MADI: Once Upon A Time In The Future - Deluxe Edition

by Duncan Jones, Alex de Campi

Madi Preston, a veteran of Britain’s elite special operations J-Squad unit, is burnt out and up to her eyeballs in debt. She and the rest of her team have retired from the military but are now trapped having to pay to service and maintain the technology put into them during their years of service. They're working for British conglomerate Liberty Inc as mercenaries, selling their unique ability to be remote controlled by specialists while in the field, and the debts are only growing as they get injured completing missions. We meet Madi as she decides she’s had enough. She will take an off-the-books job that should earn her enough to pay out her and her sister, but when the piece of tech she’s supposed to steal turns out to be a kid, and she suddenly blacks out... she finds herself on the run from everyone she’s ever known.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Fiction, Adventure, Action

Hardcover

First published November 24, 2020

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madison "Madi" Preston is a cyborg corporate mercenary in this mindlessly fun and action-packed sci-fi shoot-'em-up. The Macguffin that sets off much violence and road tripping allows its user to hack into anything, even cyborgs like Madi. The art changes dramatically every few pages, which is distracting and a bit annoying, but the roster of artists is fairly impressive and consistently good.

[Andrew Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am so torn on this, but If I’m being completely honest, I would give it 3.5 stars. Through the first half, it was a true 5/5... not for originality, but for the perfect combination of story and multiple artists meshing perfectly together. Let’s be real... this story isn’t “unique.” It takes elements from sci-fi/action stories we’ve seen over and over again and reinvents them into a new storyline. The art, however, makes the book and story unique. Deciding to break this story up amongst multiple artists was extremely smart. It excels the pace of the story and really makes a “meh” storyline much more intriguing and rich. This is especially true in the first half of the book.

On the flip side, multiple artists can also cause the flow of a story to feel clumpy or uneven. For example; does one artist capture a characters persona the same way as another? If not, it can cause huge issues to the overall feel of the book especially in key moments.... unfortunately this was evident in the 2nd half of this story. The 2nd half seemed extremely rushed and predictable and some of the artists/writing didn’t capture the characters the same way in which they were introduced in the beginning. This was such a bummer since the pace of the first half was so spot on!

I don’t want to giveaway any spoilers but I will say this... was it worth the read? Yes. Madi was a fun experience and the art was absolutely captivating. What could have made it better? An extra 100 pages of character development and a little fine tuning to the art in the 2nd half as the end escalated too quickly in a way that made it disappointing.

[Fariha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Such a pretty book (oversized slipcase deluxe edition)... yet what an uninteresting, “been there seen that” story. Even more anger inducing that ugliest art had the highest page count. Can I get my money back?

3 stars just for the physical book production.

[Johan Haneveld · Rating 4 out of 5]

7+ I wish I liked this more. The passion of this graphic novels' creators on Twitter is palpable, and there are great artists involved. Duncan Jones' movie 'Moon' is a bit of a modern SF-classic, so that made my expectations skyrocket. This is another story in the 'Moon'-universe. The characters are a bit archetypal, but serve to tell the story. Don't expect too much in depth character exploration, as this is mainly an action/SF-story. I thought there were some good ideas in here, though some have been mainstays of the cyberpunkgenre for a long time, like corporations with their own private armies, augmented individuals that can be taken over by controllers, and someone with the power to disrupt the system. These elements came together in a satisfying story of corporate espionage and betrayal, with a couple of nice twists. But all in all it remained a small scale story. Even the technology and the disruptive factor did not lead to wider revelations about the world, changes in the system or deeper insight. Which is what I hope to find in SF and without which a story remains a fun action adventure tale, but without much in depth. The story does not hook itself in my imagination. And I don't know if there's a reason to re-read this for the story. Seeing how this is a pretty big graphic novel (and pricy as well), I think this is a missed opportunity.
On the other hand the art by a selection of great comic book artists is fantastic. Every page had a lot to look at. Several styles depending on the setting and the emotions in the story, some more realistic, some less so. (I think the art by Simon Bisley was a bit too deformed and disturbing to fit in this collection, and it stood out, but it's not a huge negative for me). There were a lot of details to soak in. I would re-read this for the fantastic art.
So this is recommended for people appreciative of comic book art, and people who like action on the page, but less so for people expecting deep exploration of characters or SF with grand ideas.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was young due to my Dyslexia comics were the medium that my school used to try and get me to read. Now, this had its ups and downs like reading an genre. And at the time most of what was about were superhero adventures. Something that I could never really get my teeth into for any length of time. I did find some comfort in the works of people like Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, and Art Spiegelman. Later on, I would come to find new places to escape to in Ghost in the Shell and bubblegum crisis. But then I kind of drifted away from this world into more conventional reading. Novels took over and that was for the most part. Recently however there have been a few publications that have brought me back all be it in a small way.

