Wiper

by John Dunning, Ricardo Cabral (Illustrator), Brad Simpson (Illustrator)

Lula Nomi is a Wiper--a private detective who guarantees complete discretion. A memory wipe after every job sees to that.

When she's hired by enigmatic robot Klute, she thinks the case is the answer to all her problems. But there's something oddly familiar about Klute--and the more she investigates the disappearance of journalist Orson Glark, the more she suspects that he's somehow connected to her own past...

Lula must face her greatest fears to learn what happened to Glark...and the truth about herself.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Mystery, Science Fiction, Cyberpunk

112 pages, Paperback

First published September 27, 2022

About the author

John Dunning was an American writer of non-fiction and detective fiction. He was known for his reference books on old-time radio and his series of mysteries featuring Denver bookseller and ex-policeman Cliff Janeway.

Reviews

[Alexander Peterhans · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sci-fi tale that reminds me a lot of 70s and 80s European sci-fi comics, both in the art and the story it tells. The story is one of little twists, until there is a big this-changes-everything-that-happened-before twist, which is maybe not as earth-shattering as it thinks it is. All set against a cyberpunk background that mostly reminded me of Blade Runner.

In short: doesn't do anything special, but what it does, it does pretty well.

3.5 stars

(Thanks to Dark Horse Books for providing me with a review copy through Edelweiss)

[Rory Wilding · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing about cyberpunk – a subgenre in science-fiction that was defined in the 1980s through works like Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and William Gibson’s Neuromancer – is that it established an aesthetic that many creators have remixed so much it’s become cliché. Recent works like the video game Cyberpunk 2077, as well as its anime spin-off Edgerunners, may have gained an audience, but didn’t break new ground in the subgenre. Even when you look at the front cover for Dark Horse Comics' Wiper, you might think there is something familiar here.

Please click here for my full review.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some solid future noir. It's about a private detective. She's a Wiper meaning that she wipes out her memory after each case. A robot hires her to find a missing person which eventually takes her off Earth. It was good stuff. The world gave off some "Bladerunner" vibes even though the story had nothing to do with Replicants. The art has an 80's vertigo vibe to it. Reminded me of Jill Thompson.

[Annie Yotova · Rating 1 out of 5]

In 2223 technology had evolved enough to allow people's minds to be wiped clean without killing them. And that changes how private detectives work - a new type of them appears that take client confidentiality to an extreme - hire them, pay them a lot of money and when the case is done, all their memories get wiped. Lula Nomi is just getting her training completed post-wipe (because you lose all you had learned - not just the case details). She is late on her rent so when a client shows up with a proposal and a lot more money than Lola usually charges, she jumps at the missing person case she is offered. And things go predictably weird from there.

If it all sounds a bit too cliche, you can see my first issue with the story (or the second - but I will get to the first one shortly). The setup can work if there is something in it to take it out from the cliche but the wiping of the memory is not enough because it really does not help here at all, not at this stage anyway. But as it is a relatively short graphic novel, I decided to continue reading. Lola discovers that the missing journalist had gone to the station orbiting above Earth so off she goes after some more sleuthing Earth-side and a final test which allows her to actually work (not that she cared much that she was not certified when her client showed the money).

I do not know what I expected from this graphic novel. I know what I did not expect - a crazy professor, an evil corporation and rag-tag team of underdogs (human and alien) taking on the corporation in order to save the people who noone cares about. And yet, that is exactly what this story morphed into very quickly. The whole "your memory was wiped" was treated as a gimmick, the missing person case as just a way to get Lola up on the station (with a few nice discoveries on the way).

And throughout it all, I was waiting to see when and how the starting pages of the whole thing will become relevant. You see it starts explaining that in 2123 a nuclear war got both USA and EU out of commission, allowing Africa to rise and Johannesburg to become the center of Earth (now with a new name). It is a wonderful premise but... it is irrelevant to the story and the characters. We never get to hear where the aliens came from or how they work alongside humans - that would have been relevant.

The art is nice and the story is half-decent if you are in the mood for that type of story. But with the way it is marketed and its first pages the way they are, the whole thing is a huge letdown.

[Fraser Simons · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the aesthetic doesn’t break new ground, and the story has some contrivances, this was very enjoyable. It has great art and character design and a fun plot, moves quickly. The ending was rushed and I’m not disposed to cyberpunk with aliens, so I’m sure plenty of people would like it more than me.

3.5 rounded up

[Fiore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Gorgeous weird sci-fi world art with bright colors and fevered dream feelings. Severely lacking story though, where the reveal of big connections and won allies didn't have enough buildup to be meaningful.

[Levi Coffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 2123 post nuclear war, aliens, humans, and robots all come together to create new communities under the wrath of a new domain.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting premise, but weird execution
also, no one hooked up with the hot muscular girl and that was disappointing
the art was alright

[Pedro Mendes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just re-read this and realized I didn't write a proper review.

I think both John's writing and Ricardo's art makes this a really good dystopian cyberpunk comic.

I can definitely see the Blade Runner influences (which having just recently watched the movie made me enjoy the comic a lot more) and the vibes and shots are very reminding of it.

Overall a very fun read, definitely worth your time