SP4RX

by Wren McDonald

SP4RX is the story of mankind clawing for survival. Set in a future where a class system has emerged, the world is divided into four levels, with the elite ruling from the extravagant top level.

SP4RX, a young hacker who lives off grid, hacks into corporations and sells stolen data to wealthy buyers on the black market – just your average thief. Mega corporation Structus Industries introduces a welfare program called the "Elpis Program", which allows the working class to apply for Cybernetic implants to make workers more efficient. On the surface, it seems like a program to empower the poor and allow them to rise to the ranks of the elite. But SP4RX soon discovers all is not as it seems… SP4RX and Structus are set on a collision course with the fate of humanity at stake in Wren McDonald’s latest sci-fi tale of survival and corruption!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Fiction, Dystopia, Young Adult, Graphic Novels Comics

120 pages, Paperback

First published December 15, 2016

About the author

Wren McDonald is the author of cyber punk epic SP4RX, dystopian revenge story Cyber Realm, and several other self published mini-comics. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Reviews

[Figgy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating 1.5

The style of illustrations in this graphic novel, and the fact that this is being distributed by a children’s book publisher and is marketed as for 14+ might lead you to believe it’s suitable for younger readers.

IT REALLY ISN’T.

Early in the reading of this title, I came across the word “shit” and was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. Most publishers will allow a couple of swear words in a title for older teenage readers, but then came “asshole”, “bitch”, and “fuck”. And they weren’t one-offs.
Add to this the inclusion of drinking, smoking, “pleasure emporiums”, leather harnesses, assless chaps, gimp masks, and naked robot strippers complete with their own credit card swipe machines, and the realisation that this should not be accessible to fourteen year olds becomes a little clearer with every page.


The rest of this review can be found HERE!

[Zedsdead · Rating 4 out of 5]

SP4RX is a lot like the central hacker-vs-corp narrative of the (astonishingly good) LCG Android: Netrunner. The title character is a professional hacker for hire, in a world where poor people are turned into cyborg slave labor for the corporate antagonist. After a job goes wrong, SP4RX reluctantly throws in with a band of fanatical rebels.

My first impression was not good. The illustration is Dilbertesque and riddled with unforced errors:
black print on dark purple backgrounds, word balloons obscuring characters' heads, sound effect words that flat out TELL the reader what's happening (eg "DISCONNECT!" when an important cable comes unplugged.)

But by the end I found myself enjoying it far more than I expected. It's a solid revisiting of an old story. I liked the dialogue. I liked the visual representation of cyberspace. And I liked the way the simplistic, almost silly art seemed to emphasize rather than soften the periodic extreme violence.

[Kate Atherton · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is visually stunning. The black, white and gray with two purples color way is fresh and the purple is hot and jumps of the page. I could NOT follow this book's plot however. What even IS this system they are all plugged into like the matrix? I tried but could not figure out from scene to scene if characters WERE plugged into computers and operating FAKE bodies...or robots...and were actually located somewhere else NOT in the world I'm seeing or...By the end when SP4RX and a ragtag crew are trying to destroy this maybe-matrix in a sort of STAR WARS A NEW HOPE quest to destroy the death star, I didn't know who HALF of these characters were. There were many many times in this book I couldn't tell WHO speech bubbles were attached to (who was speaking). SP4RX was walking and talking to....someone...a robot sidekick? A phone? I genuinely do not know much about the actual content of this story. There are some VERY satisfying spreads and the book has a modernized Herge's Tintin feel to the drawings. They are even, clean, well spaced and the action in drawn well (even though I'm not totally sure WHY the action was occuring). The most I can wean is that this book is basically the plot of the film the Matrix. Ironically, the scenes when a character was absorbed by a computer (in the hard drive) and the style switched to geometric thin white lines on black the story was both wordless and PERFECTLY CLEAR.

[Микола · Rating 4 out of 5]

Давно хотів прочитати цю історію, тож зробив собі цьогоріч подарунок.
Wren McDonald майстер багатофігурних композицій. Такі на позір «прості» чоловічки можуть заповнити цілу сторінку, і кожен буде в русі.
Сама історія досить умовна: місто майбутнього, кіборгізація (а через неї поневолення) бідних. Суспільні страти просторово розділені. Персонаж, через чиї пригоди ми спостерігаємо за світом—хакер SP4RX, який живе на технічному поверсі (де, взагалі-то, жити заборонено, там тільки роботи). SP4RX вправний хакер, не обтяжений моральними переживаннями. Та, зрештою, і вся історія—досить легка, з багатьма кумедними моментами.
Може, це не той комікс, який я готовий радити всім і кожному, але це точно мій комікс і мій автор.

