This review is my personal opinion and has not been influenced anyway by anyone.

[Scarlet Cameo · Rating 3 out of 5]

English review at the bottom

"Hating your body or your life doesn't mean you hate yourself"

¿Realmente que es lo que somos?¿Una mente?¿Un cuerpo?¿La combinación de ambas? Esta obra nos platea esta cuestión a través de nuestros tres protagonistas (Noa, Miguel y Charlotte), un caótico mundo que se desmorona alrededor de ellos y al mismo tiempo se hace más fuerte conforme se centra únicamente en ellos tres, y un procedimiento médico: el trasplante de cerebro.

Con un Noa con el deseo de ser quien es en su interior, una Charlotte tan aburrida de la vida que lo busca es una transformación drástica y un Miguel con un oculto pasado, se nos plantean las razones por las cuales se opta a un procedimiento donde sólo dos tercios de los pacientes sobreviven y que significa una travesía desde que la historia inicia hasta el final de la misma.



A pesar de ser una historia corta por momentos se siente apresurada y unas cuantas páginas en las cuáles se profundizara las consecuencias de la decision que toma cada personaje al final habría beneficiado enormemente a la historia dado el fuerte corte ético que busca presentarnos, no obstante el permitirnos ver como es que la relación entre los personas se va dando y estrechando es una gran ventaja para la historia y permite que cierre correcta aunque precipitadamente.



__________________________________________________

"Hating your body or your life does not mean you hate yourself"

What made us we are? A mind? A body? The combination of both? This work raises this question through our three protagonists (Noa, Michael and Charlotte), a chaotic world crumbles around them and at the same time turns stronger as it focused only on the three of them, and a medical procedure: brain transplantation.

With Noa with the desire to be who she is inside, a Charlotte boring of her life at the point that needs a drastic transformation and Miguel with a hidden past, present us the reasons why desiere to choose a procedure where only two-thirds of patients survive and that means a journey since the story begins to the end of it.

Despite being a short story at times feels rushed and a few pages in which we know more about the consequences of the decision taken by each character would benefited enormously to the story 'cause the strong ethical court, despite the fact that let us see how the relationship between these people is giving and shaking is a great advantage for history and allows correct but abruptly closing.

A digital copy of this book was provided by NetGalley

[lauren ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley in an exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately intrigued by the concept of this book. Identity issues are something that are extremely common in society and I definitely don't think they get the representation they deserve. Seeing that this graphic novel talked about identity and then a sci-fi aspect of body transplants I definitely wanted to read it.

Unfortunately, it just wasn't quite well executed enough.

I definitely appreciate the research that Emma Ríos put into writing this, but at times it felt too technical. Most of it went right over my head and I know that's partly on me, but because of that I was confused (and slightly bored) 80% of the time. Despite the information overload I felt the world building was lacking.

I wasn't able to connect to any of the characters and I found myself not caring what happened to any of them.

The art style was also lost on me. The entire thing was sketched in red and it just all begun to blur together.

If you're into medical science and like the sketchy style of art then you might love this whereas unfortunately I didn't. One of my three stars is for the concept and research otherwise it would have been two.

[Tatiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been wanting to read this for AGES. It's done in this weird pink scale and it's about 3 people who want to get new bodies.

I dunno. I just didn't really care for it. I kinda wish it had been set present day vs dystopian (??) science fiction. But it didn't seem very far into the future...

Don't recommend beyond the interesting colors.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

A sci-fi setting for a story dealing with identity issues. Our protagonists are 3 people about to go under a procedure that will transplant their brains into new bodies. For some reason they are all dealt with together and there's no privacy issues. What story there is starts to fall apart when they are interrupted by a clash between protesters and government forces. The story just kind of peters out with little resolution. I think they were trying to be subtle but the artwork wasn't good enough to pull it off. The whole book is drawn with only a red pencil. There's not enough contrast between the red and the white for the eye to pick out the artistic details. There's very little to no shading and no inker to the book which would have helped greatly. Just fine red pencil art which I found distracting and made it difficult to keep me in the story. If I have to stop and stare and each panel to puzzle out what is happening, it takes you out of the flow of the story.