So why Madi you might ask yourself, well this is largely down to one man. Duncan Jones has directed some of my favorite movies. Mute to me is up there with the best sci-fi films I've seen. A blending of genres to create something amazing. So anyway to the book at hand and my previous statement comes around here. In Madi, we get some good old staples of the genre plus some extras. Duncan seems to have a way of seamlessly blending the old with the new in his work. In Madi, we get a hero to root for but not the super kind, despite her augmentations she is someone who Is very human. What drives her is I suspect something the would push us all forward to do the right thing. It's like those old Hollywood films where one must stand up to evil and fight for what is right.

Now I can't really talk about this novel without talking about the artwork. And what I really like here is the use of several different artists throughout. It gives a shifting tone to the work and invokes many different eras of comics. Some to me were familiar from things I have read or seen before others what a new experience for me and I got to say I really enjoyed it. It also meant it felt like you were reading a collection of single issues rather than a novel that came out in one go. So when you are reading it you get to say I really like the way these panels are done ill go check out other books they worked on. Overall it feels like if the writers and artists of 2000 AD had come out with Ghost in the Shell. A combination that I can really get behind.

So can I recommend this book to you, yes of course. If you are looking for a good solid cyberpunk graphic novel take out that hard-earned cash and slap it down on the counter. You in for a whole world of nostalgia to escape into for a little while.

[Dani · Rating 3 out of 5]

a few cool elements, switching artists was interesting, but not that memorable overall

[Alex Sarll]

Scripted by Alex de Campi and the artist formerly known as Zowie Bowie, this operates firmly within established cyberpunk space: a team of corporate mercenaries, indentured until their implants are paid off, except every mission risks damage, meaning repairs, meaning more debts incurred. And sometimes their bosses take over direct control remotely, with the further risks that entails. And then one of the team tries to make a little extra with a side-job and...well, how do you think that goes? But if it's hardly revolutionary, it's all executed with finesse, and illustrated by an array of artists old (Fabry, Fegredo) and new (Christian Ward, James Stokoe), but uniformly impressive - with the one caveat that while I still enjoy late period Simon Bisley, slotting his stuff in amongst more naturalistic artists (which is most of them) does make for some jarring transitions.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this. Nice old fashioned cyberpunk setting. It felt very much like British comics from days gone by. My only real complaint about it was that it was so action focused as I prefer less fighting in my comics. But I still really enjoyed it. It had great characters and an interesting story. Would love to see more.

[PBNightmare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story falls apart at the end.

[Teddy · Rating 1 out of 5]

say steven one more time

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a truly remarkable book, quite a discovery for me. I came across it while searching for some SF cyberpunkish novels and comics and after I saw gorgeous cover decision was made - lets see how good this is.

And man was it good! It was extraordinary.

So in order of things .... Story.... I saw a lots of comments saying story is already seen multiple times. I agree, it is, for pure reason it is story old as time - hubris brings our hero down and hero finds the way back through self-sacrifice and helping people around, goes through cathartic experience to finally come victorious against all odds.

