Homunculus

by Joe Sparrow

A machine at the end of the world... In the near future, a young scientist and her sentient creation struggle to understand, and be understood by, the world around them. A story about love and learning, death and time, told across the years.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Sequential Art, Fiction

70 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2018

Reviews

[Maija · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so much more than I expected. If you're into heartbreaking A.I. stories, here's one for you!

[Pollyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in tears reading this. Short and bittersweet. Amazing storytelling. If you have a softspot for stories about friendships between AI and humans, this is for you. Happy to lend it to anyone who’s here in brissy

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

How Joe Sparrow weaves an impactful story in so few pages is masterful, and won an Eisner award for a reason.

Also please support Shortbox, the publisher, as all their comics are gems.

[Basil · Rating 5 out of 5]

"And what if he doesn't? What if he doesn't... like me?"

"Oh, Daisy! Don't be silly. What's not to like?"

What a great A.I story. Wonderful art and writing. Would definitely reccomend to anyone who likes sci-fi, sad robot stories, and just a good graphic novel.

[Karl Vosatka · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a simple but touching tale that runs against the grain of your usual scifi-horror stories about artificial intelligence. The clean and deceptively simple art style is married with sophisticated use of color and play within restricted framing. Read this for a short but potent pick me up!

[Alex Popa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it ❤️ Just keep singing..

[Kirstine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very lovely story. It took me about 30 minutes to read and I'm sure I will read it again. I really liked the beginning and the middle - it's a page-turner! The artwork is great.
I'm gonna lend my copy to a couple of friends and maybe a professor I share an office with. If you get the chance, I highly recommend you read it.

[Javier Miró · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure, but maybe I'm the first Spaniard who read this book and that's a shame. I'll try my best to get it translated cos this short story is awesome and necessary, and (specially nowadays) everybody should know about it.

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give it 100 stars I would. This short yet poignant graphic novel made me cry, fall in love and smile. It's just perfect I loved it so much. Easily my favourite graphic novel that I read this year. Please read it!

[Morgan Greensmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

IM NOT CRYING YOU ARE

[Timothy Bakita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching story about the creation of an AI. Maybe it doesn’t go where you expect it but there’s a lot of heart to it. The art is unique in that the formatting of the panels and background barely change. Only when something of focus is involved, then it highlights that by using color while the background stays monotone.

[Jacob · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional example of what can be achieved in short-form graphic storytelling. Poignant, restrained and breathtaking.

[Nick Fagerlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic is very good! The whole thing is drawn in the first-person viewpoint of an immobile entity with an odd approach to the passage of time, and the combined effect guides your attention to changes in the environment in a really engaging way. A simple story executed really well.

[M Aghazarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and bittersweet

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but heartwarming story about AI...and its view of the world.
I liked that the scientists are women.

Bought:190620 @ Gosh! Comics (London)

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. The art is beautifully woven within the story and vice versa. It's a short read yet it holds a lot in it. If that makes sense.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

... Ahem. H-hello! I-it's... it's nice to finally "meet" you! Ugh. Sorry. I should have prepared this better. My name's Veronica. I'm an Engineer. A-although I also have a PhD in Neurolinguistics! You're in my lab. You might be... a little confused. That's okay. Please try not to worry!

I fear I may have stumbled upon a wonderful source for new talent graphic novels when I discovered shortbox. Their selection of "fun and fine" contemporary comics and graphic novels are something wonderful to behold. For my first foray I purchased five that grabbed my attention.

In this offering from Joe Sparrow, an Engineer, Veronica, has created the Homunculus. An artificial intelligence which she calls Daisy. Over weeks and months, Veronica trains Daisy to increase her intelligence. Playing Chess and Go until Daisy starts to win. However, with the future of humanity at stake and Veronica needing to secure funding, will Daisy have a future!?

A fun read that is poignant and thought provoking. I recommend this thoroughly.

[Rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew I would love this from the brief glimpse I got on the Shortbox website and love it I did once it was in my hands! I love it so much I might just acquire a digital copy to make sure I can always read it no matter where I am.

This is so bittersweet and such a heartfelt piece of short speculative fiction. It’s amazing to read and incredibly inspiring! My love of robots in media really set me up to adore this with my whole heart. The grief that is experiencing the worldwide war was so intense. The simple premise of an AI going through that was a great catalyst for the story.