Received an advance copy from Image and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Mangrii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Publicada originalmente en la revista Island, con nominación a Mejor Antología incluida en los Eisner de 2017, I.D. es una historia clásica de ciencia ficción que analiza el eterno conflicto entre la propia identidad y lo que el resto percibe de nosotros. Los protagonistas de la historia son tres personas que consideran el trasplante de cuerpo -que los avances médicos parecen permitir- como solución a sus vidas. Noa, un hombre atrapado en un cuerpo de mujer, Miguel, que quiere huir de su turbio pasado y Charlotte, una mujer que aborrece su vida.

Una historia sencillita, un tanto coja a nivel de guion, pero que compensa todos sus males con ese precioso bitono apartado gráfico. Es una historia que el lector debe componer, donde hay detalles y sutilezas enmarcadas por el preciso y detallado estilo de Emma, que prestan más cuidado a la base científica de la historia que a sus propios protagonistas. Es una pena, por que la última página deja una amarga sensación de potencial, que sin embargo, el breve ensayo de Miguel Alberto Woorward sobre el marco científico y neurológico de la obra quita de vez al cerrar la obra.

[Dina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primera novela gráfica leída!
Debo decir que en cuanto al dibujo no me ha gustado demasiado y de hecho como suele pasarme con este tipo de historias la distribución me ha parecido confusa (imagino que tengo que acostumbrarme a la falta de orden y linealidad). La historia en sí me parece muy buena, de hecho creo q en una novela podría resultar genial por todos los dilemas morales y las mil posibilidades que plantearía eso de "trasplantar el cerebro".
En resumen creo q ha sido una buena experiencia.

[Artemy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice short sci-fi story about body transplantation, drawn and written by Emma Ríos. Reminds me a bit of Warren Ellis's sci-fi shorts, like Ocean and Orbiter. The story is pretty abstract, but it's good for what it is. Tightly written, with no unnecessary exposition, but with enough background and detail to make the story believable. And Emma's art is great, even though it's presented here in flat red and white, with no additional coloring. Overall, an enjoyable book.

[Lauren (Northern Plunder)]

My review was first posted on Northern Plunder, you can read more of my reviews there too.

I'm not going to lie it was the cover that made me pick this up to see its synopsis because it looked so intricate and something different with it all being drawin in pink.

With the mention of "body transplants" in the synopsis it reminded me of the Uglies series I read a few years ago and thought it would be interesting to see another persons take on a similar kind of process and as it was clearly science fiction I knew I'd enjoy it.

& enjoy it I did but it wont be my favourite read of the year.

As for the art style (images of inside pages have been included at the bottom) I liked it but it was as intricate as the cover. But it was nice to see the use of only pinks as it made you focus a lot more on what was illustrated, whilst also making it feel unique. I'm sure something like this has been done before but most graphic novels I've read are in full colour.

For the story itself the world building was lacking - its probably set on Earth or somewhere similar to it but with far advanced science and technology (mentions of a mine off world, closed off areas due to terraforming incomplete, and y'know the whole body transplant thing). But other than that nothing indicates that its society is far different from ours.

Though I also don't see the lack of world building a bad thing given this graphic novel isn't part of a series so for 80 pages in length I'm happy we got even a small glimpse whilst it focused on telling its story.

The character building was better, which is expected given this is a character focused story. There are 3 main characters all of whom are meeting after signing up for an experimental medical procedure where they will have a body transplant - their brain put into a new body, whilst their old is destroyed.

We're shown flashbacks of them at the meeting where the procedure is explained and whilst this isn't something that could be achieved currently you can tell the author has gone to great lengths to make it seem like it is possible in her science fiction world.

But the current timeline is of the three of them meeting afterwards in a coffee shop to talk things through with each other, to make sure they're all happy with their decision to go through with it. here is an old lady, a writer, and older man, an ex-convict, and a young transmale who doesn't want to me trapped in a female body any longer.

The story itself was mostly just focusing on these characters adjusting to the idea that they were going to have new bodies, new lives (if they survived the process). You don't actually see the process or the things they have to go through in rehab to adjust to having a new body which'd probably made it sit even more at home in the science fiction section.

But we do get a tiny look at them after as they thank the others for helping them through it and looking for continued support in their lives. I liked this part as it just felt really nice to have characters that genuinely cared about one and another and knowing they'd have someone to turn too whilst they continued to adjust to life.

So as you can see from what I've written it had good aspects but also aspects missing in some areas so that is why it wont be a favourite read of mine but it was an interesting topic to tackle.