Above is corner stone of every adventure story (including almost every hard-boiled detective novel). And lets be honest these types of stories provide, together with action and adventure, insight into society and internal dynamics (mercs, corporations, ordinary people etc) but if you read these types of books to gain knowledge about world around you ..... you are reading wrong literature.

So to say story is already seen is like saying - after reading Bible no other book offers anything new.

The way world of this novel is presented is truly magnificent - we are given view of the dystopian future where corporations control parts of the world (literally, not unlike crime gangs of today), charge people from other corporations daily fee for walking their streets, everyone from simple accountant and janitor to professional security forces are expected to live and die for their corporation (echoes of Morgan's "Market Forces" are strong here). Everything is shiny but people are kept in debt slavery because their augmentations require maintenance and money. When augmented mercs collide it is truly a slugfest, you can see how difficult it is to kill these cyborgs. Final showdown just screams "film me".

Technical parts of the story are so natural - you do not see cables or android like bodies that split up like in Total Recall. People look normal but beneath their skin mechanisms of enormous power are poised to strike out. Entire look and feel is combination of Robert Morgan's Takeshi Kovacs series (with a bit of Thin Air in it) meshed with Nagata's Red trilogy and [of course] Gibson's Neuromancer. City is flashy and seductive (imagine Night City in all its splendor) but all this glitz only hides truly terrible and dystopian world, ruled by ruthless corporate managers, world where human life is not worth anything, there is no privacy and everyone is tracked, marked and charged. Hits a little bit to close to heart these days.

Art is mixed bag in a positive way. There is like 20 artists working on this story and as story progresses art styles switch. Now some of art styles are little bit tough on eyes imho but majority is great. From panoramas to interiors, level of details is breathtaking - there is always something going on (i.e. Arizona casino, those panels are truly overflowing with crowds, agents running through and drones searching for our protagonists in this sea of people). Entire look and feel is cinematic (why is that became clear to me after I heard this was supposed to be third movie in the series but decision was to create graphic novel instead of [I guess very] expensive production). Art style reminds me very much of Blade Runner 2029 series, just wonderful.

And the ending was hillarious - our heroes seek shelter from dystopian world by going to Canada. This had me laughing so hard I fell to the floor. They might as well decide to go to Australia 😊😊😊😊 If we go by recent world events I imagine that in this future going into Canada or Australia to seek refuge would be like going into Eastern Europe in 1950s because such strict and hard handed governments might let you in, but man you are not going out ever again, no way. But I guess when story was written image of lands of Eh! and Mate! was still of move-freely countries, not of Thunderdome.

All in all great book, highly recommended. It has everything - story, twists and beautiful art.
Highly recommended to fans of SF noir and cyberpunk in particular.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future', from the minds of Duncan Jones, Alex de Campi and a whole host of awesome comics artists that includes; Dylan Teague, Glenn Fabry, Duncan Fegredo, LRNZ, Eduardo Ocaña, André Araújo, Simon Bisley, Rosemary Valero-O’Connell, Tonci Zonjic, Pia Guerra, James Stokoe, RM Guéra, Chris Weston, Rufus Dayglo, Annie Wu, David Lopez, and Christian Ward, plus colourists Matt Wilson, Nayoung Kim, Chris O’Halloran, Adam Brown, Jacob Phillips, Raúl Arnaiz, Giulia Brusco, Sergey Nazarov, Kelly Fitzpatrick, and Lettering by Alex, is a cyberpunk road trip set in the near-future.

Madi Preston, is a cybernetically augmented mercenary, part of J-Squad, a merc special ops unit that freelances their unique ability to be remote controlled by specialists while in the field. But when their latest mission ends with the death of one their crew, Madi decides she’s had enough. But in order to pay back the debt she still owes, she takes an off-the-books job, and when the piece of tech she’s supposed to steal turns out to be a child, and she suddenly blacks out... she finds herself on the run from everyone she’s ever known.