[Alasondro Alegré · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★½

[Amelia · Rating 2 out of 5]

In an unspecified dystopian future, SP4RX is a Bitnite, a hacker for hire. He doesn't ask questions, only delivers the goods, until another hacker named Mega steals the program he heisted. It leads him to meet with a small resistance force with the self-assigned mission to stop a corporation implanting people with upgrades that allow them to be controlled remotely. Initially opposed to joining them, SP4RX realizes that their way might be the only way to maintain the slim direction over his own destiny.

Reminiscent of Fifth Element meets the Matrix, with maybe a little bit of Futurama and Dr. Who's daleks thrown in for good measure, it's not uncommon in this world for people to have cybernetic enhancements, communication takes place in person as often as in the virtual world, and the word "eliminate" has replaced "exterminate". The art work is done in black, white, gray and purple, with the story segmented by full page graphics that feel like filler, or chapter or volume dividers, even though they aren't labeled as such. A distracting feature is that characters are drawn sometimes with noses and sometimes without with little consistency as to which or why one way is chosen over the other. The story feels like a generic end of the world mashup, with little in the way of a back story explaining how they got to this point. By the end of the book, I was most interested in the minor character of the OBD droid, whose bodyless head steals every scene it's in, as its implanted empathy drives the dogged search and loyalty it shows for SP4RX. Give that little guy its own series next time, and leave the rest to become more efficient.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this for the subject matter, but found the story less than clear about what was going on. This lack of clarity happened in many small moments that left me frustrated/confused for brief moments. There were some changes from panel to panel that were jarring to a smooth flowing story. There was a no nonsense approach to the story telling, that didn’t pad it with extra character, but to me came off as blunt when I wanted to know a little bit more investment in the value of what was happening on the page. I appreciated the confident illustration style that is different than the typical dystopian visualization.

[AC · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art and color choice were really on point, but I did struggle to connect to the characters and their story. It's a relatively short volume, so that could be part of it. But the narrative was interesting and kept me wanting to see where it was going.

[Matthew Archibald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book, though I found it a little confusing at times. (This might be because I read rather quickly, and this book was full of panels without words, which tend to throw me off...)

The ending was slightly unexpected, and pretty satisfying.

[marcia · Rating 1 out of 5]

The art style and page layouts are interesting, but I'm not invested in the story or the characters.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every once in a while, a graphic novel is just what the doctor ordered. This one was solid enough...a "simple" art style masking some pretty complex panels. A good graphic novel has you stopping now and again to admire the art, and this certainly did.

The narrative...dystopian future cyberpunkish, and not for kids at all...wasn't anything particularly innovative, but it buckets along nicely. The protagonist is a bit of a tool for most of the novel, both figuratively and literally, which made it a little difficult for me to engage. I'm just not an antihero guy.

Still and all, worth the 45 minutes-hour it took to ingest.

A three point four.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. I've only recently gotten into graphic novels and this one was definitely enjoyable. It's set in a cyberpunk, Dystopian society, though it doesn't give too much background information. You're thrown into this world pretty quick with the main character who's a hacker that does some not entirely legal jobs in order to survive. He later meets another cyborg who is part of a rebel group fighting against the "system" that's actually murdering lower-class citizens. It's a fun ride, though definitely not suggested for younger readers, as there is violence and language. A good fun read with a somewhat-twist ending.

[Cam · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK dystopian arcology story, where venal elites are demanding more efficiency from the lower classes and have a very bad way of getting there. Our hero, an outlaw hacker/criminal, is being recruited by a small resistance faction but is reluctant to do anything that's not for immediate gain. He's about the only character that has any depth and there's not much of it. There's a squad of young activists including his potential love interest, old friends and empolyers in his crime circles, and a selection of tv and elite personalities as well. I could see this fleshing out if there's more, but as a stand-alone, it's only so-so.

