Old City Blues By: Giannis Milonogiannis

Old City Blues is a fun, engrossing cyberpunk thriller from Archaia Entertainment that follows Detective Solano, a member of New Athens’ Special Police Force, as he works to discover who is responsible for the murders of cyborgs throughout the city. After Hayashi, the founder of a major tech company (who also happens to be a cyborg), is found murdered and an important diplomat is killed, Solano teams up with members of the ‘Mobile Guns’ to figure out who is behind this recent crime activity.

This book is adapted from a popular web comic by Giannis Milonogiannis. I’ll admit that I had not read it before picking up this graphic novel but, after finishing this volume, I’m definitely eager to read more. The story itself is similar to many other cyberpunk mystery novels: a mixture of cyborgs, dystopic futures, and cynical protagonists. However, the narrative moves at a fast-pace that hooks you early and captivates you throughout.

One of my favorite elements of cyberpunk stories is the exploration of human nature that comes through our interactions with advanced technology. This story is no different. The question of how far should we go when supplementing/augmenting the human body with machines is a fascinating topic for debate and it is always interesting to see another perspective. The ending left me wanting a bit with regards to this issue/dilemma, but I assume that I’ll get that when I read the web series and the continued adventures of Solano and friends.

The art is all black-and-white and done in a ‘sketch-like’ style. This adds to the overall ‘rough’ tone of the book. I’m always impressed with an artist who is able to make their art look both like a quick sketch and a completed work of art. Milonogiannis does an excellent job using his illustrations to supplement the ‘noir’/mystery feel to his narrative. I also must praise Archaia for the quality of the book printing itself, including a gorgeous, yellow hardcover and solid, thick pages that guarantee that this book will stand out from other graphic novels.

I recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of either cyberpunk novels/movies and/or noir. It’s got a great, fast-paced narrative with interesting character dynamics. More than anything else, I love the debate about the benefits/pitfalls of a world dominated by technology and machinery. If you are still uncertain, you can always check out the web series online first, but, regardless, I definitely recommend checking out the excellent job Archaia did with the printing/publication of this series.

About the Author

Stephanie

Stephanie ‘swoots’ Wooten was born in California, grew up in Maryland, went to undergrad at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and then moved back out to California in order to get her MA in Cinematic Arts at USC. In undergrad and grad school, Stephanie focused on television studies. She enjoyed nothing more than the idea of delving into an entirely new, believable universe full of characters that you genuinely cared about as though they were real people.