I'm a big fan of Duncan Jones' movies, with this being the third and final story set in the same 'Cinematic Universe' as his 'Moon' and 'Mute' movies (the 'Mooniverse'), the graphic novel takes the familiar elements and themes from those movies, especially from 'Mute' I feel, and adds a dash of 'Blade Runner (2049)', 'Ghost in The Shell' and CD Projekt Red's recent 'Cyberpunk 2077' video game, blending everything together and reworking it into a brand new story, that was a joy to read!

Originally a screenplay, 'Madi' is a 260 page graphic novel, that was funded through a Kickstarter campaign (with exclusive hardcover art by Yuko Shimizu and softcover art by Duncan Fegredo & Jacob Phillips), and is published through Z2 Comics.

The pacing of the story definitely felt like it could have been movie instead of a graphic novel. The story kept me engaged all the way through, with its action packed intro, and all the way through to its exciting conclusion. Even when the story slows the pacing down, there's still more than enough to keep you interested in wanting to find out what happens in the end. The excellent group of characters, especially the main three of Madi, Ted and Dean as they embark on the road trip trying to outrun their pursuers, really helps draw you into the story and root for them.

As good as the story is, the main talking point of 'Madi' is the artwork, with a venerable who's who of the comic industry working on the pages throughout the graphic novel. But with the amount of artists involved, you might think that the clash of differing art styles when transitioning from scene to scene would be jarring and take you out of the story. Not so for me. It looked like the story was carefully divided up in a way to minimise this. And it works really well, with the change in artist helping with the shift in tone of what is happening to the story on the page.

I really enjoyed 'Madi: Once Upon A Time In The Future'. It's lively and energetic, with a hard as nails BAMF female lead kicking ass from start to finish. A graphic novel that is a spectacular feast for the eyes in a beast of a book!

[Rob Caswell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thematically this tale falls square into the classic 80's cyberpunk camp - and whether that's a plus or a minus, it's on you. The main schtick here is that a group of cybernetically enhanced mercs, operating under contract, can sneak or plow their way into any secure/defended facility and once inside can allow themselves to be remotely piloted by someone with vital skills to fulfill the sensitive, on-site part of the mission.

Throw into that mix a kid who's been modified to be the ultimate cybernetic code breaker and the plot goes from heist to (not so merry) chase half way around the world. There were elements that reminded me of "Logan" (more the movie than the book) and a few characters who felt like they were re-employed after their gig on Duncan Jones' second piece in this series, the movie"Mute".

Aside from the notion of being able to remote control your cyber ronins on demand, the story didn't hold too much special for me, though it was engaging enough. Artwise the book is all over the map. Every 5-10 pages the art team changes. Some artists are excellent and lend not only good character renderings, but solid futuristic design. Others.... not so much. In particular I found Simon Bisley's art contribution to feel like a jarring mismatch compared to much of the rest of the book.

So, uneven art and a story that didn't feel overly fresh. A middling product... but at least the story and characters were more engaging and likeable than "Mute's". But if you're the type who just can't get enough of the 80's cyberpunk vibe, you might find a bit more to like here than I did.

[Nim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid story with a nice cyberpunkesque milieu, compelling characters and great art. In a way I liked seeing the art style change every dozen or so pages, but sometimes it did throw me off for a moment - some minor characters were kind of hard to instantly recognize after a style change that changed how they felt to me overall, personality-wise. The vibes were off, sometimes.

I was having a hard time deciding between 3 and 4 stars. On one hand, this is very relevant to my intetrests - I love cyberpunk settings, and the thoroughly modified, debt-ridden remote-controlled mercs earned both my admiration and sympathy easily. But in some ways I feel like there was some potential wasted - it was fun to see all the different art styles, but it did take away from the coherency of it all. It's only "surprisingly good for what it is", not great from start to finish. And while I did like everything from the story to the characters and setting, it's all very generic. Just good, not unique. I enjoyed it, but wasn't thoroughly impressed by it.