After the graphic novel there is a disertation of sorts explaining how this process isn't something we could do today and goes in depth to discuss all the areas that would have to be considered and overcome should it ever be done. It was very scientific and I'm not that great with actual science so some of it was lost on me but it was a nice addition as it illustrated they had really thought it through.

It also left me concerned whether it could be viewed as problematic the way TFIOS is - a real problem with a fake cure/solution - so I wasn't sure how to tackle this part of the reivew. At the end of the day I'm coming at this as someone who isn't trans but didn't want to be ignorant and not address the fact others may percieve it as harmful.

I've discussed it with a few people and they mostly felt that the inclusion of a trans person was a good thing because in a science fiction setting such as this it wouldn't be unlikely they'd opt for the chance of a new body and it was good the story didn't just focus on characters who wanted to look better for vanity sakes.

"Part of worldbuilding in stories like that is considering how everyone will be affects. I think its very plausible that if this were something that was possible there would be trans people doing it."


However I am open to more discssion on this topic and at the end of the day will listen to how a trans person views it over anyone else. If my concerns were wrong/right please let me know and I can adapt the review as needed to inform others, but I couldn't post a review without a heads up in case someone did pick it up and felt I'd portrayed the safety of the story incorrectly.

[Tatiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

M'encanta que una història tan curta ofereixi tanta complexitat de debat. Definitivament un bon llibre per comentar i per reflexionar sobre els límits ètics de la ciència i la legislació, i sobre el nostre concepte d'identitat i humanitat.

Per descomptat, l'art d'Emma Ríos es una bogeria, ofereix capes de lectura i et permet perdre't hores mirant els seus traços ❤️🖤

[Alex Sarll]

A strange, gorgeous little tale using a vaguely plausible invented method of body transplant to poke at our current tangles regarding questions of identity. Setting it on a part-terraformed Mars seems largely a justification for everything being drawn and lettered in shades of red and pink - which you'd expect to be hard on the eye, but is in fact mesmerising. There are some pages dominated by a leafy tree, in particular, which are almost as transfixing as the real thing - and I do love the localised near-infinity of a good tree.

(Netgalley ARC)

[Mariana Moreno · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ok, soy idiota y no entendí el final.
Entiendo y me gustó el concepto pero, ¿No pudieron hacerla más larga? Creo que el por qué los personajes sólo fue dado porque sí sin ninguna explicación y...no.
Tanto que esperé por leer esta novela gráfica y no me dió nada de nada.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

3'5/5

Me gustan la premisa y los personajes, pero me quedo con ganas de más, se me ha hecho corto.
Me ha gustado mucho la parte estética tb, y creo que se aprecian las influencias del manga en general y de Otomo en particular (después de escuchar a Emma Ríos este fin de semana era inevitable pensar en esto).

[Sassy Sarah Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

I.D. by Emma Rios

1.75 stars

I.D. follows three people who are no longer satisfied with their mediocre lives. They think the solution to their problems is a body transplant. The concept of this graphic novel is simple, but very fascinating. I thought this was going to be a strong story and poignant, but I found it to be very lacking. The story itself is only about 67 pages long with art and words to develop a plotline and because this is a very brief story I expected there to be more of a punch behind the stories. The idea was there, but the execution was not.

Whimsical Writing Scale: 1.5

The characters are Noa, Charlotte, and a man whose name is not really mentioned. They all long for something different from what life is giving them. One wants to become the gender they identify, one wants to escape a boring existence, and one wants to understand what defines humans. It's a great concept, but these characters were bare bones minimum. They offered almost no emotion and I felt no empathy towards their lives and their reasons for undergoing a body transplant.

Character Scale: 1

The art was done in red and white, which was very aesthetically pleasing. The art itself was rather bland and unappealing. Overall, it's a short graphic novel and if you are interested pick it up, but it's not a story that I'm rushing to recommend. I think a lot of people will enjoy this story, I was just not one of them.

Art Scale: 2

Plotastic Scale: 2

Cover Thoughts: The cover is what drew my attention to this story. It's very eye catching.

Thank you, Netgalley and Image Comics for allowing me to read this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars from Bill, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE

Emma Rios’ I.D. is a graphic story with a good premise, and some flashes of excellent artwork, but overall the illustration style didn’t work for me, while the characters and plot weren’t developed enough for my liking.