[Márcio Moreira · Rating 4 out of 5]

adorei a arte, a fluidez do diálogo e o ritmo da história. é muito bom ler um quadrinista com domínio tão grande da obra. porééém, achei estranho como eles tentam salvar a galera dos níveis baixos, mas ao mesmo tempo tratam os implantados como vilões zumbis e literalmente explodem centenas deles. A história trata as vítimas tão mal quanto os vilões corporativos o fazem. Podiam, sei lá, primeiro impedir a criação de mais implantados? conter os danos? não sei, achei essa parte da motivação muito torta. Independente disso e das coincidências absurdas, QUERO O VOLUME 2 ONTEM.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars.
This futuristic, post-apocalyptic, indie comic about a cyborg hacker named SP4RX and his interaction with the resistance against mindless oppressive cyborg tech is a quick read. The author has a good grasp of when dialogue isn't needed, letting the art speak for itself. The art style is unique and interesting.
I look forward to seeing what Wren McDonald will release in the future.
Recommend.

[Owen Siglin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This comic is the definition of “cool.” The simplified yet super intricate art style is gorgeous to look at, and the choice of everything being in either white, black, or purple gives it such a futuristic feel and omfg it works so well! The amount of world building in such a relatively short story is impressive and I would love to read more stories about other characters in this universe, or even a continuation of the story (though it does kinda tie itself up at the end). Overall a rad comic!

[South Brunswick High School Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

SP4RX is a hacker who lives in a future world where biology and technology have merged, but not all of the advances are good. The Structus Corporation forms an evil empire that is constantly asking humans to defend their existence. SP4RX unwittingly joins the movement to stop Structus from taking over the world. The dystopia described is not my cup of tea, but may appeal to those with an interest in computer science and the role of people in an AI-fueled future society.

[sarah ☾ (cozypensine) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3★

Une BD de science-fiction sympathique mais sans plus. Beaucoup trop d’informations sans vraiment d’explications, c’était assez brouillon. Je n’ai pas spécialement accroché aux personnages, ils ont pas assez été approfondi. J’ai apprécié les couleurs violettes des illustrations, bien que je n’ai pas été sensible au style. Mais j’ai bien aimé la fin, bien que ce soit une sorte de fin ouverte mais c’était tout de même un bon dénouement !

[Eva · Rating 5 out of 5]

“SP4RX” by Wren McDonald is an exciting graphic novel that will engage those who seek adventure and interest when robots have control over society.

The graphics convey the personalities of the players in future Avalon and keep the novel moving at a good pace.

Thank you GoodReads for the book.

[Benjamin Uke · Rating 4 out of 5]

80s/90s style cyberpunk-pastiche plot full of rogue robots, political and corporate corruption, and raw, unflinchingly violent action all to the tune of a 'bubblegum' art style. It comes off like the forbidden lovechild of neuromancer and adventure-time

Not bad, plus a clever commentary on class-differences and modern society.

[Siedah Simone · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up

I picked up this graphic novel from my library solely because of the color scheme; I'm a sucker for purple.

In the end that was the best part of the graphic novel. There wasn't much world building or character development. Making the story empty/tropey.

Don't think I'd recommend it even as a fun quick read.

[Logan Spader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first ever adult graphic novel and I loved it!

99% of the books I read are non-fiction since I just don't have the time to waste on long books without educational merits. But this book only took an hour or two and was very fun. Thanks Wren! Your first full length graphic novel was my first full length graphic novel :)

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the hell out of this book. Incredibly unique art and coloring and exactly what I would have wanted to read at age 17. Some themes are very adult but I think overall it's a very fun, quick read.

[Tyler Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

An action-packed cyberpunk dystopian comic following a hacker as he fights an evil corporation. I actually really enjoyed this; it doesn’t shy away from getting pretty dark at times, and it came to a satisfying conclusion!

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a kids book!

YA or adult.- language, violence, robot/cyborg/human nudity.
This story and art was not for me.

[Ben Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. The author put a lot of effort into it. The biggest problem is how it was marketed as a children's or young teens book. Probably more for the older teen readers.

[Damian Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

ok graphic novel

[Spencer Greenfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEHUMANIZE YOURSELF AND FACE TO BLOODSHED

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A bit on the violent side, but I enjoyed the world created here. Lots of teen appeal and great art.

[Bec Daniels · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nerdy