In a way, my feelings toward this book remind me of watching Mad Max: Fury Road. It's not super deep or complex as as a story, but what it sets out to do it does well. An entertaining read that leaves some ideas and impressions that I can further tinker with at the back of my mind even after finishing the book itself, which didn't take that long.

Still, I'm a sucker for the cyberpunk themes and aesthetic. I reeeaaaally enjoyed some moments and the particularly pretty pages in here. Giving it 4 stars, since I did have a hard time putting the book time once I finally got into it (took me a few weeks to get started).

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third in Duncan Jones' so-called "Mooniverse" series/trilogy, it's clear that this was meant to be a movie. The last quarter of this graphic novel is an exciting action-packed fight sequence that was blatantly conceived for the big screen. Maybe there's still a chance that could happen... who knows?

The story is about a team of soldiers who have cybernetic enhancements that allow them to be controlled like puppets by someone back at base. Madi is one of these soldiers. They are basically now in indentured servitude as they are paying back the debt they owe for maintenance of all the tech inside them. Madi takes on a job that will pay enough to get out from under her debt but it doesn't quite go to plan and she ends up babysitting a powerful young boy named Dean...

It's a pretty good story overall. Nothing that's going to change your life, but these days books like that are rare indeed.

It's the art that is the main talking point in my opinion. It's a jam project with multiple artists, most of who I thought did a great job and were well suited for the project, my favourite pages being by Dylan Teague and Annie Wu.

My least favourite would be the James Stokoe pages. Not because I thought it was bad art, although I wasn't hugely enamoured with it. I just thought it was incredibly out of place compared to the rest of it. It was a bit jarring.

Anyway, overall I enjoyed it a fair bit!

[Miki · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the distopian world of Duncan Jones' Mute and Moon, augmented mercenary Madi fights for her and her closest ones' freedom, by taking a job that involves a kid with very special abilities. She ends up deciding to help the kid, while a number of interested, unconscionable parties chase and attack them to get back the kid and his abilities. Allies turn into enemies and traitors, sometimes even against their own will, as the corporations in charge use augmented technology to gain back power over their "goods". A fast-paced adventure, perfectly matched by the amazing visual art, that features quite a lot of renowned artists, and changes for each chapter and each part of the story. This graphic novel was funded through a kickstarter project, proud for backing it.

[Xan Rooyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 stars

I started out really loving this because hello, mercenary cyborgs in a corporatocracy! However, as impressive and dynamic as the art was, the fact that the style changed - often quite dramatically - every few pages became jarring and distracting. Some of the combat scenes were so chaotically rendered I found the action hard to follow, especially since the way the characters were drawn wasn't as consistent as I would've needed it to be. So, while I ultimately enjoyed the story giving all the found family vibes, and really appreciate the art, it was just a little too hard to parse to be a truly immersive for me. I am still a big fan of Alex de Campi though and will definitely read more by her.

[Rafael Vaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very standard, by the books story and storytelling.
The constant changing styles that adapt with the themes and vibes going on in the story are neat and add a nice texture to the book.
There's a fun and joy in the drawings and narrative that is usually forgotten in grim sci-fi but below the surface it's still a story you've heard a 1000 times with little to add. The best thing this story has to add is the opressive corporate world that is peeking through every crack of every panel. But even this pov is nothing new and has been basically the same since blade runner

[Nigel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast moving sci fi action comic with multiple artists, which I usually find annoying but the quality is so high and visual consistancy is mostly maintained, so it's hard to complain. There's always bits of Ale Di Campi comics I find quite hard to follow - usually a lack of clarity over a panel or two - that tends to interrupt the flow, but she wrties great hi tech low down cyberpunk action and pays lots of attention to background world-building detail, so the corporate dystopia has lotts of original flourishes and feels lived-in.