It begins with a trio of seemingly mismatched people conversing in a coffeeshop, and one of those aforementioned flashes of brilliance come via the page after we see a pull-back view of the three at their table. The next page is a series of fifteen close up of eyes, fingers, hands, and coffee cups conveying in wonderfully expressive and economic fashion the discomfort these three feel. read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Curioso tebeo que mezcla estampa cotidiana y ciencia ficción. Lo más interesante es cómo la narrativa prescinde de cualquier texto de apoyo para montar la historia: dibujo y diálogos es todo lo que tiene el lector para componerla. Y esta funciona de manera relativa. Se presta mucha atención a la base científica, el "novum", mientras que la personalidad de sus protagonistas, sus motivaciones, cualquier cambio... recibe un tratamiento más superficial. Su acabado visual funciona mejor pero globalmente deja un regusto a potencial no terminado de desarrollar.

[Dan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got a copy of this from Netgalley for a fair and honest review.
So this is a story that takes place in the future, and in the future, you can get a new body if you do not like the one you are in. There wasn't much to the story as it did seem to tell a little bit in tiny doses. The story seemed to be all over the place and a bit rushed. The fact that this was one color and red made for an extremely annoying read.

[The Wintermute System · Rating 1 out of 5]

A confusing mess, and bullshit.

This could have been so much more nuanced, especially given that this was about changing bodies and included a trio with a trans man considering this operation.

Instead, it felt all very superficially about identity and more about the morals of using someone else's body - which also was superficial to a lesser degree.

[La Nave Invisible · Rating 4 out of 5]

Publicada en la revista Island, que fue nominada a Mejor Antología en los premios Eisner en 2017, I.D. sigue las peripecias de Noa, Miguel y Charlotte, tres desconocidos que deciden someterse a un transplante de cuerpo a través de una intervención compleja y que no asegura una rehabilitación completa, pues solo dos de tres tercios consiguen sobrevivir a la operación y posterior rehabilitación.

I.D. está ambientada en una ciudad indeterminada en un futuro cercano, donde vemos ciertas diferencias con respecto a nuestro presente, además del propio trasplante: desde la colonia minera en un satélite de Marte, hasta la policía, que tiene un comportamiento más violento y represivo.

Desde el inicio podemos comprobar las diferencias de actitud y de comportamiento de los tres protagonistas, muy únicos, y cada uno tiene sus propias razones para exponerse a este experimento; Noa desea un cuerpo acorde a su género; Miguel quiere escapar de un pasado problemático; Charlotte, por pura desidia.

Continúa en... https://lanaveinvisible.com/2018/06/0...

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really surprised to see that this was an Image book. The art and book production is quite a departure from their usual stuff, but I can't say that's a bad thing. Rios' illustrations are manga-esque, done in shades of pink. The pages are detailed and printed on rough paper rather than the high gloss many comics prefer. It's a pretty nice looking book!

Unfortunately, the story is weak. Three people are considering experimental body swapping. They live in a dystopia that doesn't make sense. Readers don't get a sense of anyone's character. There's no real conflict. Hey, but at least it all looks really nice?

[Tar Buendía · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pesar que le tenía muchas ganas a este tebeo también venía con algo de miedo porque había leído algunos comentarios, de gente que tiende a tener gustos similares a los míos, bastante malillos.

Sin embargo de verdad lo he disfrutado enormemente. Mi pega principal es que me he quedado con ganas de más.

Una mención especial merecen el dibujo y el color: de sobresaliente.

[Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a small story in a classic vein of medical speculation, imagining that full body transplants (or brain transplants, depending on which way you look at it) are available, and why someone would want one. It has a solid grounding in medical details (despite the overall implausibility and the characters are well drawn in both the literal and figurative senses, with some great layout work as well.

[Jeff Lewonczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the artwork distinctive and attractive, but the story just didn't have the impact I wanted, and didn't stick with me as I'd hoped. Still, I look forward to seeing what Rios does next.

[Petitpois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me resultó una idea genial, y me gusta ese final tan abierto. Sin embargo lo que no me convece es ese uso del rosa, que a mi modesta opinión, resta potencia a un dibujo tan genial.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5, such potential.

[Ana Chi]

💜

[Granit Hysiqi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Huh, very strange font choice.