Man Plus

Man Plus (Single Issues) #1-4

by André Lima Araújo

Bem-vindos a Olissipo! Onde a tecnologia reina suprema e a linha que separa Homem e máquina é cada vez mais ténue.

Violentos confrontos entre um andróide defeituoso e um esquadrão ciborgue, ligado à poderosa Jiqiren, colocam em acção a brigada de elite da cidade. Liderada pela Chefe Elsa e pelo Capitão Rodrigo, a investigação depressa revela uma conspiração que arrisca pôr em causa o próprio significado da condição humana.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Science Fiction, Bande Dessinée

104 pages, Paperback

First published July 20, 2016

About the author

André Lima Araújo is a Portuguese architect and comics creator. Soon after graduating in University of Minho he began his career at Marvel Comics, working on titles such as Fantastic Four, Avengers AI, Spider-Verse, Inhumans, Spidey and Black Panther, among many others. He has contributed illustrations to a number of additional publications and, in parallel, creates and develops his own comic projects, publishing Man Plus (Titan Comics) and Generation Gone (co-created with Ales Kot, Image Comics). When he isn’t working, André likes being with his family, reading history books, driving and playing videogames. He lives in Portugal with his wife.



Photo by João Almeida

Reviews

[MonumentToDecency · Rating 3 out of 5]

Welcome to Olissipo City!
Higher technology rules here, and a thin line separates the human being from the machine.
The brutal confrontation of the faulty android, created by the Jiqiren corporation, with a squad of mercenary cyborgs, engages the elite police brigade Olissipo.
Commissioner Elsa and captain Rodrigo lead an investigation that quickly reveals a conspiracy that can challenge the importance of human existence ...
Araújo takes full advantage of Masamuni Shirow's achievements, creating his own cyberpunk vision of the world of the future.
-Google Translated from Polish because that was the best blurb I could find since returning the book to the library

This looked really good but I just wasn't feeling it. The illustrations were very satisfying but the slow pace kind of killed it. There was a lot of to and fro between a confused fugitive android, the meanies who are chasing her down and the police who were almost always playing catch-up. It felt a bit like I was watching Law and Order but with androids and cyborgs.

The world was well imagined and extremely well thought out: a capitalist dystopia, background politics, a future of opportunity gone wrong, yet it was just missing something for me. I feel like this could have been really great though and for a lot of people it will be. The glowing words of praise from Rick Remender are what made me pick Man: Plus up. I love Remender's work, but the things your fave loves won't always be things you love (Kurt Cobain> Meat Puppets - nope).

The issue 1 blurb says:

High-octane cyberpunk action set in a dystopian future full of cyborgs, big guns and corporate conspiracies. Akira meets Judge Dredd meets Blade Runner in this gritty 4-part series that blends dynamic artwork, hard-hitting social themes and blistering, high-tech action.

...but I wasn't feeling that either. I wouldn't call it high-octane, it wasn't very dystopian, it wasn't full of cyborgs or big guns or corporate conspiracies. It similarly wasn't gritty, dynamic or hard-hitting. I think I must've missed the blistering bits too. The elements are all there but it seemed like Araujo borrowed them from his favourites and tried to re-imagine them - great in theory but not in practice. It promised a lot and delivered little.

Action+future+police+techy stuff+androids doesn't equal Akira/Judge Dredd/Blade Runner in this ok but not great comic. Akira/Judge Dredd/Blade Runner have similar themes but just because you like any or all of them doesn't mean you'll automatically like this one. Similarly, you might dislike those three but quite enjoy Man: Plus. Just don't set your expectations by their comparisons.

There's nothing wrong with Man: Plus, it's a fun story and I do recommend it, but this reader has already had far more joy from the originals, to the point that this ended up just being an imitation. You want something really good? Go read Low.


My rating: 3 drones out of 5

[Urbon Adamsson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh man...

This was a hard one to chew.

André's illustrations are great. The action scenes are by far the best scenes in this book. There are some great panels in here.

Unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about the writing. It's just not compelling. I had a hard time staying interested to the point that I had to force myself through the slowest parts of the story.

Which sucks because the concept of the story is really cool. Artificial Intelligence really makes us wonder and opens the world to a whole new set of problems, challenges and benefits. I can tell this is a subject that André likes and I could probably talk with him for hours about it.

Unfortunately, the writing jut didn't resonate with me, at all.

Score: 45%

[Artur Coelho · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man:Plus veste muito bem e sem medo as suas referências. É um trabalho assumidamente derivativo, feito como homenagem ao cyberpunk clássico, ao mangá de FC e às séries policiais procedimentais. Não copia à sorrelfa elementos destes géneros, tentando passar-se por obra nova e inédita. A cópia é visível, intencional e assumida. Se a história é original, não tem medo de citar estilistica, temática e visualmente as influências que claramente fascinam André Araújo. Consigo ler este livro quer como aventura cyberpunk, no que é igual a tantas outras, mas o seu lado de homenagem, quase fan fiction de um fã conhecedor e talentoso, é o que desperta o interesse. Isso, e o estilo gráfico do autor, que já ouvi descrito como uma espécie de Shirow português.