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this with caveats. I liked all the art, it was all beautiful and interesting but changing artists made the characters feel like they were changing personalities each time. I also have some problems remembering faces and by having different artists I would sometimes get confused by which character was supposed to be which. And there were some components to the story that I had trouble following and I don’t know if that was my shortcoming or something the author was assuming the reader would get.

[Mee Too · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could have been really really good. Even with the chaotic constant changing of the art. However the story itself flowed like constipated diarrhea. It was as if the writer and the illustrator decided to do all the drugs at once then make a book. Uppers, downers and psychedelics washed down with mad dog 20/20.

Don’t do a vol 2 !! 🙏🏾

Just let this rabies infested sleeping dog lie until it’s dead and forgotten.

Although I heard they are making of movie of this nonsense (can’t be worse then what marvel is putting out these days)

2.9✨

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cool. It's a dystopian future comic about a croup of cyborg mercenaries who get sucked into something shady when one of them does a job offbook to try and earn some extra cash to pay off the debt for their cybernetics. Nice world building in this. This is written by Duncan Janes and apparently set in the same world as his movies Moon and Muted. There are a ton of different artists on the book and some of the shifts in style can be jarring. That's my one complaint. Otherwise it's really good.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible final installment to Duncan Jones's 'Mooniverse'. A rich and exciting sci-fi story with stellar art from some mind blowing artists. Jones and Di Campi have done a great job pairing each scene with each artist so the energy and the flow of the story feels just right. J-Squad have stolen my heart. Get yourself a Deluxe Hardcover from Z2 Comics while they're still available. It's a beast!

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this and found it to be a fitting end to the "Mooniverse," should this prove to be the final installment. I thought Alex De Campi brought the characters to life through vibrant and varied voices, and the choice to change artists every 10-20 pages was fantastic. Duncan Jones' presence was felt through the familiar setting, the strong pacing, and the themes that carried over from Moon and Mute.

[Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is very much a tale of two halves. The first half of the book was outstanding and I really enjoyed the different takes that the various artists took with the characters. Unfortunately this didn’t hold for the second half of the book where the story and art felt rushed. It went from being 5/5 to something nearer to 2/5. It’s definitely worth reading though, particularly if you’re a fan of Duncan Jones and the world he created with Moon and Mute.

[Jeremy Hornik · Rating 3 out of 5]

What did a doctor in a Hawaiian shirt ever do to Duncan Jones, that’s what I’d like to know.

Neat premise, literal using the notion of controlling people. It gets a bit farcical in the action at the end. That’s not a bad thing. The regular change of artists serves the production deadline better than the story, I think, although there’s some really lovely art along the way.

[Mel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sci-fi child heist. Yes, that's a new genre I just created - child heist. Which is really kidnapping, but it was definitely an interesting story as the child is also a piece of tech people want so they can control EVERYTHING!

It was fun, not too in depth, nothing I had to really think about. I would say it's more 3.5 stars than 3, but I wouldn't give it four.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

There’s not much in here that fans of science fiction won’t have seen done elsewhere, but the storytelling and artwork combine into something unique, for the first half at least. The ending is a bit smashy-crashy-explosions and I found myself wanting more of the story and character development from the first half.

Overall it’s welcome addition to the Mooniverse

[Kim Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a huge Bowie fan, I just had to get this and see what Duncan has been up to! Didn’t enjoy it as much as I wanted to, but this is the first graphic novel I’ve read so all very new to me. I also didn’t appreciate the change of illustrators although I totally get why it was done. I know lots of people love it though, which is the main thing!

[Ilia Epifanov · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun sci-fi narrative with some good twists and interesting characters. The pacing is excellent, and the world is well thought out, too.
The art is beautiful, however, the book is drawn by 12+ artists, and all the various styles, while each being great on its own, really clashed for me and made it hard to focus on the story.