Sparrow’s time passage illustrations were just gorgeous. I could spend hours just looking at the use of shape and color and subtle change to show how years go by.

Daisy and Veronica were so endearing so quickly, I loved them both! And yet also ached through each interaction because I knew it would come to an end.

All in all, lovely lovely lovely. This has become a must-read-to-understand-me, top-tier favorite comic of mine.

[Axolotl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed when Veronica, the engineer, is teaching Daisy and many of the times she trails off, it leads into the next panel's text that's been cut off, even though there was a time skip. So for example, she sings "my Bonnie lies over the..." and the next panel is her saying "...see? I've got you!" While play a game with her. We later find out that the full line is "My Bonnie lies over the sea" so it was nice to reread that and notice. Or another example, she shows Daisy a movie and Daisy says, "I like that they become friends, despite..." and the next panel is a news report, saying "...tensions rose today..." because Veronica is trying to become friends with Daisy even though there is a war going on that she doesn't want to lie about, but also doesn't want to fully acknowledge, although she clearly becomes more and more scared. I really liked the fixed viewpoint as well, and the extra information I got from the second edition, despite it not really being worth the extra money since it's only two extra pages.

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A comic book illustrated entirely in first person, now here's something you don't seen every day! It chronicles the birth of AI and the inescapable destruction of humanity that comes with it... Wait, that's not quite it... The AI is left to rot because it doesn't have any militaristic application and we end up ruining ourselves through war. All while the AI watches, singing the song it's creator and friend taught it. Years, decades, centuries pass and it's discovered again. A remnant of the past, a reminder of how we shouldn't do things, a witness to human idiocy.

It's a simple and straightforward story, but it manages to balance tropes and clichés by breaking some and embracing others. Visually, it rather simple, lots of copy pasted faded backgrounds with characters emoting in front. But there's a sense of purpose in the monotony of it, not to mention that it's always esthetically pleasing.

[Holly Cruise · Rating 5 out of 5]

2022 Read A Graphic Novel Every Week Challenge - 44/52

Blimey, what a comic! This 2018 comic starts in 2022 (hahaha, oh) as a large AI is switched on and from there, everything plays out from the AI's first person view, as it sits in one place and observes. Simple, beautiful and clever art, combined with a powerful story. One of, if not the, best short comic I've ever read, truly excellent.

Maybe not the best choice as Christmas Day reading, but that's on me.

[Anne Layacan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first review on this app, because I think this book is so worth reading. I picked this up at the comic festival in Toronto, not really knowing anything about the author (but I got it signed by them!). I read this on the train ride back and bawled my eyes out. I’ve always loved stories about robots/AI and their possibility to feel human-like emotions.


This book is my prized possession since it is so difficult to purchase a physical copy in Canada.

[miha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Krasna zgodba, svet iz perspektive umetne inteligence ki se v laboratoriju uči o svetu.

Zelo všeč so mi bili dialogi, kako je povezal pogovor iz enega kadra o enih stvareh s pogovorom v drugem kadru o čisto drugih in se je bralo kot da je en pogovor, v bistvu pa je tako nakazal minevanje časa - ODLIČNO!!!

[Kiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Homunculus" is a beautifully illustrated but melancholy short story about a machine created not long before a catastrophic event by a young scientist who's passion lies in artificial intelligence. I found myself tearing up while reading this as the story beautifully illustrates love, loneliness, and the hope that all is not lost at what seems like the end.

[Julie Benbassat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poignant and bittersweet. An AI watches the fall of humanity and the slow regrowth of the world through several montages of the passage of time. Sparrow fills the pages with confident line work, hidden details, and bold color choices that radiate from the pages.

[Aglaé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. The fixed point of view was original and immediately endearing. The rythm of the story and the informations given little by little works very well. It is bittersweet, and goes by in a flash.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The format idea is clever and there’s a precision to how this is constructed but what really makes this work is the heart. A beautiful book.

[Luke White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really nice!! A touching story about AI. Like most comics, I wanted it to be about 10 times longer, but it's really nicely illustrated and beautifully thought out.

[Eloquentress (Helen) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh now this was just bittersweet and sad. The art style is great. Poor daisy.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was I cryin in the club reading a short story about AI? You bet. So sweet!