Estamos num futuro próximo, na mega-cidade de Olissipo, não uma Lisboa futurista mas uma cidade nova, construída por um conglomerado chinês que vê nos territórios abandonados portugueses uma porta de entrada barata para a europa. Nas ruas da cidade surge um andróide em fuga, perseguido por temíveis mercenários ciber-aumentados. Uma unidade de investigação especial da polícia envolve-se, com agentes que também têm próteses cibernéticas e que não desdenham o submundo dos hackers para decifrar os mais avançados algoritmos. No cerne da narrativa, um cientista que fez o upload da mente da sua falecida mulher para o corpo de um andróide. O conflito entre a mente humana e a inteligência artificial provoca comportamentos anómalos num mecanismo que ultrapassa a condição de máquina, e o maior gestor do conglomerado faz tudo para capturar a andróide, em busca de novos produtos a mercantilizar.

Se estas linhas narrativas vos soam demasiado a Ghost In The Shell ou a Neuromancer, é porque o são. Os ingredientes estão lá todos, sublinhando este Man:Plus não como mais uma banal história cyberpunk, mas como uma homenagem conhecedora do género. Ciber-tecnologias, andróides conscientes que transcendem a fronteira entre o mecânico e a vida, intrigas nos corredores de mega-corporações que não olham a meios para assegurar lucros, a mistura high tech com decadência e a dose exagerada de fascínio oriental, todos os elementos do cozinhado cyberpunk são manipulados com gosto por André Araújo, com alguns retoques especiais, como a referência às séries televisivas de policial procedimental futurista (uma das personagens é uma referência directa à atriz americana Linda Hunt) e, no título, uma ligação a Man Plus de Frederik Pohl. Também se detectam laivos de Blade Runner (andróides avançados a ser usados no espaço exterior), e a referência estética ao mangá Cyberpunk, especialmente ao trabalho de Masamune Shirow, é omnipresente. Na fronteira entre obra de mérito próprio e fan fiction erudita, Man:Plus é uma declaração de amor ao cyberpunk, fantasticamente ilustrada.

[Ilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The influence of Ghost in the Shell on this miniseries is pervasive, to the point where Araújo sprinkles in funny little shout outs to Masamune Shirow in the background of his panels. There is also a cameo from Brandon Graham at the end, and nods to James Stokoe and Moebius comics as well. And while the reflections on cybernetics and artificial intelligence are standard for the cyberpunk genre, the exploration of the way foreign direct investment, anchor firms and agglomeration economics can create a totally new city that distorts the power dynamics within a country is a lot more interesting, even if much of that context is filled in by backmatter at the end of each chapter. Araújo's character designs are strong, and while the plot is pretty straightforward, it's nonetheless well-paced and has some great action sequences.

[Reyel2107 · Rating 3 out of 5]

just ghost in a shell with nics !!!!!

[Kevin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un escenario y trama que me lleva a los días de Akira y Ghost in the Shell, donde el género Cyberpunk estaba en su auge y estábamos claros de quién es el monstruo del futuro: las corporaciones.

El dibujo de André Araújo se presta perfectamente para este ambiente. El diseño de los personajes es reconocible y cada personaje tiene un diseño distinto de acuerdo a la situación. El dibujo me llama particularmente porque resalta lo veo del ser humano al igual que lo hermoso. El mundo se siente real en cada esquina donde los personajes de fondo parecen tener sus propias historias y no solo servir para relleno en los fondos.

La historia se toma su tiempo con diálogos y escenas de suspenso. Sin embargo, las escenas de acción a pesar de ser muy bien coreografiadas, son cortas. Las interacciones de personajes brillaron más al final donde hubo espacio para respirar y el límite de páginas dejó de ser problema.

Es algo que sirve mejor como una serie larga que algo tan corto como fue esto.

[Arsalan Chishty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Art 5 stars, story 3 stars.

This would’ve been a great extended story. It simultaneously has sections that are fluff and story elements that aren’t fleshed out enough.

I haven’t seen ghost in the shell but very strong Phillip K Dick vibes for the scifi elements.

Honestly worth the purchase just for the art alone.

[Faith 09 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't like it.

[Kars · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art comes close to but never quite reaches Otomo's level. The story doesn't explore any ideas that haven't been explored a gazillion times before in cyberpunk media. Not bad, just solidly meh.

[Robi Sen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very Shirow like. I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot

[Adrian Bloxham · Rating 4 out of 5]

excellent Sci fi comic could easily be from heavy metal.

[Aisla Houghton-Foster · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable enough little story that doesn’t break the mould of your standard Cyberpunk fare, the artwork and aesthetic are cool and overall it was a fun (short) read. But I’m glad I got it cheap.