Alex wakes up in the morning to a holographic screen and a computerized voice telling him to get moving. From there he has full control over his technology with his mind. He can set the temperature and pressure of his shower, change television channels, and even tell his car and house when to lock and unlock themselves, all with a thought. It’s a pretty advanced world, and this first issue shows off a lot of it. While an exact year isn’t given, technology favors designs close to the modern day. It’s less about the appearance of items and more about the advanced functions they’re capable of and how humans interact with them. There was one overpowering question I wanted an answer to at the end of this issue. What the heck do humans do? With robotic servers readily available in your house, never mind a restaurant or a store, and cars that drive themselves, what do people like Alex actually do for a living?
Creator Jonathan Luna favors many panels and showing step-by-step how technology works in this first issue. This approach is perfect for showing exactly how everything functions, since the differences from the modern day are in how items act, not their appearance. Luna makes use of some smart lettering techniques and subtle signs of how Alex communicates with the technology in his house. In contrast, the moments when Alex is interacting with other humans stand out all the more. Alex + Ada is a story about relationships. How does Alex relate to his best friend who constantly sticks his foot in his mouth or the girl who likes him and he’s oblivious to it? These moments would be indistinguishable from a comic set in the modern day, but this makes them all the more special.
The best character and the one to shed the most light on this world is Alex’s grandmother. Grandma lived in a time where it sounds like tech was less prevalent, but she doesn’t condemn its use. Grandma seeks to use it to supplement her life and help her have new experiences. Plus, she has a hot and young-looking android lover named Daniel and is happy to evangelize robot lovers as the ultimate sex toy.
I haven’t mentioned Ada at all, because her role in this issue is minimal. This first issue mainly focuses on who Alex is before meeting her. The issue also engages in a lot of world building. It’s not just which tech humanity has available, it’s how we relate to it and what happens when it fails us. Like most of these near-future stories, Alex + Ada is a little frightening in that it might be what comes to pass, but it’s also poised to act as a social commentary on humanity’s evolving relationship to technology and, like Grandma, will talk about both the good and the bad.
Five Advanced Android Lovers out of Five
